Reading "The Selfish Gene" is a classic case of liking the message, disliking the messenger. In general, I did not find anything particularly objectionable to its content and think that Dawkins is probably correct about how evolution works. He explains it in simple, easy-to-understand language and should be read for its ideas.

But I disliked the process of reading the book. The prose rambles and often feels like it was dictated and then transcribed. And I'll admit that ultimately, I found Dawkins' arrogance to be off-putting. He is truly convinced that this story is sufficient to construct a world-view. I do not begrudge him his beliefs and I do believe there should be a strong, vocal humanist/atheist movement. But I believe that this movement is weighed down by Dawkins' success. He is just as fundamentalist and dogmatic as those he criticizes.

What does make reading "The Selfish Gene" fascinating is that we can see the seeds of Dawkins' later activism and how deeply tied into his academic work those beliefs can be. Worth reading for its ideas if you can get past its prose and style.