References

Axelrod, Robert M. The evolution of cooperation BookID 110907179 ISBN 0465021220 (see LibraryThing.com card)

Description (from Amazon)

This widely praised and much-discussed book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking egoists - whether superpowers, businesses, or individuals - when there is no central authority to police their actions.

My review: 3.5/5

theoretically just on the cooperation side of game theory, as Dixon's "Our Own Worst Enemy" (http://www.librarything.com/work/2441546/book/99872734), it is well beyond that contains interesting remarks on WWI (yes, akin to the "pipes of peace" episode) that clearly show how attrition (where the end is nowhere in sight, as seen from the ground, and its seems more of the same) can and does influence competitive behavior and turns it into a potentially a kind of "collusive by consensus" environment

useful lessons for both business and politics (and wannabe social reformers)

maybe to be complemented by "The Starfish and the Spider" (http://www.librarything.com/work/1496794/book/82389992), "Barbarians to Bureaucrats" (http://www.librarything.com/work/1138710/book/79826297), and, if you speak Italian and are interested in an analysis on how an institutional reform can evolve across decades, and how a centuries old cultural environment can influence your best last strategies, "Allegro ma non troppo" (http://www.librarything.com/work/806842/book/79486621) and "Making Democracy Work" (http://www.librarything.com/work/69269/book/110907194)

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