# Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time - Hardcover

by **Gaia Vince** (Author)

**In the tradition of _Guns, Germs, and Steel_ and _Sapiens,_ a winner of the** **Royal Society Prize for Science Books shows h****ow four tools enabled has us humans to control the destiny of our species**  
**A wondrous, visionary work. --Tim Flannery,** **scientist and author of the bestselling _The Weather Makers_**  
What enabled us to go from simple stone tools to smartphones? How did bands of hunter-gatherers evolve into multinational empires? Readers of _Sapiens_ will say a cognitive revolution -- a dramatic evolutionary change that altered our brains, turning primitive humans into modern ones -- caused a cultural explosion. In _Transcendence_, Gaia Vince argues instead that modern humans are the product of a nuanced coevolution of our genes, environment, and culture that goes back into deep time. She explains how, through four key elements -- fire, language, beauty, and time -- our species diverged from the evolutionary path of all other animals, unleashing a compounding process that launched us into the Space Age and beyond. Provocative and poetic, _Transcendence_ shows how a primate took dominion over nature and turned itself into something marvelous.

### Author Biography

**Gaia Vince** is a science writer and broadcaster. In 2015, she was the first woman to win the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book prize solo for her debut, _Adventures in the Anthropocene_. She has held senior editorial posts at _Nature_ and _New Scientist_, and writes for _Science_, the _Guardian_, and others. She lives in London.

**Number of Pages:** 352

**Dimensions:** 1.4 x 9.3 x 6.3 IN

**Publication Date:** January 21, 2020

## Details

- **Price:** 30.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 30.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Transcendence: How Humans Evolved Through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/transcendence-how-humans-evolved-through-fire-language-beauty-and-time-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-20