Email Novel Suspects Logo
Hachette provides comprehensive global distribution services in the following territories:
United States flag Switch to United States region United Kingdom flag Switch to United Kingdom region Australia flag Switch to Australia region India flag Switch to India region

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers
Go to Hachette Book Group home

Hachette Book Group menu

  • Home
  • Publishers
  • Customers
  • Sustainability
  • Retailer Portal
  • Location
  • Our Culture
  • Our Careers

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

The Human Swarm

How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall

The Human Swarm Open the full-size image

Loading

Contributors

By Mark W. Moffett

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Apr 16, 2019
Page Count
480 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9781541617292

Price

$19.99

Price

$25.99 CAD

Format

  1. Hardcover
  2. Audiobook Download (Unabridged)

Format:

  1. ebook $19.99 $25.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $40.00 $51.00 CAD
  3. Audiobook Download (Unabridged)

Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Amazon
  • Apple Books
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Google Play
  • Ebooks.com
  • Kobo

The epic story and ultimate big history of how human society evolved from intimate chimp communities into the sprawling civilizations of a world-dominating species

If a chimpanzee ventures into the territory of a different group, it will almost certainly be killed. But a New Yorker can fly to Los Angeles–or Borneo–with very little fear. Psychologists have done little to explain this: for years, they have held that our biology puts a hard upper limit–about 150 people–on the size of our social groups. But human societies are in fact vastly larger. How do we manage–by and large–to get along with each other?

In this paradigm-shattering book, biologist Mark W. Moffett draws on findings in psychology, sociology and anthropology to explain the social adaptations that bind societies. He explores how the tension between identity and anonymity defines how societies develop, function, and fail. Surpassing Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, The Human Swarm reveals how mankind created sprawling civilizations of unrivaled complexity–and what it will take to sustain them.

Genre:

  • Nonfiction
  • Social Science
  • Anthropology
  • Cultural & Social

You May Also Like

You Didn’t Hear This From Me
You Didn’t Hear This From Me $19.99 $25.99 CAD
Ritual
Ritual $30.00 $38.00 CAD
A Death in the Rainforest
A Death in the Rainforest $21.99 $28.99 CAD
A Walking Life
A Walking Life $15.99 $21.99 CAD
The Interpretation of Cultures
The Interpretation of Cultures $22.99 $28.99 CAD

Mark W. Moffett

About the Author

Mark W. Moffett is a biologist and research associate at the Smithsonian, and a visiting scholar in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He has also authored four books. Called a “daring eco-adventurer” by Margaret Atwood, his writing has appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing and he has been a regular guest on The Colbert Report, Conan, NPR’s Fresh Air, and CBS Sunday Morning.

Learn more about this author

▲
HBG Distribution logo
  • FAQ
  • Vendors
  • Cookie Policy
  • Report Piracy
  • Fraud Alert
  • CPSIA
  • GPSR
© 2026 Hachette Book Group | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Do Not Sell My Personal Information