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The author of Die Menslike Dieretuin, as heard on RSG, publishes his latest book!

François Durand will once again be speaking on RSG early in 2026 about this compelling topic, and you can share firsthand in all the knowledge by reading it in the book, fresh off the press.

This book differs from other books dealing with the origins of humankind and civilization. In those works one reads of the rise of humanity and how, despite seemingly insurmountable challenges, humans not only survived but advanced to ever greater heights, as if it were our destiny. Our triumph over nature through technological progress, which led to the development of civilization, is generally regarded by other authors as something admirable.

In this book, three streams of human development – biological, ecological, and technological – are woven together. The path of human evolution is followed from our beginnings on the African savannah to the eve of the Sixth Extinction, while the ecological consequences of each technological breakthrough – starting with the discovery of stone tools and leading up to agriculture – are highlighted.

This book concerns the fi rst and last chapters of the story of humanity, and how the pinnacle of our existence – civilization – characterized by mathematics, art, culture, philosophy, science, economics, writing, architecture, and engineering, came at the expense of everything else. Our triumph over nature was ultimately, and inevitably, also our downfall.