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

4.7 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews

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Hardcover, Bargain Price, January 18, 2011
$78.62 $31.00

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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)

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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.
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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!
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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!
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