1. Power in Nature: From Mitochondria to Emotion and Deception. The Basis of Life's Power
2. Power in the Pleistocene: On Spears, Fires, Furs, Words, and Flutes, And Why Men Are Such Power-Hogs. Hands and Stone
3. Power in the Holocene: The Rise of Social Inequality. Gerdening, Big Men, and Chiefs: Power from Food Production
Plow and Plunder: Kings and the First States
Herding Cattle, Flogging Slaves: Power from Domestication
Stories of Our Ancestors: Religion and Power
Tools for Wording: Communication Technologies
4. Power in the Anthropocene: The Wonderful World of Fossil Fuels. It's All Energy
Oil, Cars, Airplanes, and the New Middle Class
5. Overpowered: The Fine Mess We've Gotten Ourselves Into. Climate Chaos and Its Remedies
Disappearance of Wild Nature
Soaring Economic Inequality
Overpopulation and Overconsumption
Weapons of Mass Destruction
6. Optimum Power: Sustaining Our Power Over Time. Involuntary Power Limits: Death, Extinction, Collapse
Self-Limitation in Natural and Human-Engineered Systems
Taboos, Souls, and Enlightenment
Taxes, Regulations, Activism, and Rationing: Power Restraint in the Modern World
Games, Disarmament, and Degrowth
Denial, Optimism Bias, and Irrational Exuberance
7. The Future of Power: Learning to Live Happily Within Limits. All Against All
Trade-Offs Along the Path of Self-Restraint
The Fate of the Superorganism
Learning to Live with Less Energy and Stuff
Population: Lowering It and Keeping It Steady
Fighting Power with Power
Long-Term Power Through Beauty, Spirituality, and Happiness.