Account

Company

  Menu

Description

Humans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy virtually every habitat on earth using an incredible variety of tools and subsistence techniques. Our societies are larger, more complex, and more cooperative than any other mammal's. In this stunning exploration of human adaptation, Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd argue that only a Darwinian theory of cultural evolution can explain these unique characteristics.

Not by Genes Alone offers a radical interpretation of human evolution, arguing that our ecological dominance and our singular social systems stem from a psychology uniquely adapted to create complex culture. Richerson and Boyd illustrate here that culture is neither superorganic nor the handmaiden of the genes. Rather, it is essential to human adaptation, as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion. Drawing on work in the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology, and economics -- and building their case with such fascinating examples as kayaks, corporations, clever knots, and yams that require twelve men to carry them -- Richerson and Boyd convincingly demonstrate that culture and biology are inextricably linked, and they show us how to think about their interaction in a way that yields a richer understanding of human nature.

In abandoning the nature-versus-nurture debate as fundamentally misconceived, Not by Genes Alone is a truly original and groundbreaking theory of the role of culture in evolution and a book to be reckoned with for generations to come.

"I continue to be surprised by the number of educated people (many of them biologists) who think that offering explanations for human behavior in terms of culture somehow disproves the suggestion that human behavior can be explained in Darwinian evolutionary terms. Fortunately, we now have a book to which they may be directed for enlightenment... It is a book full of good sense and the kinds of intellectual rigor and clarity of writing that we have come to expect from the Boyd/Richerson stable." -- Robin Dunbar, Nature

"Not by Genes Alone is a valuable and very readable synthesis of a still embryonic but very important subject straddling the sciences and humanities." -- E. O. Wilson, Harvard University

Tag This Book

This Book Has Been Tagged
It hasn't. Be the first to tag this book!

Our Recommendation

Track It. This book has been $23.49 within the past year.

Notify Me When The Price...

  • $
  • If I'm already tracking this book...

to track this book on eReaderIQ.

Track These Authors

to track Peter J. Richerson on eReaderIQ.

  • to be notified each time the price drops on any book by Peter J. Richerson.
  • to stop tracking Peter J. Richerson.

to track Robert Boyd on eReaderIQ.

  • to be notified each time the price drops on any book by Robert Boyd.
  • to stop tracking Robert Boyd.

Price Summary

  • We started tracking this book on March 9, 2011.
  • This book was $13.20 when we started tracking it.
  • The price of this book has changed 85 times in the past 4,768 days.
  • The current price of this book is $24.99 last checked 21 hours ago.
  • This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
  • This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $23.49.
  • The lowest price to date was $3.33 last reached on September 2, 2015.
  • This book has been $3.33 one time since we started tracking it.
  • The highest price to date was $26.49 last reached on March 7, 2021.
  • This book has been $26.49 3 times since we started tracking it.

Genres

Additional Info

  • Text-to-Speech: Disabled
  • Lending: Disabled

We last verified the price of this book about 21 hours ago. At that time, the price was $24.99. This price is subject to change. The price displayed on the Amazon.com website at the time of purchase is the price you will pay for this book. Please confirm the price before making any purchases.