IF YOU had to guess who hadn’t read Darwin’s great work before he became a
biologist, it’s unlikely Richard Dawkins would spring to mind. Nicknamed
“Darwin’s Rottweiler” for his defence of evolution, and writer of the odd book
himself, he admitted that “Darwin’s ideas profoundly influenced my life, but I
didn’t read On The Origin of Species until later.”
Why was I asking? Ask a few dozen prominent scientists if a book ever changed
their lives, said my editor. Well, she is the review editor. She would have
romantic notions about books.
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web…
