The Price of Altruism; George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness by Oren Harman (Norton, 2010; 451 pages)
Nonfiction; biography
The author interweaves the story of George Price, "A strange American who had come to London, written an equation that drove him first to Christianity, then to selfless aid to the homeless, and finally to suicide", with the greater issue of the evolution of altruism.
George Price -- 1922 - 1975
Born to be Good; the Science of a Meaningful Life by Dacher Keltener (Norton, 2009; 336 pages)
Nonfiction; self-help
The author, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, seeks to answer three questions: How can we be happy? ; What are the deep origins of our capacity for kindness? ; How can we be good? He is influenced by his upbringing which emphasized Romanticism and Eastern thought such as Lao Tzu and Zen. He looks to Darwin as well as new advances in DNA, archeology, and evolution. He also looks to the Confucian concept of jen. a complex mixture of kindness, humanity, and respect "that brings the good things of others to completion and does not bring the bad things of others to completion."
Super Cooperators; Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed by Martin A. Nowak with Roger Highfield (Free Press, 2011; 330 pages)
Nonfiction; applied mathematics)
The author posits that co-operation, not competition, has been the key to the evolution of complexity. This concept can help explain cancer, and the behavior of ants. It is a third evolutionary force, in addition to mutation and selection. The author uses mathematical models to explain his thesis.
On, perhaps a lighter note, you could watch the French film, Amelie
"A painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris cafe, Amelie makes a surprising discovery and sees her life drastically changed for the better! From then on, Amelie dedicates herself to helping others find happiness ... in the most delightfully unexpected ways! But will she have the courage to do for herself what she has done for others?"
