this view of the world as an organic entity itself is touched upon in the penultimate chapter of the book, and is similar to that of Gaia theory. Of course, when societies band together to fight a common enemy, that enemy is not always an Arctic glacier, but rather, other human societies. Wright discusses this as well, arguing that war between nations often resulted in technological and cultural evolution. For example, World War II spurred the development of the Manhattan Project and, in turn, nuclear power and related research—a technology that may ultimately benefit the world at large. Further, societies with advanced governments were more likely to succeed in war, spreading government systems as a technology in and of itself. Structure The book is composed in three sections, each one more or less independent, but contributing to the development of his overall thesis. Part I: A brief history of Humankind This section is a sound summary of human cultural development, fairly conventional, except for his references to game theory and the occasional interjection of metaphysical speculation. Part II: A brief history of Organic Life This section is again a broadly conventional overview of current understanding of the development of life on earth. He argues from game-theory that increasing complexity is inevitably going to result from the operation of evolution by natural selection. More controversially, he argues that intelligence, social co-operation and cultural development are also bound to emerge sooner or later. Part III: From Here to Eternity This brief section is the most controversial part of the book, which he admits is speculative and presents with a degree of humility. The main thrust of his argument is that we may be on the threshold of a new phase of development involving the creation of a unified global consciousness, along the lines suggested in the writings of Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Corollaries and criticism Even the development of weapons systems themselves (and Wright's discussion of their increasing complexity over time) left him open to criticism, put into words by Steven Pinker, a linguist/cognitive scientist specializing in evolutionary psychology: "Natural selection has the "goal" of enhancing replication, period. An increase in complexity and cooperation is just one of many subgoals that help organisms attain that ultimate goal. Other subgoals include increases in size, speed, motor coordination, weaponry, energy efficiency, perceptual acuity, parental care, and so on. All have increased over evolutionary