Jared Diamond is Professor of Physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Trained in physiology, he later took up the study of ecology and has made fundamental contributions to both disciplines. He is among the worlds leading zoologists and experts on birds. He has made many trips to the mountains of New Guinea to study their unique birds, rediscovered their long-lost bowerbird, and advises New Guinea governments on conservation. As well as writing technical articles in his many fields of interest, Jared Diamond writes regularly for popular science journals. He is married, and has twin sons.
Winner of the 1992 Science Book Prize, this book jumps off from the well-established fact that we share most of our DNA with the two species of chimp. American zoologist Diamond looks at how our evolutionary heritage has affected the way we behave, from sex to society, from the origins of language to the destruction of the environment. Will the 2 per cent difference between our genes and those of the chimps be enough to save us from destorying the world? (Kirkus UK)