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WINNER OF THE 2017 LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 'Awe-inspiring You will learn more about human nature than in any other book I can think of' Henry Marsh 'One of the best scientist-writers of our time' Oliver Sacks

Why do human beings behave as they do?

We are capable of savage acts of violence but also spectacular feats of kindness: is one side of our nature destined to win out over the other?

Every act of human behaviour has multiple layers of causation, spiralling back seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, even centuries, right back to the dawn of time and the origins of our species.

In the epic sweep of history, how does our biology affect the arc of war and peace, justice and persecution? How have our brains evolved alongside our cultures?

This is the exhilarating story of human morality and the science underpinning the biggest question of all: what makes us human?

Robert M. Sapolsky holds degrees from Harvard and Rockefeller Universities and is currently a Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University and a Research Associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. He is the author ofThe Trouble with Testosterone, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers(both finalists for the LA Times Book Award), andA Primate's Memoir. Sapolsky has contributed toNatural History, Discover, Men's Health, andScientific American, and is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant.