Force of Nature

Reviews

"If you think a book on natural selection is of interest only to academic biologists or wildlife conservationists, you’re mistaken! Force of Nature is an engaging and well-told exploration of the power of natural selection across a wide range of fields. Owen Jones has a gift for discerning broad connections and powerful forces that are often overlooked in the silos of academia, business, and government, and his raw enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge make for a terrific read and refreshing, challenging insights. While this book will certainly arm you with important insights and compelling topics for discussion and debate, most importantly it will allow you to understand and apply the power of one of our world’s most widely influential, yet least well understood, forces." — Christopher Coons, U.S. Senator

"Natural selection has been called the best idea anyone has ever had. Owen Jones, a professor of both law and biology, makes the case for how its powers extend far beyond bird beaks and beetles to our brains and behaviors, with myriad implications for medicine, psychology, technology, and the law. Even Darwin would be surprised." — Sean B. Carroll, author of Series of Fortunate Events and The Serengeti Rules

"We want policies that govern real people—who are, ultimately, biological organisms subject to natural selection. In this wonderful book, Owen Jones explores the myriad ways that an appreciation of evolutionary principles matters to real people, in the real world." — Gideon Yaffe, Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, Yale University

"Force of Nature explores natural selection and the importance of understanding this powerful phenomenon in making sense of the world… The insights from this book will make a far-reaching impact on the world and bring benefits to humankind." — Joe Tsai, co-founder and chairman, Alibaba Group

"Force of Nature’s premises—that evolution is for real, that natural selection is its main engine, and that these are relevant to contemporary humans and our behavior—somehow still border on the bold. This wonderfully accessible book explores how the sculpting power of natural selection explains everything from an amoeba’s ‘decision-making’ process to, with enormous implications, our human intuitions about morality and justice. A rewarding read." — Robert Sapolsky, New York Times best-selling author of Determined and Behave

"In this consistently engaging and thought-provoking book, Owen D. Jones highlights the countless ways that natural selection shapes our world, showing how a deep understanding of natural selection is crucial for making optimal choices in domains ranging from health to food production to engineering, and presenting compelling evidence of the risks and unintended costs of lacking such an understanding. A masterfully crafted and well-argued book that will impact not only how you think about the world but also how you think about yourself." — Anthony Wagner, professor of psychology, Stanford University