We are survival machines, products of evolutionary processes. The Mean Gene – 17 Cautionary Tales is a collection of provocative and humorous just-so stories . They might contain more truth than we would like to admit; they might be wrong. Until an evolutionary split second ago, we knew nothing about our evolutionary origins. We may prefer to remain ignorant about evolution, but evolution does not ignore us . It is the foundation and the precondition for all life, whether on Earth or in the universe at large. If we want to live up to the elevated status of homo sapiens , then it is time to take a deeper look in the mirror of our psychological and biological origins. The only way that we might gain some freedom from and control over the evolutionary influences, which have shaped and shapes us, is through knowledge . The Mean Gene – 17 Cautionary Tales hopes to be a counterweight – however puny – to the very real and inexorable forces of evolution.