The Runaway Brain, The History of Human Uniqueness
Title: The Runaway Brain – The Evolution of Human Uniqueness
Condition: GOOD
Author/s: Christopher Wills
Edition/Year: 1994
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 358
Format: Paperback
About the Book:
‘Chris Wills has had an important insight: the human brain is like a peacock’s tail. The tail and the brain are both signals of success and both evolved by building on past triumphs. Sex is not just in the mind – they both emerged in the same way. Once big brains and sexy tails got started, they were impossible to stop. I felt the same as soon as I began The Runaway Brain. ‘
- Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics, UCL, author of The Language of the Genes.
‘The runaway brain is so vast in its scope, and so ingenious in its construction, that it made a runaway assault on my brain. Wills has applied his deep genetic insights into the supreme problem and crowning achievement of evolution, the human brain. The result is a marvelous synthesis. The broad sweep of his vision is leavened with the story, the very human tale, of some of the key figures whose works furnished critical pieces to the jigsaw puzzle of life. The fruit of genius beneath the graceful and crisp writing marks this work as a milestone among the books of the nineties and a foretaste of those of the twentieth century.’
- Phillip Tobias, Director, Paleo-anthropology Unit, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
