Genesis: On the Deep Origin of Societies

Review

A magisterial history of social evolution... A lucid, concise overview of human evolution that focuses on the true source of our pre-eminence: the ability to work together (Kirkus)

Engaging . . . Wilson inspires awe with narratives about evolution and animal societies. (Nature)

In his characteristically clear, succinct and elegant prose, one of our grand masters of synthesis, E. O. Wilson, here explains no less than the origin of human society. (Richard Rhodes, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of 'The Making of the Atomic Bomb')

Genesis is a beautifully clear account of a question that has lain unsolved at the core of biology ever since Darwin: how can natural selection produce individuals so altruistic that, rather than breeding themselves, they help others to do so? In elegant, simple language Edward O. Wilson distills a magisterial knowledge of animal diversity into an unambiguous argument that the solution is group selection. Rich in accounts of extraordinary societies, Genesis is the ideal introduction to a problem of enduring fascination. (Richard Wrangham, author of 'The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution')

Endlessly fascinating, Edward O. Wilson-in the tradition of Darwin-plumbs the depths of human evolution in a most readable fashion without sacrificing scholarly rigor. (Michael Ruse, author of 'A Meaning of Life')

About the Author

Edward O. Wilson is widely recognized as one of the world's pre-eminent biologists and naturalists. The author of more than thirty books, including Consilience, The Diversity of Life, The Social Conquest of Earth, The Meaning of Human Existence and Letters to a Young Scientist, Wilson is a Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.