There are surely few among us who can honestly say that at some time or another they haven't pondered the question of mankind's existence. It is a fundamental element of being human to marvel at where we came from and to wonder at a process that has seen us descend from the very first flickerings of life to the intensity of sophistication that we as a race have achieved today. But who were these first people and how did they become us? Are we, on closer examination, really any different to those distant figures so far back in time? In this collection of seven essays, Phillip D'Souza examines human nature and the role in our lives still played by the most important constituent of evolutionary development: the survival instinct. In almost every conceivable aspect of modern man, he argues, is the exho of the hunter-gatherer struggling for supremacy in a hostile world. Throughout modern history up to how we live our lives today, our naturally furious grip on life has governed - and is still governing - our politics and society; it colours our religious beliefs and our family life, our art and our science. This personal, insightful and original examination portrays modern man in a new light. Stripped of society's constraints, his skills, his knowledge and the trappings of the modern world, man stands before us more akin to his ancient forefathers than any of us would care to admit.