Genesis: On The Deep Origin Of Societies by Edward O Wilson

The Blurb On The Back:

Of all species that have ever existed on earth, only one has reached human levels of intelligence and social organisation: us. Why? In Genesis, celebrated biologist Edward O. Wilson traces the great transitions of evolution, from the origin of life to the invention of sexual reproduction to the development of language itself.

The only way for us to fully understand human behaviour, Wilson argues, is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species. Of these, he demonstrates that at least seventeen - from the African naked mole rate and the sponge-dwelling shrimp to one of the oldest species on earth, the termite - have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism, cooperation and the division of labour.

Whether writing about midges who dance about like acrobats, schools of anchovies who protectively huddle to appear like a gigantic fish or well-organised flocks becoming potentially immortal, Genesis is a pathbreaking work of evolutionary theory filled with lyrical observations. It will make us rethink how we became who we are.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Edward O. Wilson is Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and one of the world’s pre-eminent biologists and naturalists. This slender book about sociobiology and how human society evolved from and have structures in common with eusocial groups such as termites and wasps did not convince because the comparisons seemed vague. However there were some interesting facts in here about the natural world that kept my attention.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.