An intriguing work of history, philosophy, and popular science that explores the human desire to quest. Scientists continually look for the genetic factors that make humans so very different in appearance and behaviour from most animals -- the genes that are uniquely human.
"An excellent new book .... as wide-ranging as the human species itself, skipping from DNA to Minoan civilization to GM crops in search of evidence." Newsweek
"One of the most thought-provoking books to come my way for some time." Sunday Telegraph
This epic work spans science, philosophy, religion and the arts to examine the past and the future of the human race.
From Homer to Star Wars humans have been driven by quest. Since we first walked humankind has sought beyond basic needs and personal comfort for knowledge, for wealth and for adventure. We climb mountains because they are there, study and experiment for the sake of knowledge and have voyaged to the moon and beyond. In this epic work Charles Pasternak argues that it is precisely this propensity for quest that has made humans unique and led to our domination over other species.
Quest traces life on earth from primitive cells through ancient civilizations and the great artists, scientists and explorers of the past, to the forefront of genetic experimentation today. The author argues that it is not any single genetic difference that has differentiated us from other animals but a combination of very subtle changes that have enabled man to exercise a greater ability to quest. He believes that a weakening in the exercise of the instinct to quest among the western nations will lead to a decline in their influence, relative to those of eastern populations such as China and India, south east Asia and Japan.
