The third chimpanzee

Packed with innovative ideas, The Third Chimpanzee presents a realistic view of the possibility of destroying the resources that support life on Earth.

Humans share over 98% of their genes with chimpanzees. Yet, we are the dominant species on the planet—we have founded civilizations and religions, developed complex and diverse forms of communication, built cities, developed sciences, and produced art. Meanwhile, chimpanzees remain instinctively focused only on the basic needs of survival. What is it about this nearly 2% difference in our DNA that creates such a vast divergence between these two "cousins"?

In this book, renowned Pulitzer Prize winner Jared Diamond explores how the extraordinary human animal, in a short space of time, developed capabilities that allowed him to dominate and, consequently, destroy the world.

This book traces our rise from animal status and the acceleration of the means that could bring about our destruction. Jared Diamond doesn't believe this is a remote risk, nor does he write as if we were doomed. The author, therefore, points to promising signs and ways to learn from the past to change our behavior.

By fostering change through the history of our species, Diamond explains that our problems have deep roots that reach back to our ancestry. They have long been growing with our numerical growth and power, and now they are beginning to accelerate dramatically.