The Price Of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness Hardcover – 6 May 2010

One of the most amazing books I've ever read. Beautifully written, poignant, fiercely intelligent, almost poetic.This book has touched many people, and I can understand why. It will touch you too. A wonderful tale of science,psychology, genius, and passion. A tale for our times.

Almost completely unknown outside of academia and then perhaps only within evolutionary biology, George Price was a quite simply a genius. This book demonstrates his genius but goes much further and demonstrates his failings as a husband, father and son. Not that Price was necessarily a bad man, just a hugely complicated human being. He possessed a Savant-like ability to research and develop very clear insights. He was also not constrained by feeling of indaquacey in any one discipline. If there was something he didn't know he would (and could) find out what he needed. The problem was that he would invariably lose interest or become sidetracked by something else. So although he trained as a Chemist he was able to invent computer aided design and manufacture and then fail to have the idea patented. He developed a theory for the role of glial cells in human vision while thinking about computer vision, but it stumped the Chief Physiologists of the day because it was too mathematical I suspect (this was before interdisciplinary working was an established practice). After being wounded in a botched operation Price wound up moving to London and making huge contributions to evolutionary biology and game theory, but this time he was recognised by pioneers in the field such as Maynard and it was these guys who supported him and it was University College London (UCL) that gave hime space and reources to continue with his work despite his (by now) wild appearance, sudden funmdamentalist religious conversion and his alcoholic tramp mates. Who would come looking for him in the University with resulting mayhem.The story doesn't end well and Price was buried in an unmarked grave in London but his contributions are still being used and developed to this day.That's the story, the book covers all of the above and a hell of a lot of other stuff, taking in Darwin's travels, the Russian Revolution, American Cold War Politics, Post Darwin confusion and above all the search for the evolutionary basis of altruism. It is a complicated and at times, frustrating read. but hang in there and you are ultimately rewarded with a quite literally fantastic tale. It would be hard to make up this kind of stuff and be believed.This is Price warts and all. He tried to sort it all out and ultimately maybe he tried to take it a step too far and paid the price (hence the cunning title).Good on you George. RIP.

This books maps the journey of Biological Altruism from Darwin the author skillfully blends Science, History, Philosophy into the biography of a fascinating and extraordinary man.The book is not necessarily the easiest literature that you will read, the subject matter is complex, and because the first section of the book is an introduction to the Evolutionary Goliaths that went before Price, it is sometimes difficult to get your bearings in this complex debate.Having said that although this first part is difficult the way that the book is written encourages you to read on, I will certainly have to read it again.There are other reviews that deal with the book in more detailI would however like to highlight a very important thing that makes this book worth reading...It has stimulated an interest in a subject which before reading this book I had little knowledge or interest... that surely is the sign of a book that is worth reading!

George Price was an extraordinary human being who exemplified that too much goodness can lead to disaster. He should be better known. I came across him listening to the podcast on Radio Lab,,altruism. The podcast is highly recommended

I Havent finished readings this book yet. I would reccomend it, v reasonably priced, hours of intresting reading. Would be a great eye opener to many people.Its to easy to forget how materialistic we as a nation have become.

This book attempts to address two seperate themes. Firstly, the nature of altruism, whether it's culturally determined and transmitted by learning, or whether it's programmed into us genetically due to its increasing the genetic fitness of the species. Secondly, the strange life of George Price, the American genius who defined the development and transmission of altruism in mathematical terms, and who following his conversion to Christianity, took his own altruism to extremes before finally committing suicide. The book fails to explain either of these themes coherently.Firstly, the very important theme of altruism. This is discussed in historical fashion, focusing on the biographies of the scientists involved, such as Darwin, TH Huxley, Kropotkin, etc. Far too much irrelevant information is given, such as precise details of how Kropotkin escaped from prison. Almost every character's physical appearance is described, usually in the stereotypic style typical of old-fashioned tabloid journalism. It's very difficult to keep track of the science because it is mixed up with this biographical material. The author flits back and forth between different people and their ancestors. There are no genetic diagrams, just a few tables summarising things like the "prisoners' dilemma" problem. This theme would be much clearer if it were divided into sub-themes, with informative chapter headings so you know where you are. There's hardly any discussion of pre-scientific ideas about altruism, e.g. religious teachings, nor about the political implications (despite the introduction of Kropotkin who was very much a political thinker). The mathematical equations discussed are not elucidated for non-specialist readers, e.g. by explaining algebraic symbols such as ">". Many examples from animal behaviour are flung into the mix, but there is for example no mention of the controversy about human descent, ie which are our closest relatives- vicious chimps or kindly bonobos? And are chimps naturally so vicious, or is this due to human interference? Harman seems unaware of this question.Secondly, the biography of George Price. Again, we get a huge amount of irrelevant details, but the big questions you'd expect to be addressed are mostly ignored. Such as: Why was he so lacking in social skills, unlike his brother? What did his wife see in him, and why did he embark on such an unsuitable marriage? Why did he take so many drugs and what was the effect? (The powerful psychoactive drugs which he abused are merely listed without further comment). What was the effect of his thyroid disorder? (again, the psychiatric symptoms aren't even mentioned). Why did he move to England? Was he psychotic at the time of his first "conversion"? (The immense significance he ascribed to very trivial coincidences is very typical of psychotic states). Why did he take his Christianity to such extremes as regards altruism, yet breach normal Christian behaviour in other ways e.g. by neglecting his family, having extramarital sex, and smoking cannabis? and finally, why did he kill himself just when he had a chance of returning to a more normal and productive life?Overall, in terms of style and grammar, the whole book is one of the most badly-written that I've ever seen. Awkward syntax, mixed metaphors, breathless tabloid style, incongruous and inconsistent terminology e.g. "County Kent","Berkshires", "at Berkshire", etc. No English county is referred to as "county---------" except for County Durham. It's Berkshire, not Berkshires. And you stay AT a house, but IN a county. I know the author is Israeli, so English presumably not his first language, but surely books like this have editors??? This might sound nit-picking, but for large sections of the book there's stuff like this, and much worse, on every page. for example: RA Fisher was the first scientist to address the mathematics of evolution- interesting guy, but do we really need to know the details of his premature birth? On page 59 we get a whole half-page of this, including details that Harman can't possibly know, such as "a silence fell over the room" and "(Fisher's mother) was deeply religious, which made comprehension of what had happened more difficult". Harman assures us that at birth, Fisher was "as tiny as a pink grain of rice." This is way beyond the point where exaggeration becomes absurd- in any language.The origin of altruism is a very good subject for an introductory book. George Price was an interesting man, who could do with a biography. But these books should be seperate, and they should both be written by a different author.