In this book, I am searching for the why of human culture. Not what we do, not how, but why. In my work, I have tried to incorporate the findings of many disciplines into my cultural history model, but I have really brought together five things: my studies in history, my political experiences, existential psychology, terror management theory and network theory.

"Adam and Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit, and now we know what became of it. But what if Adam and Eve return to Paradise after a long wander and there is nothing there? In fact, it turns out there never was. It turns out they made it all up. What does that imply? Well, that is the most important question of the twenty-first century."