About this item
Throughout history we humans have prided ourselves on our capacity to have ideas but perhaps this pride is misplaced Perhaps ideas have us In this book science writer and documentary filmmaker Jonnie Hughes investigates the evolution of ideas taking a look at how they seem to have lives of their own Adopting the role of a cultural Charles Darwin Hughes travels across the Midwest with his brother to observe firsthand the natural history of ideasthe patterns of their variation inheritance and selection in the cultural landscape In place of Darwins oceanic islands Hughes visits the mind islands of Native American tribes Instead of finches Hughes searches for signs of natural selection among the tepees With a knack for finding the humor in the quirks of the American cultural landscape Hughes takes us on a tour from the Mall of America in Minneapolis to what he calls the maul of AmericaCusters last standstopping at roadsides and discoursing on sandwiches the shape of cowboy hats the evolution of barn roofs and more Original witty and engaging On the Origin of Tepees offers a fresh way of understanding both our ideas and ourselves.
About the Author
Jonnie Hughes spent his childhood methodically scouring the rock pools of the Devon coast in South West England. Captivated by the miniature wildernesses he discovered, he studied ecology and evolution at the University of Leeds, then moved to London to build a career telling others all about Life, what it is and how it works. He taught about it in college, wrote about it in newspapers and magazines, and made films about it for the BBC, Discovery, and National Geographic Channel. His journalism, radio and television work have all won awards. On the Origin of Tepees is his first book.
