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The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness Hardcover – June 7, 2010

by Oren Harman (Author)

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The moving tale of one man's quest to crack the mystery of altruism, an evolutionary enigma that has haunted scientists since Darwin.

Survival of the fittest or survival of the nicest?

Since the dawn of time man has contemplated the mystery of altruism, but it was Darwin who posed the question most starkly. From the selfless ant to the stinging bee to the man laying down his life for a stranger, evolution has yielded a goodness that in theory should never be.

Set against the sweeping tale of 150 years of scientific attempts to explain kindness, The Price of Altruism tells for the first time the moving story of the eccentric American genius George Price (1922–1975), as he strives to answer evolution's greatest riddle. An original and penetrating picture of twentieth century thought, it is also a deeply personal journey. From the heights of the Manhattan Project to the inspired equation that explains altruism to the depths of homelessness and despair, Price's life embodies the paradoxes of Darwin’s enigma. His tragic suicide in a squatter’s flat, among the vagabonds to whom he gave all his possessions, provides the ultimate contemplation on the possibility of genuine benevolence. 24 Illustrations

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his new book, Harman (The Man Who Invented the Chromosome) examines Price, a scientist and author whose promising life ended in self- destruction. Harman didn't set out to write a straightforward biography, but rather a history of Price's lifelong quest to understand evolution and the origins of altruism; along those lines the author includes the life and work of "Orwellian" psychologist B.F. Skinner, J.B.S. Haldane, and "the most distinguished Darwinian since Darwin," Bill Hamilton, who would become a close colleague of Price's. But it's Price's tale that grounds Harman's book. Part One focuses on the man's early life in Minneapolis, his marriage and divorce to Julia Madigan, with whom he had two daughters, and his later life in New York City, where he held countless jobs as he tried to get published. In November 1967 Price moved to London, determined to "crack the problem of altruism," and Part Two picks up there, with his conversion to Christianity, after which he gave away his possessions and dedicated himself to helping London's homeless, until he eventually joined their ranks. In 1975, just after Christmas, he took his own life. Harman has given voice to the professional contributions and personal struggles of a man whose body lies today in an unmarked grave in North London.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“[A] rich and vigorous survey of the controversy over altruism and its evolutionary role, stretching from the 19th century to now.”
- Sunday Times [UK]

“Ever since Charles Darwin had published his theory of evolution in 1859, scientists had wondered whether it can explain the existence of altruism. Price wanted to describe mathematically how a genetic disposition to altruism could evolve. As Mr. Harman so vividly describes, Price ultimately became one of the vagabonds he set out to save.”
- The Economist

“I stayed up a good part of the night reading... fascinating! ... Harman proves that the lives of some modern scientists are as ecstatic, tormented and filled with strange visions as those of medieval saints.”
- Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind

“Brilliant... A great story.”
- Brian Appleyard, Literary Review

“Remarkable... fascinating.”
- The Big Issue

“Fascinating.... Important... full of complex and deeply interesting ideas.”
- Sam Leith, The Spectator

“Uncommonly brilliant and deeply stimulating... almost cinematically satisfying. Harman has a rare gift for bringing ideas and thinkers to life.”
- Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic

“A brilliant biography of a brilliant man. A powerful page-turner that vividly renders the obsessive absorption with the poles of cooperation and competition in nature.”
- Daniel Kevles, Stanley Woodward Professor of History at Yale University

“This book is a stunning tour de force. The puzzle of altruism is revealed as it would be in a thriller, with twists and turns and surprises almost until the end.”
- Noah Feldman, Bemis Professor of Law, Harvard University

“A terrific book, at once scholarly and impossible to put down.”
- Peter Godfrey-Smith, professor of philosophy at Harvard University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (June 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393067785
ISBN-13: 978-0393067781
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 50 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #799,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #399 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Philanthropy & Charity
- #1767 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Scientists
- #4206 in Books > Science & Math > History & Philosophy

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A tremendous accomplishment and a great read, about a complex man and his flaws.

March 26, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

It would take hours to do justice reviewing this book. Although the cover indicates it is primarily about George Price and his work, it is in fact a sweeping discussion of the development of the theory of altruism and the many well known scientists involved in its development. You will find discussions about Darwin, Huxley, R.A. Fischer, JBS Haldane and many others and their contribution to the theory. As a biology and statistics major (way back in the 70's), I was blown away by the breadth of this book. If you want greater depth into the story, the copious endnotes give you a great starting point. The key role of George Price in developing a mathematical expression for explaining altruism covers approx. the last fifth of the book, although he makes appearances thru-out the book, interacting with some of the greatest minds in genetics, theoretical biology, computer science, statistics and more. A tremendous accomplishment and a great read.

edit: sorry - last fifth of book concerns the last years of Price's life, his contribution to the mathematical theory of altruism comes earlier.

9 people found this helpful

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A Personal Story for the Greater Good

March 6, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is an intriguing biography of George Price, a little-known population geneticist, interwoven with an intellectual history of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. While the story of Price's life is diverting and compelling in its own right, the real thrill of this book is that it unveils some very contemporary improvements in the science of group selection and, as the subtitle suggests, the origins of kindness. Oren Harmen does a great job picking through the advanced statistics and elements of game theory that led to Price's most substantial breakthrough, giving the reader a good commonsense understanding of how individual and group behaviors can both be perpetuated through evolutionarily stable strategies.

Yes, Price did end his life after a rather spectacular descent into homelessness and futile ministrations to a community of destitute alcoholics, but the attempts that Harmen makes to link the body of Price's professional work to his personal life are a bit of a stretch. While there is an appealing symmetry to the study of altruism and the surrendering of one's autonomy to the idea of Jesus Christ, there seems to be little indication that Price's late-life fundamentalism and erratic behavior correlated meaningfully with his relatively passionless theorizing. What make it a good story is that it comes together in meaningful ways in the imagination of the reader, rather than in the life of the subject.

10 people found this helpful

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Michael C. Newman

The price of Altruism

November 14, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Harman's The Price of Altruism is an engaging read that explores the personality and life of George Price as he works through his major contributions to the population genetics of altruistic behavior. Nuanced concepts of population genetics are introduced cleverly without unnecessary detail. The inclusion of only a few equations in the text is remarkable: this topic is difficult to explain without equations. Also the personality of Prince is slowly explored without any emotional treatment of this peculiar man who was such a poor husband and father. Instead, Price's behavior is contrasted artfully to his lifelong attempt to explain the basis of altruism.
The only negative feature of the book is the abrupt transitions in topic, especially at the beginning where Harman establishes the historical context for the story. The reader is dropped into a series of short presentations of various people who will be relevant later in the book. Also Harman's wordsmithing requires the reader to stop occasionally to mentally rewrite a difficult sentence to produce a clearer one. Regardless of these minor technical issues, the topic is an extremely interesting one that Harman presents in remarkable detail. He took the task of researching the topic and man very seriously. The result is an exceptional treatment of George Price and an extremely clear presentation of the underpinnings of altruistic behavior.

15 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

I wanted to like this book

September 28, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I read this book all the way through, hoping that I would get a feel for the main character but it didn't happen. Not sure that this was because of George Price himself or the way that he was depicted.

Comment

Fascinating book - reads like a mystery

July 14, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

If you like Simon Singh Malcolm Gladwell and Sylvia Nasar you must read this book! Harman is able to combine Singh's ability to make complicated science accessible and interesting, Gladwell's skill in telling a captivating story and Nasar's talent for bringing a person back to life - all in one book.

The Price of Altrisum is not simply a biography of a genius, but also a fascinating tale that charts the quest to answer one of the biggest hurdles evolution had to overcome - why would an animal act kindly to another unrelated animal in a world of 'survival of the fittest?'

The biggest appeal for me in the book was that Harman was able not only to tell how masterminds all over the world pondered the problem of kindness (and what they discovered!) but at the same time explains their science and showcases their personality.

I recommended the book to all my friends this year.

33 people found this helpful

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