The Evolution of Culture in Animals

"John Tyler Bonner is a biologist who not only knows a great deal about plants and animals but has thought long and carefully about problems of evolution. . . . The pleasure of the book is in the wealth of examples of communication and teaching, many effectively illustrated with drawings or photographs."--J. Z. Young, The London Review of Books "The great virtue of the book is the re-creation of culture and culture-mimicking behaviors throughout the animal kingdom, an essential step in understanding the probable origins and unique qualities of human sociality. Professor Bonner's style is, as always, witty, and wholly lucid."--E. O. Wilson, Harvard University "[Bonner] structures his fascinating book as a survey of culture in the animal kingdom, marching up the venerable chain of being toward bigger brains, increasing behavioral complexity, and freedom from rigid genetic programs."--Stephen Jay Gould, The New York Review of Books