The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence

What are the origins of human intelligence? How did it evolve? What can its evolution tell us about the future of our species?With his celebrated gift for graceful, inspired explication of complex scientific matters, Carl Sagan provides a breathtaking overview of the nature and development of human intelligence from prehistory to the present. His cosmological perspective gives his speculations a refreshing breadth, while his exhilarating segues from anatomical and biological detail to unexamined elements of enduring myths entwine human and natural history in provocative and illuminating ways.Equally at ease with the scientific method and the literary imagination, Sagan is able to sketch a vision bold enough to engage in all its richness and perplexities the large question of what it means to be human, and to spice his speculations with a playfulness of idea and expression that increases the reader's appetite for intellectual adventure. The Dragons of Eden was written more than a quarter-century ago, and though some of its theorizing has been overtaken by new research and discovery, the vivid sweep of the book's passionate perception still opens unforgettable vistas of knowledge and imagination.Born in 1934, Carl Sagan was one of the most well-known and respected scientists of his time, with a considerable reputation in astronomy, biology, physics, and in the study of extraterrestrial life. In addition to his research and teaching at prestigious universities, he brought scientific learning to an unprecedentedly large audience through his television series Cosmos and several bestselling books, including The Cosmic Connection, The Dragons of Eden, Broca's Brain, Cosmos, and Comet. He died in 1996."Carl Sagan has the Midas touch. Any subject he deals with turns to gold, and so it is in The Dragons of Eden. Never have I read anything on the subject of human intelligence as fascinating and as charming."?Isaac Asimov"No one can read it without acquiring a deeper, saner understanding of the powers and limitations of that mysterious minicomputer just above and behind our eyes." ?Martin Gardner"One may find it necessary to take issue with Carl Sagan over many details, but the overall force of his argument will survive a great deal of correction of the details. It is a pleasure to have someone writing about scientific cosmology once again so elegantly, intelligently, and with such literary flair."?Stephen Toulmin, The New York Review of Books"It is a delight not only because so much information is so gracefully conveyed, and not merely because Dr. Sagan has a cheerful weakness for good anecdotes, but also because he bounces his science off the walls of myth, and myth . . . is often shrewd."?John Leonard, The New York Times