Ponder "The Social Conquest of Earth"

Our non-fiction book for June is E.O. Wilson's "The Social Conquest of Earth" (2012, 352 pp.). Cutting and pasting from the samples of reviews of the book posted on Amazon.com, here's what reviewers are saying about the book: “With his probing curiosity, his dazzling research, his elegant prose and his deep commitment to bio-diversity, Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist (The Ants) and novelist (The Anthill) Edward O. Wilson has spent his life searching for the evolutionary paths by which humans developed and passed along the social behaviors that best promote the survival of our species. His eloquent, magisterial and compelling new book offers a kind of summing-up of his magnificent career.... While not everyone will agree with Wilson’s provocative and challenging conclusions, everyone who engages with his ideas will discover sparkling gems of wisdom uncovered by the man who is our Darwin and our Thoreau.” (Henry L. Carrigan, The Bookpage.com) “The Social Conquest of Earth is a huge, deep, thrilling work, presenting a radically new but cautiously hopeful view of human evolution, human nature, and human society. No one but E. O. Wilson could bring together such a brilliant synthesis of biology and the humanities, to shed light on the origins of language, religion, art, and all of human culture.” (Oliver Sacks)

This Bookish (not book) club has two kinds of meetings. We alternate between fiction and non-fiction in our book club meetings at Panera Bread. We also read books on themes (such as Japan, the economy, science fiction, India, The Founding Fathers) at our meetings at a member's house. We also have occasional outings such as movie nights, and play readings.