Survival of the Friendliest summary

In 1959, the geneticist Dmitry Belyaev moved from Moscow to the far off city of Novosibirsk in Siberia. Here, far from the skeptical eye of Stalin’s government, he began a long-running experiment. Today, you can see the results of his work. Actually, you can pick them up and pet them.

You see, Belyaev’s experiment was an attempt to domesticate foxes — and he succeeded. The scientist began with two groups of wild foxes. One group was left alone, while the others were only allowed to breed if they showed ample affinity for humans.

Would you like to live among chimpanzees? Sure, at first it may sound appealing. Maybe chimp life is all about lounging in the jungle and monkeying around. Unfortunately, the reality is a little less lovely.

Chimpanzee society can actually be quite brutal. Male chimps routinely patrol their territory and will aggressively attack any interlopers. Even worse, during mating season, they’ll violently assault potential mates. Female chimps aren’t much better. They’ll often fight each other and sometimes even kill their rivals’ children.

You're walking down the street when a stranger passes by. You don’t know him, but his soft, kind face makes him seem trustworthy and reliable. He’s the type you’d ask for directions if you needed help. Actually, these sorts of friendly faces are all around us. But why?

Our outward appearance isn’t merely random or superficial. Just the opposite. The contours and dimensions of the modern human face indicate some serious changes within our minds. Remember how Belyaev’s Siberian foxes changed their physical features as they became more amiable? Our early ancestors may have undergone the same process.

Flashing lights, loud music, fluid dancing, and an intense, irrepressible desire to hug everyone in sight. These are some known side effects of illicit ecstasy use. This drug, sometimes called MDMA, is popular at raves, nightclubs, and other hedonistic social environments. It’s easy to understand why. Taking a dose floods the brain with serotonin and oxytocin, two chemicals closely linked to happiness, elation, and other positive emotions.

In most countries, buying ecstasy is illegal. However, luckily for people seeking positive vibes, evolution has made it possible to get a hit of serotonin and oxytocin the old-fashioned way. Just gaze into someone’s eyes. 

Clearly, our natural affinity for collaboration and friendliness has helped our species thrive for millennia. Yet, even though our ancestors relied on each other to survive, our human family is not completely free of friction and strife. Consider the story of Rachel.

Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rachel hailed from the Banyamulenge community, a small ethnic group known as the Black Jews of Africa. While her childhood was peaceful, her later life was marred by brutal conflict. Throughout the nineties, the Banyamulenge people were continually marginalized and attacked by other political and ethnic groups. The horror culminated in 2004 when an outside rebel group attacked Rachel’s refugee camp and killed her entire family.

Poland, 1941. The Nazis are busy with the horrific work of rounding up Jewish families into inhumane ghettos. Many of the local population are cowed by the occupying forces and do little to slow the process. However, Andrzej Pitynski refused to stand idly by.

Pitynski, despite being non-Jewish, risks his life to smuggle food to those in need. Even after he’s caught and punished, he and his wife work tirelessly to rescue Jewish people throughout the war.

During the Second Congo War, conservationist Claudine André had a problem. Kinshasa, her home city, was under siege. Bombs fell every day. Clean water and reliable electricity were both hard to come by. To top it all off, André had to take care of a dozen bonobos in these harsh conditions.

It wasn’t easy, but André went to great lengths to keep the vulnerable apes alive and happy. She let them live in her home, and each day drove them to a secluded forest to play and socialize. After the war, she set up dozens of Kindness Clubs. In these small sanctuaries, local children could meet the bonobos and learn about their lives.