"Quit being so selfish, Gene!" Jimmy Fallon's fumbled line from SNL's classic "Don't Fear the Reaper" sketch came to mind several times while reading this excellent book. While of course there is little relevance between the two, the more widely known line about cowbells curing fevers does typify a unit of culture for which Dawkins coined the term "meme," which is now itself a meme.

This discussion of memes is what drew me to the book in the first place, but I enjoyed most of the rest of the book even more. There is great food for thought here, most especially the idea that bodies are merely survival machines, constructed and programmed at the whim of the genes inside, sequences of DNA with no purpose other than maximizing their own replication. The genes do this not only by improving their host bodies for their own survival, but also by directing the bodies to alter their environment and interact with certain other bodies.

Dawkins turns Darwin around, looking at natural selection from the point of view of the gene. The survival of the fittest is just the consequence of which genes find the best method of maintaining their existence.

Along with some very interesting descriptions of biological oddities, such as symbiotic species, Dawkins looks at his selfish gene theory from multiple angles, some of which are surprising. I particularly found the bonus chapter about the Prisoner's Dilemma enthralling, in that a relatively simple set of rules can determine selfish versus altruistic behavior.

This is a great book, especially after reading Darwin. It really allows you to "explore the space."