The "Selfish Gene" caused a wave of excitement among biologists and the general public when it was first published in 1976. The vivid interpretation of life from the perspective of the gene, with clear prose, brought together threads of thought about the nature of natural selection in a conceptual framework with profound implications for understanding evolution. Time has confirmed its importance.

Intellectually rigorous, yet written in non-technical language, the "Selfish Gene" is widely regarded as a masterpiece of scientific writing, and its insightfulness remains just as substantial today as the day it was first published.

This edition includes two new chapters, a new preface, and extensive commentary by the author.

"This book must be read, and can be read, by almost anyone. It describes with exceptional mastery a new aspect of the theory of evolution [...]. It accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of using simple, non-technical language to present certain obscure and partly mathematical subjects of recent evolutionary thought. These, seen finally in their full range, through this book, will surprise and invigorate even biologists who may have thought they already knew them. However, I repeat, the book remains easily readable for anyone with minimal basic scientific knowledge. [...]"

(William D. Hamilton, Crafoord Prize (1993), Science (1977))