Transcendence

<p><b>* A <i>TIMES</i> BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR *<br></b><b><br>From the prize-winning author of <i>Adventures in the Anthropocene</i>, the astonishing story of how culture enabled us to become the most successful spe</b><b>cies on Earth</b><br><br><b>'A wondrous, visionary work' Tim Flannery</b>, author of <i>The Weather Makers</i><br><br><b>Humans are a planet-altering force.</b> 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. <b>It is our collective culture, rather than our individual intelligence, that makes humans unique. </b>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, <i>Transcendence</i> compels us to reimagine ourselves, showing us to be on the brink of something grander - and potentially more destructive.<br><br>'Richly informed by the latest research, <b>Gaia Vince's colourful survey fizzes like a zip-wire </b>as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hypercooperation' <b>Richard Wrangham</b>, author of <i>The Goodness Paradox</i><br><br><b>'Wonderful ... enlightening' Robin Ince</b>, <i>The Infinite Monkey Cage</i></p> <p><b>* A <i>TIMES</i> BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR *<br></b><b><br>From the prize-winning author of <i>Adventures in the Anthropocene</i>, the astonishing story of how culture enabled us to become the most successful spe</b><b>cies on Earth</b><br><br><b>'A wondrous, visionary work' Tim Flannery</b>, author of <i>The Weather Makers</i><br><br><b>Humans are a planet-altering force.</b> 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. <b>It is our collective culture, rather than our individual intelligence, that makes humans unique. </b>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, <i>Transcendence</i> compels us to reimagine ourselves, showing us to be on the brink of something grander - and potentially more destructive.<br><br>'Richly informed by the latest research, <b>Gaia Vince's colourful survey fizzes like a zip-wire </b>as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hypercooperation' <b>Richard Wrangham</b>, author of <i>The Goodness Paradox</i><br><br><b>'Wonderful ... enlightening' Robin Ince</b>, <i>The Infinite Monkey Cage</i></p>