The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins

"We are survival machines – robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes."

Richard Dawkins reframes the theory of evolution from the gene's eye view. He argues that the fundamental unit of selection is not the individual or the species, but the gene itself, which uses bodies as vehicles for its own replication. He also introduces the concept of the 'meme' as a unit of cultural transmission.

This book brought evolutionary biology to the general public with dazzling clarity. Its provocative metaphors and rigorous logic have shaped modern biological thought and sparked decades of debate about altruism, human nature, and genetics.