Transcendence: How Humans Evolved through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time
Gaia Vince
* A TIMES BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR *
From the prize-winning author of Adventures in the Anthropocene, the astonishing story of how culture enabled us to become the most successful species on Earth
'A wondrous, visionary work' Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers
Humans are a planet-altering force. Gaia Vince argues that our unique ability - compared with other species - to determine the course of our own destiny rests on a special relationship between our genes, environment and culture going back into deep time. It is our collective culture, rather than our individual intelligence, that makes humans unique. Vince shows how four evolutionary drivers - Fire, Language, Beauty and Time - are further transforming our species into a transcendent superorganism: a hyper-cooperative mass of humanity that she calls Homo omnis. Drawing on leading-edge advances in population genetics, archaeology, palaeontology and neuroscience, Transcendence compels us to reimagine ourselves, showing us to be on the brink of something grander - and potentially more destructive.
'Richly informed by the latest research, Gaia Vince's colourful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hypercooperation' Richard Wrangham, author of The Goodness Paradox
'Wonderful ... enlightening' Robin Ince, The Infinite Monkey Cage
Product Details
About Gaia Vince
Reviews for Transcendence: How Humans Evolved through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time
Tim Radford
Nature
Beautifully written . . . At her best Vince takes dizzying leaps, making connections between archaeology, anthropology, genetics and psychology. She is especially good on the delicate interplay between genes, environment and culture. Vince steps with lightness.
Tom Whipple
The Times
The storming success of Yuval Noah Harari's books has inspired many others that aim to span the epic sweep of human history with grand theories and cor-blimey factoids. This book does both.
The Times
Best Science and Medicine Books of the Year
Here is the miraculous creature we are: unlikely, poignant, astonishing ... Much to think about. This book gives rise to many such thoughts and is written with merciful clarity.
Sebastian Barry Wonderful ... enlightening.
Robin Ince Richly informed by the latest research, Gaia Vince's colourful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hypercooperation.
Richard Wrangham, Professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University and author of The Goodness Paradox An imaginative and inspiring adventure into the origins and evolution of what we hold most dear: our human culture.
Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development UCL This book goes from the Big Bang to the Hundred Thousand Genome Project to make a convincing case that Homo sapiens has become a super-organism. I learned a lot from it and so will you.
Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics UCL, author of Almost Like a Whale