Third Chimpanzee

by Diamond, Jared

• ISBN13: 9780060984038
• ISBN10: 0060984031
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-12-02
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Though we share 98 percent of our genes with the chimpanzee, our species evolved into something quite extraordinary. Jared Diamond explores the fascinating question of what in less than 2 percent of our genes has enabled us to found civilizations and religions, develop intricate languages, create art, learn science--and acquire the capacity to destroy all our achievements overnight. The Third Chimpanzee is a tour de force, an iconoclastic, entertaining, sometimes alarming look at the unique and marvelous creature that is the human animal.

Table of Contents

Prologue	1	(10)
PART ONE JUST ANOTHER SPECIES OF BIG MAMMAL	11	(48)
1. A Tale of Three Chimps	15	(17)
2. The Great Leap Forward	32	(27)
PART TWO AN ANIMAL WITH A STRANGE LIFE CYCLE	59	(78)
3. The Evolution of Human Sexuality	67	(18)
4. The Science of Adultery	85	(14)
5. How We Pick Our Mates and Sex Partners	99	(11)
6. Sexual Selection, and the Origin of Human Races	110	(12)
7. Why Do We Grow Old and Die?	122	(15)
PART THREE UNIQUELY HUMAN	137	(80)
8. Bridges to Human Language	141	(27)
9. Animal Origins of Art	168	(12)
10. Agriculture's Mixed Blessings	180	(12)
11. Why Do We Smoke, Drink, and Use Dangerous Drugs?	192	(13)
12. Alone in a Crowded Universe	205	(12)
PART FOUR WORLD CONQUERORS	217	(94)
13. The Last First Contacts	223	(12)
14. Accidental Conquerors	235	(14)
15. Horses, Hittites, and History	249	(27)
16. In Black and White	276	(35)
PART FIVE REVERSING OUR PROGRESS OVERNIGHT	311	(52)
17. The Golden Age That Never Was	317	(22)
18. Blitzkrieg and Thanksgiving in the New World	339	(10)
19. The Second Cloud	349	(14)
Epilogue: Nothing Learned, and Everything Forgotten?	363	(6)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	369	(2)
FURTHER READINGS	371	(22)
INDEX	393