Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny [Paperback]

In his bestsellingThe 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.

InNonzero: 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,Nonzerooffers breathtaking implications for what we believe and how we adapt to technology's ongoing transformation of the world."Exciting and intellectually stimulating?well-written, witty, and quite timely as we consider the challenges of our global, interconnected future."?The Philadelphia InquirerRobert Wright is the author ofThree Scientists and Their GodsandThe Moral Animal, which was named by theNew York Times Book Reviewas one of the twelve best books of the year and has been published in nine languages. A recipient of the National Magazine Award for Essay and Criticism, Wright has published inThe Atlantic, The New Yorker, theNew York Times Magazine, Time,andSlate. He was previously a senior editor atThe New RepublicandThe Sciencesand now runs the Web site nonzero.org. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two daughters.l3v