" Ambitious and original. It belongs on the reading list of anybody who hopes to use Richard Dawkins's insight into memes. That it is entertaining is a bonus" (Daniel Dennett, New Scientist, Letters)now in paperback. Why do some ideas spread, while others die off? Does human culture have its very own "survival of the fittest"? And if so, does that explain why our species is so different from the rest of life on Earth? Now in paperback, an intriguing "chicken or egg" look at cultural evolution, in which science writer and documentarian Jonnie Hughes adopts the role of a cultural Darwin, investigating the natural history of ideasthe laws of variation, inheritance, and selection operating within the cultural landscape. The choice of sandwiches in a mall, the shape of cowboy hats, the evolution of barn roofs, the wording of jokes, and, of course, the differences among the tepees of different tribes, all provide insights into the ways ideas seem to have a life of their own. Do we have ideas, or do ideas have us? With a knack for finding the humor in the quirks of the American landscape, Hughes takes us on a Bill Bryson-like tour of the American Westfrom the Mall of America in Minneapolis to what he calls the M.A.U.L of America, Custer's last stand, stopping at roadsides, discoursing on the evolution of myriad beloved cultural institutions. He's a wonderfully funny stranger in a strange land, but he always uses his observations to explain this grand ideathat we may not be as in charge of our cultural evolution as we think.

Jonnie Hughes is a science writer and filmmaker. He is a regular contributor to Geographic Magazine, BBC Wildlife Magazine, The Guardian, and The Times, and his films have won him a BBC Radio One Award for factual radio and an American Genesis Award for Best Popular Television Documentary. He lives in England.