A reviewer wrote of The Selfish Gene that it was 'rich with metaphor, passionate arguments, wry humour, colourful examples and unexpected connections'. This intriguing selection of Richard Dawkins large output of articles, lectures, individual chapters and reviews demonstrates the breadth of his interests, the sheer quality of his writing and the challenging nature of his trenchantly held views. Whether writing on the many aspects of evolution or on science in general - the importance of science, the poetry of science, the fact that science is inspiring (or ought to be) - he is often provocative, sometimes outrageous, never less than highly influential.