Self-Made Man: Human Evolution from Eden to Extinction? - Hardcover

Kingdon, Jonathan

 
9780471305385: Self-Made Man: Human Evolution from Eden to Extinction?
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0471305383 ISBN 13: 9780471305385
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 1993

Inhaltsangabe

We know prehistoric humans shaped tools and made fire. But evolutionary biologist Jonathan Kingdon thinks that our ancestors shaped us and that the human face, our racial differences, and our problematic relationship with nature are all self-made. Advance Praise for Jonathan Kingdon?s Self-Made Man "One of the most original and illuminating of books on human evolution. It gives an extraordinary feel for what it must have been like." ?Professor Alison Jolly Princeton University "A marvelously researched and documented book, beautifully expressed and put together?a major achievement." ?Elspeth Huxley "Every page provokes a new thought." ?The Economist "Self-Made Man is the work of a man of an enlarged curiosity. It is a deeply personal, challenging, and important book." ?New Scientist "Kingdon has written a stimulating and absorbing contribution to the debate about human evolution, broad in range and rich in detail." ?New Statesman & Societ

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

About the author JONATHAN KINGDON is Professor of Zoology at Oxford University and an internationally known expert on evolution. A graduate of both Oxford and London?s Royal College of Art, Mr. Kingdon is also a professional painter and sculptor. As a research scientist in primatology and evolutionary biology at Oxford and the CSIRO Tropical Forest Research Centre in Atherton, Australia, Mr. Kingdon is a regular visitor to Africa and the Middle East. The 1980 recipient of Britain?s Stamford Raffles Medal and the 1991 recipient of the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize, Jonathan Kingdon is the author of six previous books including East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Island Africa, and Arabian Mammals: A Natural History.

Aus dem Klappentext

Self-Made Man How did man evolve? Through simple adaptation to physical environments? Pure Darwinian selection? Neither, says internationally recognized evolution expert Jonathan Kingdon. When it comes to evolution, neither biology nor geography is destiny. It was technology—furs and fires, boats and fishtraps—that liberated man’s ancestors from their primate pasts. In Self-Made Man, Kingdon offers a radical new interpretation of the role that man’s lust for new tools and technologies played in driving human evolution. Modern humans are truly "self-made," argues Kingdon, because even the most strictly biological of adaptations was profoundly influenced by technological innovations, distinguishing our evolutionary path from that of all other animals. A perverse result of this technological genius has been an irreversible dependence of our species on technological innovation, which may, Kingdon argues passionately, ultimately destroy our environment and threaten our very existence. This brilliant tour through the history of evolution draws on the most up-to-date findings in genetics, paleoanthropology, archaeology, and ecology. Beginning with an exploration of new developments in the "Out of Africa" theory, Kingdon describes the evolution and dispersal of all humans out of one region of the Dark Continent. The story of their travels and travails is a magnificent adventure, brought to life by Kingdon with lavish illustrations and richly detailed descriptions. He recounts how the residents of the African "Eden" developed skills, tools, and technologies, and were able to venture out into less habitable territory. Thus, it was technology that drove their migration to the farthest reaches of the earth—and so it is technology that lies at the heart of human form and diversity. As it explores the processes that brought humanity to its present condition, Self-Made Man demolishes some widely held notions about early societies and the origins of races. From its re-examination of the role of women and children in the development of advanced societies to its assertion that skin, hair, and eye color may not be determined by physical surroundings and a subsequent redefinition of "race," Self-Made Man is full of provocative reinterpretations and revelations that are sure to surprise and challenge all readers. The book closes with a searching meditation on the reaches of modern technology and its potential for advancing—and destroying—man and the earth. With this potent combination of past and prophecy, Self-Made Man becomes not simply a history, but a new and daring exploration of the future of humanity in light of its self-made past.

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Verlag
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Erscheinungsdatum
1993
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0471305383
ISBN 13 
9780471305385
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Anzahl der Seiten
369
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9780471159605: Self-Made Man: Human Evolution from Eden to Extinction?

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  0471159603 ISBN 13:  9780471159605
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 1996
Softcover