Being Human
How our biology shaped world history
Published on 20. June 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-5299-2553-1 (ISBN)
Description
'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL
'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY
A mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world.
We're a wonder of evolution, capable of incredible feats. But we're also deeply flawed. Our bodies and minds often break, fail, and hinder us. To be human is to live with this extraordinary contradiction. So, to understand the course humanity has taken - from prehistoric times through the age of empire and into the modern era - we must understand who, and what, we are.
Being Human is history made flesh. From the epidemic that brought Europe's peasants freedom, to the health deficiency which gave rise to the world's largest criminal organisation, to the cognitive biases that led to military catastrophes in Crimea and Iraq, we see how our unique nature shaped our relationships, economies and societies - and, importantly, how it continues to impact human progress today.
'This book is quite literally wonderful' ED CONWAY
'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD
'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT
'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY
A mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world.
We're a wonder of evolution, capable of incredible feats. But we're also deeply flawed. Our bodies and minds often break, fail, and hinder us. To be human is to live with this extraordinary contradiction. So, to understand the course humanity has taken - from prehistoric times through the age of empire and into the modern era - we must understand who, and what, we are.
Being Human is history made flesh. From the epidemic that brought Europe's peasants freedom, to the health deficiency which gave rise to the world's largest criminal organisation, to the cognitive biases that led to military catastrophes in Crimea and Iraq, we see how our unique nature shaped our relationships, economies and societies - and, importantly, how it continues to impact human progress today.
'This book is quite literally wonderful' ED CONWAY
'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD
'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT
Reviews / Votes
Always an interesting and engaging writer, Dartnell ... finds fascinating nuggets in familiar stories * Guardian * I've always liked Dartnell's books for their factiness * Sunday Times * An illuminating journey through history using our bodies as the vehicle. It's quite a ride! * Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography * Wide-ranging, comprehensive and refreshing * Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands * A wild ride through science, history and prehistory, full of unexpected connections and delightful insights * Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add Up * A revolutionary account of human progress. This is history as you've never read it before: a gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller * Jo Marchant, author of The Human Cosmos * A sublime, mind-expanding exploration of who we are and how we got here * Richard Fisher, author of The Long View * Brilliantly entertaining and beautifully written, Being Human forces you to see the world in a totally new way. Interdisciplinary history at its best * Jonathan Kennedy, author of Pathogenesis * A spirited canter through the ways our biology has inescapably affected world history that'll open your eyes and stretch your mind * Henry Gee, author of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth * Bursting with scientific stories, this is a fascinating exploration of how our flawed biology shapes how we live, love, thrive and die. Being Human will make you think in a new light about yourself and your species * Kat Arney, author of Rebel Cell *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
260 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-2553-1 (9781529925531)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2023
Vintage Digital
€10.99
Available for download
Person
Lewis Dartnell is an astrobiology researcher and professor at the University of Westminster, and also an Honorary Research Associate at University College London (UCL). He is the author of the bestselling books The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch and Origins: How the Earth Shaped Human History, which has been translated into 26 languages. He writes for the Guardian, The Times and New Scientist. Copies of The Knowledge exist on the surface of the Moon, and in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.