Newton's unweaving of the rainbow did not diminish its beauty but rather became the key to much of modern astronomy and the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder. He shows that an understanding of the science of phenomena can create a sense of wonder equal to mythic or poetic metaphor. Written a few years before The God Delusion, this book also serves as a useful bridge for anyone familiar with Dawkins's atheist output but unfamiliar with his more scientific titles.