Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny

In his bestselling The Moral Animal, Robert Wright applied the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of the human mind. Now Wright attempts something even more ambitious: explaining the direction of evolution and human history-and discerning where history will lead us next. In Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Wright asserts that, ever since the primordial ooze, life has followed a basic pattern. Organisms and human societies alike have grown more complex by mastering the challenges of internal cooperation. Wright's narrative ranges from fossilized bacteria to vampire bats, from stone-age villages to the World Trade Organization, uncovering such surprises as the benefits of barbarian hordes and the useful stability of feudalism. Here is history endowed with moral significance-a way of looking at our biological and cultural evolution that suggests, refreshingly, that human morality has improved over time, and that our instinct to discover meaning may itself serve a higher purpose. Insightful, witty, profound, Nonzero offers breathtaking implications for what we believe and how we adapt to technology's ongoing transformation of the world. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review :
Advance Praise for Nonzero "I recommend Nonzero to any and all readers as a marvelous summary and interpretation of what is now known and surmised about biological and human history on our planet. For an author so well informed scientifically, perhaps the book's most unusual feature is the fact that Wright does not flinch from closing with a chatty, informal yet incisive argument about cosmic meaning and purpose behind the story he unfolds. . . . I greatly admire the book. [Wright] knows so much and has thought so clearly; and allows his imagination to range so freely!" -- William H. McNeill, professor emeritus of history, University of Chicago, and author of The Rise of the West "This is the book to read to start off the millennium. Leaping from mountaintop to mountaintop, this integrative and inspiring volume is brimming with hope for a positive human future. Religions are made of such stuff." -- Martin Seligman, professor of psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Learned Optimism "Wright's chapters on the evolution of biological complexity and intelligence -- in addition to being beautifully written and scientifically sound -- are a welcome corrective to current trendy views that understate natural selection's creative power. There is, indeed, as Darwin said, a grandeur in this view of life." -- James Gould, professor of biology, Princeton University, and author of Biological Science Praise for The Moral Animal "A fiercely intelligent, beautifully written, and engrossingly original book. Wright writes with a consistent, irreverent wit that does not hide a heartfelt seriousness of purpose." -- "New York Times Book Review" "Thisclever and stimulating book is destined to become a classic. . . . Like Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene, it could well change the way people think and feel about their lives -- perhaps even how they behave. . . . An intellectual entertainment argued with wit and style." -- "The Economist" "From the Hardcover edition."