Marin Harris tells how we evolved from apes, acquired powers of speech, and went on to fill the world with a dazzling diversity of societies and cultures. Writing with the same wit, humor and style of his earlier bestsellers, this noted anthropologist traces our roots and views our eventual destiny.

One of America's leading anthropolgists offers solutions to the perplexing question of why people behave the way they do.
Why do Hindus worship cows? Why do Jews and Moslems refuse to eat pork? Why did so many people in post-medieval Europe believe in witches?
Marvin Harris answers these and other perplexing questions about human behavior, showing that no matter how bizarre a people's behavior may seem, it always stems from identifiable and intelligble sources.

An unprecedented interdisciplinary effort suggests that there is a systematic theory behind why humans eat what they eat.