How did we develop from simple animals inhabiting small pockets of forest in Africa to the dominant species on Earth? Traveling back almost eight million years to our earliest primate relatives, Evolution: The Human Story charts the development of our species from tree-dwelling primates to modern humans.

"From the frontlines as a firsthand witness to war-torn countries around the world, Potts has worked with ministries and governments and in the trenches with women who have been raped and brutalized as an instrument of war. Combining his personal experience with the latest scientific findings, Potts explains that men have evolved under conditions that favored gang behavior, violence and team aggression, and observations of chimpanzee behavior confirm...

"Harvard University's Joseph Henrich, Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, delivers a bold, epic investigation into the development of the Western mind, global psychological diversity, and its impact on the world"--

"70,000 years ago, the human race almost went extinct. We survived, but no one knows how. Until now. The countdown to the next stage of human evolution is about to begin, and humanity may not survive this time"--Page [4] of cover.

Outlines a reassessment of human evolution that draws on recent fossil findings and challenges current theories to say that humans coexisted and competed across the African continent while exchanging genes, tools, and behaviors.

Discusses the evolution of prehistoric ape-like creatures into human beings, theorizing that the key to this transformation was the ability to share and cooperate in a social context.

"When homo sapiens made their entrance 100,000 years ago they were confronted by a wide range of other early humans--homo erectus, who walked better and used fire; homo habilis who used tools; and of course the Neanderthals, who were brawny and strong. But shortly after their arrival, something happened that vaulted the species forward and made them the indisputable masters of the planet. This book is devoted to revealing just what that difference...

"A biologist shows the influence of wild species on our well-being and the world and how nature still clings to us--and always will"--Jacket.

The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city-- intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began. But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords...

"In just the last few years an explosion of discoveries - driven by information from the human genome - has empowered researchers to address many long-standing questions about the deep human past. Nicholas Wade has drawn on the new findings to present the first portrait of a special and hitherto mysterious group of human ancestors - the ancestral human population that lived in Africa 50,000 years ago and from whom everyone in the world today is descended."...