The Unselfish Gene of the novel is a nod to Richard Dawkins' 1976 book, "The Selfish Gene". Among the concepts developed in Dawkins' book is a theory of how natural selection may favor self-sacrifice and other forms of altruism. The themes of altruism and small gene sets play an important role in plot and character development in The Unselfish Gene. The Unselfish Gene is what might be termed "semi-hard" science fiction. The technology described in the book is well within the limits of early 21st century technology. Some of it, such as "The Anita", an atomic-bomb powered heavy lifter space ship, was actually
The Edge of Evolution for much of the diversity of life. It is Behe's second intelligent design book, his first being "Darwin's Black Box". While the book has been well received by creationists and non-biologists, reviews by certain scientists, especially those working in the field of biology, have been highly critical of Behe's methods, information and conclusions in the book. Behe begins the book with an observation that the theory of evolution consists of a coherent relationship of three related ideas: common descent, natural selection, and random mutation. He continues by stating he believes they are distinct ideas, with implications for the theory as