Selflessness of strangers: The search for an evolutionary theory

This book popped up on my RSS News Feed via The Economist about a month ago but just recently dug it out of my backlog of bookmarked articles. Looks like an interesting story and thought I would share it here if anyone else wants to check it out.

From Amazon.com -

"Set against the sweeping tale of 150 years of scientific attempts to explain kindness, The Price of Altruism tells for the first time the moving story of the eccentric American genius George Price (1922–1975), as he strives to answer evolution's greatest riddle. An original and penetrating picture of twentieth century thought, it is also a deeply personal journey. From the heights of the Manhattan Project to the inspired equation that explains altruism to the depths of homelessness and despair, Price's life embodies the paradoxes of Darwin’s enigma. His tragic suicide in a squatter’s flat, among the vagabonds to whom he gave all his possessions, provides the ultimate contemplation on the possibility of genuine benevolence"