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The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment
In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic disease? Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why we’re changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants’ future. The Dominant Animal arms readers with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge, and technological wizardry we know today. But the Ehrlichs also explore the flip side of this triumphant story of innovation and conquest. As we clear forests to raise crops and build cities, lace the continents with highways, and create chemicals never before seen in nature, we may be undermining our own supremacy. The threats of environmental damage are clear from the daily headlines, but the outcome is far from destined. Humanity can again adapt—if we learn from our evolutionary past. Those lessons are crystallized in The Dominant Animal. Tackling the fundamental challenge of the human predicament, Paul and Anne Ehrlich offer a vivid and unique exploration of our origins, our evolution, and our future.
439 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 25, 2011
Very broad and diverse topics covered, from the evolution of life and the human family tree, to the subsequent rapid development of society leading to the all too familiar resultant mess we made of the world especially since the 2nd half of 20th C. While useful as a basic introduction to environmental science, I am surprised it barely addressed what I believe is THE crux of all our ecological woes - namely the overarching goal and culture of growing material consumption, and how to address it.
March 23, 2015
Paul and Anne Ehrlich are respected thinkers in the modern environmental movement. Paul achieved infamy in 1968, following the publication of his book, The Population Bomb. It made dire predictions, warning of mass starvation in the 1970s and 1980s, and won him the intense and enduring hatred of every fiend suffering from a loony obsession with perpetual growth.
The predictions probably would have come true, but Ehrlich’s timing could not possibly have been more unlucky. He was blindsided by the unfortunately lucky efforts of Norman Borlaug, who tried to eliminate world hunger. His Green Revolution dramatically increased grain yields, leading to a dramatic surge in population, making the original problem far worse — progress! Catastrophe was postponed for a few decades.
In 2008, on the fortieth anniversary of The Population Bomb, Paul and Anne published The Dominant Animal. They admitted that the original book had a serious defect — it was too optimistic. The new book presents an extremely intimate “birds and bees” discussion of the facts of life regarding the immense challenges of the twenty-first century, including overpopulation, overconsumption, peak energy, global heating, toxic pollution, mass extinctions, and on and on. It neatly describes the hominid journey, millions of years long, which led to what we have become today.
This book is special because of its expanded discussion of cultural evolution. Genetic evolution is a slow motion process that modifies genes over the passage of many generations. Cultural evolution modifies and accumulates information, and it can happen with dizzying speed. Other animals learn behaviors by imitating their elders. Humans learn behaviors and ideas, via imitation and complex communication. Alas, cultural evolution enabled us to become the dominant animal on Earth, a backhanded honor, sodden with appalling consequences.
It’s not a book to read for pleasure, but it should be read by everyone on the planet, two or three times. It fills many of the huge empty gaps in our education, and in the media coverage of our era. You don’t have to be a propeller-head to understand it. Hopefully, it will make enormous throbbing consumer fantasies go flaccid, and reorient minds to life in actual reality.
On the bright side, we’re not 100% committed to mass suicide. There are people all over who think that self-destruction is totally unhip. Most of them are far more interested in moving toward a survivable future. The Internet enables ordinary people to make their ideas available to billions of others, and everyone now has access to a much broader range of ideas. Sometimes the efforts of individuals succeed in sending cultural evolution off in a new direction — all that’s needed is a healthy imagination and good timing.
Ecological history has thoroughly compiled our major mistakes. In theory, we could study this history, change our habits, and break out of the centuries-long cycle of repeated mistakes. That might be fun. When luck is in the air, large societies can make huge changes with dazzling speed — like the collapse of the Soviet Union. We don’t need more technology; we need social change that’s inspired by clear thinking.
The authors recommend a number of rational things we could do, but make no effort to mesmerize us with magical thinking. The Ehrlichs are not betting heavily on a future of endless “sustainable” growth. They are sharing two lifetimes of learning with the younger generations, and that’s very thoughtful of them.
Daniel Quinn’s work taught me that a segment of humankind went sideways with the transition to agriculture. Everyone agrees that our problems grew explosively from that time. In their 1987 book, Earth, the Ehrlichs wrote, “In retrospect, the agricultural revolution may prove to be the greatest mistake that ever occurred in the biosphere — a mistake not just for Homo sapiens, but for the integrity of all ecosystems.”
Other writers, like Shepard, Livingston, and Crosby, understood that the roots of our problems were older. They point to the Great Leap Forward, about 40,000 years ago, the cave painting craze. The Ehrlichs agree that the Great Leap “greatly accelerated our rise to dominance,” but they also look even farther back. Our ancestors began making chipped-stone tools about 2.5 million years ago. “It was the start on the road to dominance that has produced technological ‘descendants’ as varied as books, blenders, SUVs, antibiotics, and nuclear weapons.”
Other animals sometimes use tools, like chimps fishing for termites with a stick. Hominids became increasingly innovative at making tools. Without stone tools, life would have been a struggle for Homo habilis. Modern consumers cannot survive without tools, but chimps without termite sticks would be just fine.
Further population growth, at any rate, is insane. In Earth, the Ehrlichs discussed China’s one child policy, an impressive success that prevented 350 million births, and the corresponding environmental harm and social misery. The Ehrlichs recommended that all governments implement fertility control programs — especially in over-developed consumer societies like ours — because it was the moral and responsible thing to do. This notion was not repeated in the new book. The authors deeply lament the fact that overpopulation remains a taboo subject among world leaders — inexcusable stupidity.
Just as destructive as overpopulation is overconsumption. Billions of people, both rich and poor, have been programmed to believe that nothing is better than shopping. I never watch horror movies. Whenever I have an urge to get really grossed out, I go to a mall and observe the super-trendy shopping zombies. Eeeeek! The Ehrlichs recommended creating an organization similar to Planned Parenthood to help us plan our acts of consumption with utmost wisdom and responsibility. Abstinence is usually the most mature option.
George Basalla now steps into the spotlight. He pointed out that technological innovation was almost never motivated by fundamental human needs. Everyone agrees that we were healthier and happier before agriculture. Cars were not invented because people had lost the ability to walk. What “need” is being met by cell phones, TVs, and computers? Phooey on frivolous stuff. Wouldn’t it be nicer to have a future?
This book devotes loads of attention to the many serious problems that have resulted from our experiment in cultural evolution. One sentence hit me like a large stone hammer. The authors are celebrating our glorious achievements. Human brains have evolved capabilities “far beyond those of other animals, allowing us to become the dominant animal and (we hope) to remain so.”
We hope so? Dominant is cool? Isn’t “dominant animal” essentially the one and only reason why we’re racing toward catastrophe? Play with the notion of the “formerly dominant animal.” What might that look like? Could we live without tools once again, running around naked in the jungle? Could we shut down the asylum and go back home, to the family of life, and live happily ever after? That would be fun. Have a nice day!
The predictions probably would have come true, but Ehrlich’s timing could not possibly have been more unlucky. He was blindsided by the unfortunately lucky efforts of Norman Borlaug, who tried to eliminate world hunger. His Green Revolution dramatically increased grain yields, leading to a dramatic surge in population, making the original problem far worse — progress! Catastrophe was postponed for a few decades.
In 2008, on the fortieth anniversary of The Population Bomb, Paul and Anne published The Dominant Animal. They admitted that the original book had a serious defect — it was too optimistic. The new book presents an extremely intimate “birds and bees” discussion of the facts of life regarding the immense challenges of the twenty-first century, including overpopulation, overconsumption, peak energy, global heating, toxic pollution, mass extinctions, and on and on. It neatly describes the hominid journey, millions of years long, which led to what we have become today.
This book is special because of its expanded discussion of cultural evolution. Genetic evolution is a slow motion process that modifies genes over the passage of many generations. Cultural evolution modifies and accumulates information, and it can happen with dizzying speed. Other animals learn behaviors by imitating their elders. Humans learn behaviors and ideas, via imitation and complex communication. Alas, cultural evolution enabled us to become the dominant animal on Earth, a backhanded honor, sodden with appalling consequences.
It’s not a book to read for pleasure, but it should be read by everyone on the planet, two or three times. It fills many of the huge empty gaps in our education, and in the media coverage of our era. You don’t have to be a propeller-head to understand it. Hopefully, it will make enormous throbbing consumer fantasies go flaccid, and reorient minds to life in actual reality.
On the bright side, we’re not 100% committed to mass suicide. There are people all over who think that self-destruction is totally unhip. Most of them are far more interested in moving toward a survivable future. The Internet enables ordinary people to make their ideas available to billions of others, and everyone now has access to a much broader range of ideas. Sometimes the efforts of individuals succeed in sending cultural evolution off in a new direction — all that’s needed is a healthy imagination and good timing.
Ecological history has thoroughly compiled our major mistakes. In theory, we could study this history, change our habits, and break out of the centuries-long cycle of repeated mistakes. That might be fun. When luck is in the air, large societies can make huge changes with dazzling speed — like the collapse of the Soviet Union. We don’t need more technology; we need social change that’s inspired by clear thinking.
The authors recommend a number of rational things we could do, but make no effort to mesmerize us with magical thinking. The Ehrlichs are not betting heavily on a future of endless “sustainable” growth. They are sharing two lifetimes of learning with the younger generations, and that’s very thoughtful of them.
Daniel Quinn’s work taught me that a segment of humankind went sideways with the transition to agriculture. Everyone agrees that our problems grew explosively from that time. In their 1987 book, Earth, the Ehrlichs wrote, “In retrospect, the agricultural revolution may prove to be the greatest mistake that ever occurred in the biosphere — a mistake not just for Homo sapiens, but for the integrity of all ecosystems.”
Other writers, like Shepard, Livingston, and Crosby, understood that the roots of our problems were older. They point to the Great Leap Forward, about 40,000 years ago, the cave painting craze. The Ehrlichs agree that the Great Leap “greatly accelerated our rise to dominance,” but they also look even farther back. Our ancestors began making chipped-stone tools about 2.5 million years ago. “It was the start on the road to dominance that has produced technological ‘descendants’ as varied as books, blenders, SUVs, antibiotics, and nuclear weapons.”
Other animals sometimes use tools, like chimps fishing for termites with a stick. Hominids became increasingly innovative at making tools. Without stone tools, life would have been a struggle for Homo habilis. Modern consumers cannot survive without tools, but chimps without termite sticks would be just fine.
Further population growth, at any rate, is insane. In Earth, the Ehrlichs discussed China’s one child policy, an impressive success that prevented 350 million births, and the corresponding environmental harm and social misery. The Ehrlichs recommended that all governments implement fertility control programs — especially in over-developed consumer societies like ours — because it was the moral and responsible thing to do. This notion was not repeated in the new book. The authors deeply lament the fact that overpopulation remains a taboo subject among world leaders — inexcusable stupidity.
Just as destructive as overpopulation is overconsumption. Billions of people, both rich and poor, have been programmed to believe that nothing is better than shopping. I never watch horror movies. Whenever I have an urge to get really grossed out, I go to a mall and observe the super-trendy shopping zombies. Eeeeek! The Ehrlichs recommended creating an organization similar to Planned Parenthood to help us plan our acts of consumption with utmost wisdom and responsibility. Abstinence is usually the most mature option.
George Basalla now steps into the spotlight. He pointed out that technological innovation was almost never motivated by fundamental human needs. Everyone agrees that we were healthier and happier before agriculture. Cars were not invented because people had lost the ability to walk. What “need” is being met by cell phones, TVs, and computers? Phooey on frivolous stuff. Wouldn’t it be nicer to have a future?
This book devotes loads of attention to the many serious problems that have resulted from our experiment in cultural evolution. One sentence hit me like a large stone hammer. The authors are celebrating our glorious achievements. Human brains have evolved capabilities “far beyond those of other animals, allowing us to become the dominant animal and (we hope) to remain so.”
We hope so? Dominant is cool? Isn’t “dominant animal” essentially the one and only reason why we’re racing toward catastrophe? Play with the notion of the “formerly dominant animal.” What might that look like? Could we live without tools once again, running around naked in the jungle? Could we shut down the asylum and go back home, to the family of life, and live happily ever after? That would be fun. Have a nice day!
Want to Read
August 7, 2008WASHINGTON POST — Book review
What the World Is Coming To
By Michael Ruse, co-editor of the forthcoming "Evolution: The First Four Billion Years"
Thursday, August 7, 2008; C02
THE DOMINANT ANIMAL
Human Evolution and the Environment
By Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
Island Press/Shearwater. 428 pp. $35
Canadians joke that, given their vile winters, they are the only people in the world who welcome global warming. But some things are too serious for humor. The world is in a crisis because of rising temperatures. Climate patterns have been disrupted, with devastating effects on lands near and far. Regions that once produced food in abundance are now arid deserts. Australians, for instance, are starting to realize that their steady succession of droughts may not be a statistical blip but something more serious and permanent. The polar regions north and south are melting and breaking up, leading not just to short-term effects for animals but also to fears of rising ocean levels and the consequent flooding of today's dry land. Miami could find itself the Venice of the future, a city surrounded by waters.
No one has more authority to write on these matters than the husband-and-wife team of Stanford biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich. For decades now they have been documenting and warning of humans' effects on the environment. Their new book, "The Dominant Animal," continues their chronicle of the damage we have done to our home. And although they write in prose of a high quality that is rare among academics, let alone scientists, gloomy reading is what they offer. But they want to do more than simply wail, Cassandra-like. They also want to dig into how and why we got into the predicament in which we find ourselves.
For the Ehrlichs, human evolution is the cause of our technological triumphs and tragedies. They emphasize that it is a mistake to think, however, that the causes of such evolution can be reduced simplistically to single factors. We must take into account both genetics and culture. The underlying foundation of human thought and behavior may be innate and rooted in our DNA, but the peculiar thing about Homo sapiens is how we lay culture and learning on top of all our biology. A prime example is controlling population growth. As the Ehrlichs point out, from an evolutionary perspective, nothing is more important than having babies. Until fairly recently, human numbers were kept in check by the natural misfortunes that befall almost all animals and plants, such as diseases, predators and food failures. But, thanks to culture, especially in the 20th century, human population exploded: A billion people were added in the two decades from 1950 to 1970. This was a direct function of technological advances, especially pesticides (leading to larger harvests) and antibiotics (leading to fewer deaths from disease).
These huge increases put pressures on people to produce even greater amounts of food, more housing and everything else needed for living. The most rational thing would be for us to notice that life has changed and to restrict our family sizes. But it isn't that simple. The Ehrlichs stress that human evolution at the cultural level is "sticky." We don't just change behaviors, throwing over beliefs, because circumstances are different. Patterns of behavior and thought get engrained and are hard to modify, and there are good biological reasons for this. If something works well over the course of time, then it makes sense that it should be protected against change: Stay with the tried and trusted because on average this will pay off the biggest dividends.
This stickiness has clearly contributed to our ecological crisis. Cultural patterns in such areas as agriculture have led to the great success of humankind, but these same patterns are leading us to strip rain forests and pump out greenhouse gases, leading to today's mess. Getting an understanding of how the interactions of biology and culture affect human behavior is itself reason to read this book.
I wish, however, that the Ehrlichs had made more of their profound insights. The last part of "The Dominant Animal" addresses how we might improve our position, for instance, by eschewing fossil fuels and relying much more on renewable sources of energy. But there is not enough about how we are to overcome our sticky cultural assumptions and do what is in our long-term interest. Houston, for example, recycles less than 3 percent of its waste, whereas San Francisco recycles nearly 70 percent. This is not because the people of Houston are less evolved than the people of San Francisco, but because the infrastructure and incentives are just not there. We need to be discussing how our inclinations to choose the quick and easy fix can be replaced by other cultural imperatives. In wartime, for instance, people can be persuaded to make sacrifices for the sake of the nation. Should we be thinking about a war on environmental destruction?
This is an important book, with much information and some really stimulating ideas. We need to build on these ideas, because the world is in an environmental mess and things are not getting better.
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
What the World Is Coming To
By Michael Ruse, co-editor of the forthcoming "Evolution: The First Four Billion Years"
Thursday, August 7, 2008; C02
THE DOMINANT ANIMAL
Human Evolution and the Environment
By Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich
Island Press/Shearwater. 428 pp. $35
Canadians joke that, given their vile winters, they are the only people in the world who welcome global warming. But some things are too serious for humor. The world is in a crisis because of rising temperatures. Climate patterns have been disrupted, with devastating effects on lands near and far. Regions that once produced food in abundance are now arid deserts. Australians, for instance, are starting to realize that their steady succession of droughts may not be a statistical blip but something more serious and permanent. The polar regions north and south are melting and breaking up, leading not just to short-term effects for animals but also to fears of rising ocean levels and the consequent flooding of today's dry land. Miami could find itself the Venice of the future, a city surrounded by waters.
No one has more authority to write on these matters than the husband-and-wife team of Stanford biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich. For decades now they have been documenting and warning of humans' effects on the environment. Their new book, "The Dominant Animal," continues their chronicle of the damage we have done to our home. And although they write in prose of a high quality that is rare among academics, let alone scientists, gloomy reading is what they offer. But they want to do more than simply wail, Cassandra-like. They also want to dig into how and why we got into the predicament in which we find ourselves.
For the Ehrlichs, human evolution is the cause of our technological triumphs and tragedies. They emphasize that it is a mistake to think, however, that the causes of such evolution can be reduced simplistically to single factors. We must take into account both genetics and culture. The underlying foundation of human thought and behavior may be innate and rooted in our DNA, but the peculiar thing about Homo sapiens is how we lay culture and learning on top of all our biology. A prime example is controlling population growth. As the Ehrlichs point out, from an evolutionary perspective, nothing is more important than having babies. Until fairly recently, human numbers were kept in check by the natural misfortunes that befall almost all animals and plants, such as diseases, predators and food failures. But, thanks to culture, especially in the 20th century, human population exploded: A billion people were added in the two decades from 1950 to 1970. This was a direct function of technological advances, especially pesticides (leading to larger harvests) and antibiotics (leading to fewer deaths from disease).
These huge increases put pressures on people to produce even greater amounts of food, more housing and everything else needed for living. The most rational thing would be for us to notice that life has changed and to restrict our family sizes. But it isn't that simple. The Ehrlichs stress that human evolution at the cultural level is "sticky." We don't just change behaviors, throwing over beliefs, because circumstances are different. Patterns of behavior and thought get engrained and are hard to modify, and there are good biological reasons for this. If something works well over the course of time, then it makes sense that it should be protected against change: Stay with the tried and trusted because on average this will pay off the biggest dividends.
This stickiness has clearly contributed to our ecological crisis. Cultural patterns in such areas as agriculture have led to the great success of humankind, but these same patterns are leading us to strip rain forests and pump out greenhouse gases, leading to today's mess. Getting an understanding of how the interactions of biology and culture affect human behavior is itself reason to read this book.
I wish, however, that the Ehrlichs had made more of their profound insights. The last part of "The Dominant Animal" addresses how we might improve our position, for instance, by eschewing fossil fuels and relying much more on renewable sources of energy. But there is not enough about how we are to overcome our sticky cultural assumptions and do what is in our long-term interest. Houston, for example, recycles less than 3 percent of its waste, whereas San Francisco recycles nearly 70 percent. This is not because the people of Houston are less evolved than the people of San Francisco, but because the infrastructure and incentives are just not there. We need to be discussing how our inclinations to choose the quick and easy fix can be replaced by other cultural imperatives. In wartime, for instance, people can be persuaded to make sacrifices for the sake of the nation. Should we be thinking about a war on environmental destruction?
This is an important book, with much information and some really stimulating ideas. We need to build on these ideas, because the world is in an environmental mess and things are not getting better.
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
April 23, 2018
An incredible, and frightening, synthesis of biology, ecology, anthropology and many other disciplines in the service of explaining the dominance of humans and the havoc this dominance has wrought.
August 9, 2017
very informative book..the first 50 pages were random bits of information so I wasn't convinced that I wanted to continue but then it was great so I am glad I didn't stop reading. I recommended for people who don't have science backgrounds and want to learn more about evolution without reading a text book
November 11, 2018
This book is excellent for showing the destructive capacity of humans and its consequences to the ecosystem that we all live in. It looks ahead in the short, medium, and long-term in depth, which makes it all vividly real, complete with illustrations via computer model.
July 7, 2023
For the most part a bit boring but it is a textbook after all. It’s last quarter redeemed it. Major environmental dread.
August 1, 2016
I couldn't finish this book primarily because, much to my surprise, the authors fail to figure in animal physiology, hormones, in influencing primate/animal behavior, a sign, once again, of human arrogance, that we are somehow above our own biology. The book completely neglects any mention of physiology in favor of cultural influences and I just cannot tolerate this anymore. Humans are animals. Humans are primates. It is no accident that most terrorists are young men--physiologically developing and "riddled" with testosterone, a natural effect of being an animal but we humans are so arrogant, we ignore this and it is complete insanity that we ignore this--to our peril. Their actions are not driven by their religion, etc. They are driven by their biology first, their mental health second (which may tie into their physiology), and third, their "beliefs".
The CCC was created by Roosevelt for YOUNG MEN. Even a former president of the U.S. understood that young men need things to do--like to build trails, bridges, plant trees, etc. because developmentally they are driven more by their physiology than by anything else. Any parent of a teenager knows this, esp. with sons. If they have nothing to do, they FIND something to do, as we all know, for better or worse. I was frankly completely disappointed in this book for leaving out ANY mention of physiology influencing animal/primate (including human) behavior. I also already knew much of the science.
HOWEVER, for folks who have no science background or know little about evolution and genetics, it does make for a decent primer but any explanation of violence in the human species that leaves out human/animal physiology-hormones is inadequate and in this sense, this book is inadequate. It is too bad because the Ehrlich's are excellent biologist in their own right. How or why they left this out baffles me.
The CCC was created by Roosevelt for YOUNG MEN. Even a former president of the U.S. understood that young men need things to do--like to build trails, bridges, plant trees, etc. because developmentally they are driven more by their physiology than by anything else. Any parent of a teenager knows this, esp. with sons. If they have nothing to do, they FIND something to do, as we all know, for better or worse. I was frankly completely disappointed in this book for leaving out ANY mention of physiology influencing animal/primate (including human) behavior. I also already knew much of the science.
HOWEVER, for folks who have no science background or know little about evolution and genetics, it does make for a decent primer but any explanation of violence in the human species that leaves out human/animal physiology-hormones is inadequate and in this sense, this book is inadequate. It is too bad because the Ehrlich's are excellent biologist in their own right. How or why they left this out baffles me.
February 10, 2009
Im in the midst of reading the Ehrlich's book and finding it quite stimulating. It is intersting to compare with some of the books of Steven Pinker, especially the "Blank Slate". It appears that there is some disagreement on the subject of heredity. Pinker argues that much of our behavior is determined and pretty much convinced me of this in his book. On the other hand the Ehrlichs make a very interesting case for culture overcoming heredity. Their argument is based on the amount of information contained in DNA versus the information that makes up our culture. Aside from this I believe this is a very important contribution to the debate on climate and environment. It is also very pessimistic, at least in tone. I still have about a third of the book to go and I'm hoping for a more positive view of the mankinds future.
October 12, 2010
I think this book would make an excellent freshman colloquium book. It didn't really go into detail about any one topic, but I think the book did a great job introducing a lot of very important concepts that sometimes get glossed over or skipped. The authors also did a good job connecting everything together. It was a book I didn't struggle to finish, and it was broken up nicely. It also references a lot of other really good books that go into much greater detail about given topics, so for people who might be interested in learning more, it can be a good reference book.
March 16, 2009
An overarching look at humans and our impact on the planet. This book covered many different subjects relating to human dominance. I wished that the authors had just picked two or three themes and explored them more in depth.
June 23, 2015
Very good overview of how we became the dominant animal and what changes may still be occurring. The second part was more what we have done because we are the dominant animal and how our environment has played into that.
Thank you Island press and Net Galley for the free reading copy.
Thank you Island press and Net Galley for the free reading copy.
September 22, 2008
Great information on how genetic and cultural evolution has gotten us to where we are and some of the consequences of where we are. However it was a little 'text bookish' for me.
July 24, 2013
This reminded me of a Seth Godin book. It's too broad, lacks depth and you walk away wondering if you really learned anything. Some of the factoids are mildly interesting though.
May 19, 2014
Do you need to read this book? - Yes, you do!
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