The Evolution of Culture in Animals [Paperback]

John Tyler Bonner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1983 | Series: Princeton Science Library

"John Tyler Bonner is a biologist who not only knows a great deal about plants and animals but has thought long and carefully about problems of evolution. . . . The pleasure of the book is in the wealth of examples of communication and teaching, many effectively illustrated with drawings or photographs."--J. Z. Young, The London Review of Books "The great virtue of the book is the re-creation of culture and culture-mimicking behaviors throughout the animal kingdom, an essential step in understanding the probable origins and unique qualities of human sociality. Professor Bonner's style is, as always, witty, and wholly lucid."--E. O. Wilson, Harvard University "[Bonner] structures his fascinating book as a survey of culture in the animal kingdom, marching up the venerable chain of being toward bigger brains, increasing behavioral complexity, and freedom from rigid genetic programs."--Stephen Jay Gould, The New York Review of Books

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

We humans like to think we are unique in possessing culture, tools, and learning. Think again, oh sapiens, and stare at yourself in the mirror at the base of the tree of life: Professor Bonner has written a lucid and fascinating survey of culture and cultural-like patterns in the animals, and has also provided a simple overview of the neurophysiological bases of these phenomena. This 1980 book is a classic in the field--which is why it is in print again. There are more recent books on the topic, but we can still recommend this book heartily.

Review

John Tyler Bonner is a biologist who not only knows a great deal about plants and animals but has thought long and carefully about problems of evolution. . . . The pleasure of the book is in the wealth of examples of communication and teaching, many effectively illustrated with drawings or photographs. -- J. Z. Young, The London Review of Books



[Bonner] structures his fascinating book as a survey of culture in the animal kingdom, marching up the venerable chain of being toward bigger brains, increasing behavioral complexity, and freedom from rigid genetic programs. -- Stephen Jay Gould, The New York Review of Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691023735
• ISBN-13: 978-0691023731
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,830,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars timeless and unequalled, April 4, 2006

By 

L. MCCALL (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Evolution of Culture in Animals (Paperback)

Where recent quantitative work on cultural evolution has gone astray, this book remedies. Like Darcy Thompson's On Growth and Form, Bonner's work is devoted to the largest possible synthetic view of a phenomenon along its evolutionary path. Somehow the author (necessarily) pays tribute to sociobiology while usually sidestepping its pitfalls of genetic determinism. A primary example of both of these qualities is the fact that Bonner traces the evolution of culture back to the direction of spin in bacterial flagella. Unlike other biologists that branched out to more popular, humanist subjects (Wilson, Dawkins), Bonner actually succeeds at providing new scientific understanding.

I seek out odd sized hardcover editions, and the first edition of this book is a beautiful example. It has a long, horizontal shape and intricate drawings (mainly of birds) throughout and on the coversleeve reflecting the mature and artful 1970s vision of an ecological purism still in reach.