Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World

An “exhilarating” (Irish Times) and “ambitious” (The Guardian) account of the ancient inheritance that made us who we are—and is now driving us to ruin.

Why do similar beliefs in ghosts appear across cultures? How might our tendency to imitate one another contribute to the climate catastrophe? And could our deep evolutionary past explain the appeal of strongmen?


In 1987 Harvey Whitehouse went to live with an indigenous community deep in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. His experiences there c...