Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See this image

Naturally Selected: The Evolutionary Science of Leadership Hardcover – Bargain Price, January 18, 2011

by
Mark Van Vugt (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Mark Van Vugt Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Mark Van Vugt (Author), Anjana Ahuja (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews
See all 10 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$9.99
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$89.00 $23.82
Hardcover, Bargain Price, January 18, 2011
—
$78.62 $31.00
Paperback
"Please retry"
—
$112.16 $4.99
This is a bargain book and quantities are limited. Bargain books are new but could include a small mark from the publisher and an Amazon.com price sticker identifying them as such. Details
Best Books of the Month
Best Books of 2016
Looking for something great to read? Browse our editors' picks for the best books of the year in fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, children's books, and much more.
click to open popover

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Editorial Reviews

Review

Read more

From the Back Cover

Read more
See all Editorial Reviews
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
New York Times best sellers
Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1 edition (January 18, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061963836
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061963834
  • ASIN: B006CDDSIU
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,413,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA different approach
By C. P. Anderson on September 26, 2011
Format: Hardcover
This book appears to be listed under "management." It is, however, unlike any other management book I've even seen. To me, the average leadership book is mostly about cheerleading, fads, and selling the author's services. Very rarely do I run into any actual science.

And that's what puts this book apart from all the rest. It's based on the discipline of Evolutionary Psychology (EP). EP posits that some of the ways we behave and think and feel were selected through evolution. For example, humans evolved in an environment of limited nutritional choices. That's why we crave sweets, fats, and salt. While that was effective hundred of thousands of years ago, when these things were scarce in the natural environment, it's very unhealthy and counter-productive today, when these things are cheap and available everywhere.

These kind of mismatches are a central theme to Naturally Selected. As another example, when we were still on the African savanna, leaders naturally came from among tall, strong males who could hold their own against wild animals, rivals within their own tribe, and rivals from other tribes. Unfortunately, we still tend to think that way. That's why, for example, the taller candidate tends to win the election, get the job, get the girl, etc.

There are plenty of positives in this book, but I think it's rather unique in the way it treats leadership in a much more circumspect, wholly objective way. Another good example of this is the "babble effect." That states that the people who talk the most are typically recognized as leaders among groups of strangers (juries, lab experiments, travellers, etc.). I could go on and on.Read more ›
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsJust as I always imagined!
By rlewisd on March 22, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
"Naturally Selected" is the best book I've read on leadership. And, having a master's degree in leadership communication, I've read many books on the topic. I've always suspected that some of us are more genetically inclined to lead and some to follow - but that when push comes to shove most humans have some capacity to step up and lead. This was a fun, interesting and enlightening book to read. As a leadership communication trainer and writer, this book gave me a renewed and realistic frame of reference regarding evolution, history and where we go next in terms of leadership development. Thank you Mark van Vugt, PhD. and Anjana Ahuja for such an excellent read!
Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsA remarkable book that all social scientists should read!
By DR. PAULO FINURAS on October 26, 2014
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Prof. Mark Van Vugt produced a memorable book which in my opinion is one of the best works of evolutionary psychology published in the last 25 years. Mark Van Vugt is undoubtedly one of the greatest social scientists today and this work, extremely well written, comes finally respond in deep and comprehensive form to one of the great dilemmas and phenomena of our species: why do some lead and others follow? The result is a brilliant book and very important that responds and explains in foundational way why evolution also incorporated the strategy of leadership among humans. This book is a must read and will go down in history of evolutionary theory as one of the main contributions and reinforcements of the theory of evolution.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsWhat a book...
By Jurij Fedorov on February 1, 2014
Format: Hardcover
I would recommend this book for people who lead or follow in their life. If you have read psychology at a university level, you will find that this book presents a lot of studies that you have already heard about. But even though I already knew about most of the studies in this book it was very interesting and entertaining. If you are not an expert in evolutionary psychology, then this book is a must read. And if you are, read it anyway.

I dare you to put it down once you started reading it.

Cons:
No lists, no photos, no drawings, no hardcore science and statistics. (but you can find sources in the back of the book)
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsScientific study of how evolution affects modern-day leadership
By Rolf Dobelli HALL OF FAME on March 10, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Thousands of books discuss how to become a great leader. This unusual book discusses the "why" of leadership. Why do leaders exist, why do they lead and why do others follow them? Psychology professor Mark van Vugt and London Times writer Anjana Ahuja take you back two million years, when humanity's ancestors first walked upright in perilous African savannahs, clustering in groups for protection and following leaders who could help them stay alive. Leadership proves so ancient that it predates language. The instincts for leadership and followership, both adaptive behaviors, are indelibly hard-wired into human brains thanks to the evolutionary process. This distinctive book scientifically examines leadership's ancient roots in fascinating fashion. getAbstract believes it will engage all kinds of leaders, although Machiavellian types may be distinctly uncomfortable to see their sinister traits analyzed with such devastating precision.
Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsFinally, a "general theory of leadership"!
By Lisa J. Marshall on February 25, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
There are 100 of thousands of books written on leadership, many with radically different understandings of how the phenomenon works. Here, finally, is an explanation of why that is so. Rooted in evolutionary biology, it looks asks why our species needs leadership, and how it has worked and evolved from an evolutionary perspective. Reminding us that modern times -- agriculture, industry, etc. -- are an evolutionary eyeblink, it lays our a comprehensive picture of our evolution as followers and then leaders, and helped me understand why so many modern adaptations of leadership seem insufficient. Well worth reading!
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsUseful primer on a nascent area

Well written, clear and not too jargon laced.
Looking forward to more work and research in this slowly developing area.

Published 19 months ago by James Hart
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent fresh approach to our thinking about leadership. Well documented and researched.

Published 20 months ago by Greg Moorhead
5.0 out of 5 starsThey lay out a basic premise that our psychology is based off ancient...

I have been working on my master's in organizational management when a professor told me about this book. I enjoyed it greatly and it meant allot to me. Read more

Published on August 29, 2014 by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book with very challenging ideas

Well sustained thesis about how genetics influence oír decissions, without Boeing noticed by ocurre conciousness. Read more

Published on June 18, 2014 by Carlos Francia
5.0 out of 5 starsEvolutionary Leadership Theory

I use this for my graduate level class on Ethical leadership. It clearly lays out how evolution has shaped our preferences for followership and leadership.

Published on June 7, 2014 by Prof. JB in DE
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Book

Great book which opened me a world of Evolutionary Leadership and helped to understand why Agile and Scrum are really Natural frameworks in management. Thank you!

Published on March 15, 2014 by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is fundamentally change your view on leadership

The other reviewers are quite extensive but mine is simple. I recommend you read it. For some unknown reason you can buy it really cheaply second users. Read more

Published on August 20, 2012 by Conwyn
5.0 out of 5 starsAn Outstanding, State of the Art Theory of Leadership and...

A decade ago James McGregor Burns, one of the pioneers of leadership studies, assembled a group of scholars to formulate an ``integrative theory of leadership. Read more

Published on March 6, 2012 by Ronald F. White

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.