Richard Dawkins Books in Order
Richard Dawkins has written 29 books, published between 1984 and 2024. The first book is Oxford Surveys In Evolutionary Biology (1984) and the newest is The Genetic Book of the Dead (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 29
- Published
- 1984–2024
- Pages on record
- 6,407 in 20 of 29 books
- Reading time
- 107–160 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,407 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 20 of 29 titles with a page count on record.
Richard Dawkins, born 26 March 1941, is a British evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator, author and noted atheist. Dawkins is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was the first Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, serving from 1995 to 2008. Dawkins sits on the advisory board of the University of Austin, and awards include the 2005 Shakespeare Prize and the 2006 Lewis Thomas Prize. Catalogued books include River Out of Eden (1996), Unweaving the Rainbow (2000), A Devil's Chaplain (2003) and The Genetic Book of the Dead (2024). Evolution, natural selection, genetics and philosophy lead the subject tags.
How many Richard Dawkins books are there?
Richard Dawkins has 29 books, released between 1984 and 2024.
Richard Dawkins Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 29 Richard Dawkins books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Oxford Surveys In Evolutionary Biology1984 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/419842271/4
- 2God's Utility Function1995 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/41995641/4
- 319962241/4
- 4The Pocket Watchmaker1996 · 98 pages · confirmed 1/41996981/4
- 519993131/4
- 6Unweaving the Rainbow2000 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/420003361/4
- 7Oxford Illustrated Science Encyclopedia2001 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/420014481/4
- 8The Best American Science and Nature Writing 20032003 · 324 pages · confirmed 1/420033241/4
- 9A Devil's Chaplain2003 · 263 pages · confirmed 1/420032631/4
- 10Growing Up in the Universe2004 · 1 pages · confirmed 1/4200411/4
- 11The Ancestor's Tale2004 · 673 pages · confirmed 1/420046731/4
- 12The View from Mount Improbable2005 · confirmed 1/42005–1/4
- 1320063841/4
- 14The Blind Watchmaker2006 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/420063681/4
- 15Climbing Mount Improbable2006 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/420063201/4
- 16The God Delusion2006 · 406 pages · confirmed 1/420064061/4
- 17The Oxford Book of Modern Science WritingOxford Landmark Science #132008 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/420084481/4
- 18On the Origin of Species2008 · confirmed 1/42008–1/4
- 19The Greatest Show on Earth2009 · 470 pages · confirmed 1/420094701/4
- 20The Magic of Reality2011 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/420112721/4
- 21The "Alabama Insert"2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 22An Appetite for Wonder2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 23Brief Candle in the Dark2015 · 464 pages · confirmed 1/420154641/4
- 24Science in the Soul2017 · confirmed 1/42017–1/4
- 25The Four Horsemen2019 · confirmed 1/42019–1/4
- 26Outgrowing God2019 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420193041/4
- 27Books Do Furnish a Life2021 · confirmed 1/42021–1/4
- 28Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution2021 · confirmed 1/42021–1/4
- 29The Genetic Book of the Dead2024 · confirmed 1/42024–1/4
Richard Dawkins books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Oxford Landmark Science in order
3 booksScience Masters in order
1 bookStandalone books
25 books25 Richard Dawkins titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Richard Dawkins books in order?
No. No source lists any of the 29 Richard Dawkins books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.
Where to start with Richard Dawkins
Start with Oxford Surveys In Evolutionary Biology (1984), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Richard Dawkins book?
The Genetic Book of the Dead (2024) is the newest Richard Dawkins book released so far.
Is there a new Richard Dawkins book coming?
No next Richard Dawkins book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Richard Dawkins has won
Wikidata records 4 awards for Richard Dawkins. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Lewis Thomas Prize2006Won
- Shakespeare Prize2005Won
- Michael Faraday Prize1990Won
- Heinemann Award1986Won
Richard Dawkins at a glance
- Still publishing
- Richard Dawkins published a book as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- Richard Dawkins books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 6,407 pages across the 20 of 29 books with a recorded length, a median of 322 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Richard Dawkins books, 14 of 29, were published in the 2000s.
What the Richard Dawkins books are about
23 of the 29 Richard Dawkins books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science is tagged on 9 of 23. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Science 9 of 23 books
- Evolution (Biology) 8 of 23 books
- Philosophy 6 of 23 books
- Evolution 5 of 23 books
- Natural selection 5 of 23 books
- Genetics 3 of 23 books
- History 3 of 23 books
- Science, philosophy 3 of 23 books
- Adaptation (biology) 2 of 23 books
- Atheism 2 of 23 books
- Biography 2 of 23 books
- Biologists 2 of 23 books