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pcastleton's review against another edition
5.0
Should be required reading for anyone interested in where we are heading as a species.
koreilly's review against another edition
3.0
Feels more like an excerpt from a larger work than a complete and succinct book, Genesis covers the scientific research behind what might have caused us to evolve into social and cooperative creatures. Following microbial germs that cooperate to termites to homo erectus to us, this bite sized book reads more like a term paper than a book with a clear purpose but it's still easy to read and informative so it's hard to knock it too much.
7ft_rat's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
abalvarez's review against another edition
5.0
Books by certain scientists always make me very happy. Sometimes it is just the wonder with which they approach a subject or maybe it is a favorite subject of mine and anything about it makes me happy. [a:Edward O. Wilson|31624|Edward O. Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1227367019p2/31624.jpg]'s [b:Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies|40180056|Genesis The Deep Origin of Societies|Edward O. Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529050079l/40180056._SX50_.jpg|62339659] is one of those books. He has a way of describing important topics in a way that leaves you feeling that you have both learned something important and understand it in a way you never did before. Genesis, a short book by any measure, discusses creation, cooperation, altruism, and many other intertwined subjects as Wilson teaches us what has been discovered in genetics and behavior in non-human species that so directly reflect who we are and what we can expect to learn from them.
An awesome book. Much better written than this review. Buy it. Read it. Discuss it. Loan it. Gift it. Whatever. Learn it and learn from it. An enjoyable read.
An awesome book. Much better written than this review. Buy it. Read it. Discuss it. Loan it. Gift it. Whatever. Learn it and learn from it. An enjoyable read.
thedarkground's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting recounting the evolution of societies following the one of organisms. But I wish it could have been a bit more expanded upon.
jabain's review against another edition
3.0
An entertaining and interesting read, as is typical of E.O. Wilson, but this one felt too short and rushed given the subject matter. The thrust is that group selection is the primary driving force that leads to eusociality and altruism. He then describes the parallels in the evolution of eusociality in both invertebrates and humans which felt a little clunky but I am generally persuaded enough by modern group selection theory to buy it. This book needed a conclusion chapter as well. The book just sorta ends without any real synthesis of his thesis which left me wondering what the point of this book was. Perhaps he rushed to get it out because of his old age.
ameliaholcomb's review against another edition
3.0
This book is about the evolution eusocial animals--the first of which were termites (ants came a lot later). I appreciated the concise history and genuinely found everything understandable and interesting. Only the last 25 pages actually focused on humanity though.