The Book of Humans, Adam Rutherford
The Book of Humans, Adam Rutherford
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The Book of Humans
A Brief History of Culture, Sex, War, and the Evolution of Us

Author: Adam Rutherford

Narrator: Adam Rutherford

Unabridged: 6 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/19/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The bestselling author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived investigates what it means to be human—and animal

Evolutionary theory has long established that humans are animals: Modern Homo sapiens are primates who share an ancestor with monkeys and other great apes. Our genome is 98 percent identical to a chimpanzee's. And yet we think of ourselves as exceptional. Are we?

In this original and entertaining tour of life on Earth, Adam Rutherford explores the profound paradox of the "human animal." Looking for answers across the animal kingdom, he finds that many things once considered exclusively human are not: In Australia, raptors have been observed starting fires to scatter prey; in Zambia, a chimp named Julie even started a "fashion" of wearing grass in one ear. We aren't the only species that communicates, makes tools, or has sex for reasons other than procreation. But we have developed a culture far more complex than any other we've observed. Why has that happened, and what does it say about us?

The Book of Humans is a new evolutionary history—a synthesis of the latest research on genetics, sex, migration, and much more. It reveals what unequivocally makes us animals—and also why we are truly extraordinary.

About Adam Rutherford

Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, science writer, and broadcaster. He studied genetics at University College London, and during his PhD on the developing eye, he was part of a team that identified the first known genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. His books include A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived-finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction-and Creation, which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. He writes and presents BBC's flagship weekly Radio 4 program Inside Science; The Cell for BBC Four; and Playing God (on the rise of synthetic biology) for the leading science series Horizon; in addition to writing for the Guardian.


Reviews

This is a thoughtful, informative book that doesn't really achieve what it sets out to do. It seeks to show how we became uniquely human. But the first 2/3 actually shows how many of our attributes including tool use, fire use and different kinds of sexual behaviour are seen elsewhere in nature. In......more

I’m not what you would consider a science-literate person. But I thought this book was well-written and thoughtful. There should probably be some warning for readers though that the subject of coercive sex is brought up in the animal kingdom.......more

Goodreads review by Sandra

Adam Rutherford își propune să ne disece evoluția folosindu-se de paleontologie, antropologie, genetică și, uneori, de biologie ca unelte. În încercarea de a face asta, dezbate aspecte precum mersul biped, sexualitatea la noi și alte animale, evidențierea trăsăturilor care ne deosebesc, dar și a sim......more

Goodreads review by Tanja

This was an interesting book on what makes human unique and how we have become so successful. Nothing much new here, but very easy to read if the territory is unfamiliar.......more