Review
Eric Liu, co-author of "The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government
""This book is a provocation and a delight. Rafe Sagarin invites us to look at national security with the eyes not of a state but of nature itself: for recursive patterns, adaptations, and the simple keys to complexity. It's thrilling to apply the lessons of octopuses, tidepools and other biological systems to defense, intelligence, and government generally. It's even more thrilling to imagine what our policymakers could learn from this book." John Arquilla, Professor of Defense Analysis, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School"Simply brilliant. Rafe Sagarin is one of the world's leading lateral thinkers. He can study tidepool life and find insights from it for fighting terrorism. He has harnessed our understanding of nature's immutable forces--selection, learning and adaptation--and turned them to the task of guiding us to a fresh new security paradigm. Above all, Sagarin sees how networked nature is, and how building our own networks is the best way to defeat the perils our balky security institutions have done so little to overcome." Courtney E. Martin, author of "Project Rebirth: Survival and the Strength of the Human Spirit from 9/11 Survivors" ""Learning from the Octopus" is not just a brilliant book about natural security, though it is that. It is also a transformative meditation on what attributes are necessary to live a content, modern life--starting with adaptability, imperfection, and interdependence. Rafe Sagarin is not only a rarity in regards to the intersection of his professional gifts--science and writing--but his power to see beyond fear and conformity to what really makes us safe in the world." Simon Levin, Moffett Professor of Biology, Princeton University
"In a brilliant and engaging style, Rafe Sagarin moves seamlessly between natural history and security analysis, convincingly making the case that we have much to learn
