The Evolution of Power

A New Understanding of the History of Life

Geerat Vermeij

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Hardback

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English

Princeton University Press
01 February 2024

Ecological science, the Biosphere; Evolution; Developmental biology

Power has many dimensions, from individual attributes such as strength and speed to the collective advantages of groups. The Evolution of Power takes readers on a breathtaking journey across history and the natural world, revealing how the concept of power unifies a vast range of phenomena in the evolution of life — and how natural selection has placed humanity and the planet itself on a trajectory of ever-increasing power.

Drawing on evidence from fossils, living organisms, and contemporary society, Geerat Vermeij documents increases in power at all scales, from body size, locomotor performance, and the use of force in competition to efficiency in production and consumption within ecosystems. He shows how power — which he defines as the rate at which organisms acquire and apply energy — is tied to the emergence of cooperation, and how the modern economy, which for the first time has established a monopoly over the biosphere by a single species, is a continuation of evolutionary trends stretching back to the dawn of life. Vermeij persuasively argues that we can find solutions to the many problems arising from this extreme concentration of power by broadening our exclusively human-centred perspective.

A masterful work by one of today’s most innovative and forward-thinking naturalists, The Evolution of Power offers a new understanding of our place in the grand sweep of evolutionary history.

By: Geerat Vermeij
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691250410
ISBN 10: 0691250413
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 01 February 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Geerat J. Vermeij is Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Davis, and the author of several books, including A Natural History of Shells (Princeton) and The Evolutionary World: How Adaptation Explains Everything from Seashells to Civilization. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

Reviews for The Evolution of Power: A New Understanding of the History of Life

"""[A] thought-provoking study. . . . [Vermeij's] framework offers intriguing new insights, as when he contends that ecosystems operate like self-regulating economies in their exchanges of power and energy as part of a competition for resources. This provides plenty to ponder."" * Publishers Weekly * ""Vermeij has provided a literate, straightforward account of a challenging, thought-provoking topic, that is accessible to everyone, yet replete with logic, conviction and unassailable science. It may be a tad hyperbolic to describe a work such as this as 'entertaining,' but, in fact, I found it so. Brilliant and entertaining at the same time - and very readable.""---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds ""Absorbing.""---Kenneth Silber, Splice Today"