The Secret of Our Success is easily the most original and best book I’ve ever read about how culture makes humans what we are, through the process of coevolution of genes and culture. It’s full of dozens and dozens of concrete examples that explain a wide variety of human traits. If I was able to bring only a shortstack of books to my stranding on a desert island, it would certainly be one of them.

The author defines culture as “the large body of practices, techniques, heuristics, tools,...