Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2019
304 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
From noted evolutionary biologist and the author of Evolution for Everyone comes a paradigm-changing new look at how we can apply evolutionary theory to our social and cultural institutions.
Charles Darwin's vision of evolution was so broad that he wrote "There is grandeur in this view of life" in the concluding paragraph of On the Origin of Species. By the 1970s, the Darwinian revolution was sufficiently complete that the geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky wrote "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." Yet, according to David Sloan Wilson, the Darwinian revolution won't be truly complete until it makes sense of everything associated with the words "human", "culture," and "policy."
In a series of engaging stories - from the breeding of hens, to the timing of cataract surgeries, to the organization of an automobile plant - Wilson shows how an evolutionary worldview provides a practical toolkit for understanding not only genetic evolution, but also the fast-paced changes impacting our world and ourselves. What emerges is an incredibly empowering argument: If we can become wise managers of evolutionary processes, we can solve the problems of our age at all scales - from the efficacy of our groups, to our well-being as individuals, to our stewardship of the planet earth.
"Starred Review. One of the major advances in modern biology receives a splendid overview." - Kirkus
Readers from all backgrounds will find the concepts underlying this philosophy clearly explained and may even discover that an evolutionary worldview has relevance to their own lives. Recommended for those who enjoyed the author's Evolution for Everyone." - Library Journal
"Readers who take Wilson's bold and clever concept to heart may well be able to apply it to their own families, schools, cities, and communities." - Publishers Weekly
"In This View of Life, [David Sloan Wilson] explores the various surprising things that 'evolution' is and isn't, and its relevance to everything from everyday life to global policy decisions. It's thick with ideas and insights, written in a graceful, accessible style." - Robert Sapolsky, New York Times bestselling author of Behave and Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University
"There are so many new ideas and perspectives in this delightful and thought-provoking book that it would be your loss if you did not engage with it. Not everybody will agree with the main thesis in this book, but I expect that everybody's way of thinking will be challenged and ultimately enriched by it." - Daron Acemoglu, New York Times Bestselling co-author of Why Nations Fail and the Killian Professor of Economics at MIT
"David Sloan Wilson is a clear-headed, sound-thinking, realistic idealist, and a great writer to boot. In this brilliant work he shows us how an evolutionary worldview can not only help us understand who we are - as a species, as individuals, and as a society - but can also help us develop better policies for our long-term good as social beings." - Peter Gray, Research Professor at Boston College and author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life.
This information about This View of Life was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David Sloan Wilson is an evolutionary biologist with a special interest in human biocultural evolution, and Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University. He is the author of Evolution for Everyone and The Neighborhood Project, as well as several academic books including Does Altruism Exist? and Darwin's Cathedral. He is the president of The Evolution Institute and is the editor in chief of the institute's online magazine This View of Life.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
