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A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century cover art

A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century

By: Heather Heying
Narrated by: Bret Weinstein, Heather Heying
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Summary

A bold, provocative exploration of the tension between our evolutionary history and our modern woes and what we can do about it.

We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet we are listless, divided and miserable. Wealth and comfort are unparalleled, but our political landscape is unmoored, and rates of suicide, loneliness and chronic illness continue to skyrocket. How do we explain the gap between these truths? And how should we respond?

For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, the cause of our woes is clear: the modern world is out of sync with our ancient brains and bodies. We evolved to live in clans, but today many people don't even know their neighbours' names. Survival in our earliest societies depended on living in harmony with nature, but today the food we eat, the work we do, even the light we absorb is radically different from what our minds and bodies evolved to expect.

In this book, Heying and Weinstein draw on decades of their work teaching in college classrooms and exploring earth's most biodiverse ecosystems to confront today's pressing social ills from widespread sleep deprivation and dangerous diets to damaging parenting styles and backward education practices. A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century outlines science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better, wiser life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Faber & Faber (P)2021 Faber & Faber

What listeners say about A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century

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You absolutely must read this book.

Without doubt one of the best books released this year. So insightful so filled with knowledge I wish more people were able to engage in critical thought the way these two. I wish these techniques were taught in our schools.

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Interesting

There were some very interesting points. For example that arrogance is linked to addiction. It would be very useful to have another book in more detail, about how we evolve out of this mess. Bret covered some points at the end - but this was an overview and not that easy to understand. I think our hyper reactivity is a problem, and vipassana shows a route out. Good first book and look forward to the next.

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interesting insights packaged in a long thesis

I walk away from this book more illuminated than I arrived. However the mode of delivery was quite dry.

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Brilliant book!

A great perspective and point of view of the modern world, explained by evolutionary processes and personal experiences, well balanced! Hope you continue researching and perhaps start building a guide to a possible alternative system, or a well updated old one.

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Incredible insight of the human condition.

Incredible insight of the human condition.

Wonderfuly read by the authors Heather and Bret.

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Should be thought in school.

A book full of good thoughts and facts about us human beings. I wished for more fun facts about the evolution in us, but overall I enjoyed the book a lot.

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One of the most important books about humans today

This should be required reading/listening in every university curriculum dedicated to understanding humans and the world we inhabit now.
A book we can trust, by real scientists using real scientific method, beautifully narrated too!
Perspective is everything! This is the book to give you a larger more holistically appropriate view of our current, perilous position and concrete steps we can take and mindsets to assume, to assure our survival as a species. Pure gold!

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Very interesting

Really enjoyed hearing the authors reading their work, the chapters were very informative and thought provoking. Will be listening to the again

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Great!

great book, very informative and interesting, explains a lot about human evolution and our ways of thinking and behaving in modern times.

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Felt quite judgmental rather

I expected to learn a lot which in a way i did but this was very prescriptive, with a lot of « this is the right way of doing things »

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