A professor emeritus at Stanford University, Luca Cavalli-Sforza is internationally recognised for his research into population genetics. He is notably the author of Gènes, peuples et langues; Evolution biologique, évolution culturelle; La Science du bonheur and Génétique des populations.

Humankind is a “tyrannical” species, capable of adapting over the millennia to become the dominant species and rule unrivalled over the planet, the other species, nature and humans themselves.
The secret of human domination lies in evolution and in the functioning of the human species. Natural evolution resulted in the differentiation between the species that evolved into today’s chimpanzees and the precursors of Homo sapiens, an intelligent species capable of continuing its own evolutionary development.
Population genetics and cultural transformation, particularly the division into language families (linguistic classifications broadly reflect genetic classifications, according to the author), confirm this genetic reading of the journey of the human species.

• The author examines some of the main themes of biology, in the context of evolution and human functioning.
• This is a scientific work, a history of science (especially of biology) as well as a history of the human species.