Overview

In the tradition of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, a winner of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books shows how four tools enabled has us humans to control the destiny of our species ""A wondrous, visionary work."" --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of the bestselling The Weather Makers What enabled us to go from simple stone tools to smartphones? How did bands of hunter-gatherers evolve into multinational empires? Readers of Sapiens will say a cognitive revolution -- a dramatic evolutionary change that altered our brains, turning primitive humans into modern ones -- caused a cultural explosion. In Transcendence, Gaia Vince argues instead that modern humans are the product of a nuanced coevolution of our genes, environment, and culture that goes back into deep time. She explains how, through four key elements -- fire, language, beauty, and time -- our species diverged from the evolutionary path of all other animals, unleashing a compounding process that launched us into the Space Age and beyond. Provocative and poetic, Transcendence shows how a primate took dominion over nature and turned itself into something marvelous.

Full Product Details

9780465094905

Table of Contents

Reviews

History doesn't get much bigger than this epic sweep through human progress. ...Vince takes dizzying leaps, making connections between archaeology, anthropology, genetics, and psychology. --Tom Whipple, The Times of London A hugely enjoyable sprint through human evolutionary history... and a good story --Tim Radford, Nature Transcendence is a beautifully imaginative overview of the biological and cultural evolution of humans. Richly informed by the latest research, Vince's colorful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hyper-cooperation. --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 Science writer Vince looks at human evolution in terms of four elements -- dubbed Fire, Word, Beauty, and Time -- in this stimulating account... Even those broadly familiar with humanity's story will find new information and insights in Vince's fascinating study. --Publishers Weekly Captivating... A provocative, highly readable take on our astonishing emergence from the primordial soup. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A wondrous, visionary work. --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of The Weather Makers 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 and author of Here Comes the Sun

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 and author of Here Comes the Sun A wondrous, visionary work. --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of The Weather Makers 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

Science writer Vince looks at human evolution in terms of four elements-dubbed Fire, Word, Beauty, and Time-in this stimulating account... Even those broadly familiar with humanity's story will find new information and insights in Vince's fascinating study. --Publishers Weekly 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 and author of Here Comes the Sun A wondrous, visionary work. --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of The Weather Makers 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

Transcendence is a beautifully imaginative overview of the biological and cultural evolution of humans. Richly informed by the latest research, Vince's colorful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hyper-cooperation. --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 Science writer Vince looks at human evolution in terms of four elements -- dubbed Fire, Word, Beauty, and Time -- in this stimulating account... Even those broadly familiar with humanity's story will find new information and insights in Vince's fascinating study. --Publishers Weekly Captivating... A provocative, highly readable take on our astonishing emergence from the primordial soup. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 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 and author of Here Comes the Sun A wondrous, visionary work. --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of The Weather Makers

[A] hugely enjoyable sprint through human evolutionary history... Read it... --Nature Science writer Vince looks at human evolution in terms of four elements -- dubbed Fire, Word, Beauty, and Time -- in this stimulating account... Even those broadly familiar with humanity's story will find new information and insights in Vince's fascinating study. --Publishers Weekly Captivating... A provocative, highly readable take on our astonishing emergence from the primordial soup. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Transcendence is a beautifully imaginative overview of the biological and cultural evolution of humans. Richly informed by the latest research, Vince's colorful survey fizzes like a zip-wire as it tours our species' story from the Big Bang to the coming age of hyper-cooperation. --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 A wondrous, visionary work. --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of The Weather Makers 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 and author of Here Comes the Sun

Author Information

Gaia Vince is a science writer and broadcaster. In 2015, she was the first woman to win the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book prize solo for her debut, Adventures in the Anthropocene. She has held senior editorial posts at Nature and New Scientist, and writes for Science, the Guardian, and others. She lives in London.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available