Our core book is  “The Genetic Book of the Dead”, by Richard Dawkins. Dawkins proposes that genes, bodies, and the behaviors of living organisms serve as archives of their ancestral environments. Dawkins explains that by examining an organism’s genetic make up and physical characteristics, that scientists can reconstruct the historical habitat and evolutionary pressures that shaped it. Throughout the book Dawkins provides vivid examples of this thesis. He describes how certain lizards display camouflaged skin patterns that mirror the desert landscapes of ancestral deserts. He discusses the adaptive behavior of cuckoo’s, whose egg laying strategies have evolved to deceive host species, and he also describes the counter measures of those host species.

Throughout the book, Dawkins defends his gene-centric view of evolution, which emphasizes the gene’s paramount role in natural selection.

The book contains 198 color illustrations and 22 black-and-white illustrations. Visual elements play an important role in conveying the book's concepts.

‍