Catching Fire

Reviews / Votes

Absolutely fascinating -- Nigella Lawson Cooking completely transformed the human race, allowing us to live on the ground, develop bigger brains and smaller mouths, and invent specialized sex roles. This notion is surprising, fresh and, in the hands of Richard Wrangham, utterly persuasive. He brings to bear evidence from chimpanzees, fossils, food labs, and dieticians. Big, new ideas do not come along often in evolution these days, but this is one * Matt Ridley, author of Genome and The Agile Gene * A feast of new ideas on human evolution * Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought * In modern times we are all obsessed with how to cook, but this book answers the much deeper question of why we cook, and in doing so highlights the fact that what has become an art form, was at it's inception the driving force for us, humans-to-be, becoming the dominant species on the planet.

Wrangham's explanations are always thorough without feeling like you're swimming through treacle. They are simple, logical and compelling, whilst answering some of the biggest questions out there.

At a time when less people are cooking, this book gently reminds us that we in the developed world are walking away from the very thing that made us what we are, and we should squander this defining skill at our own peril. -- Allegra McEvedy, founder of LEON How exciting to see a distinguished scholar proving unequivocally that cookery is at the centre of our humanity -- Sam Clark, Moro A compelling chain of logic * Economist * Catching Fire is convincing in argument and impressive in its explanatory power. A rich and important book -- Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma [Wrangham] has delivered a rare thing: a slim book ... that contains serious science yet is related in direct, no-nonsense prose. It is toothsome, skillfully prepared brain food. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times * The claim that 'cooks made us' now has exciting evolutionary support. Let cooks lead the celebrations! * Michael Symons, author of A History of Cooks and Cooking * Richard Wrangham is the perfect master of paleoanthropology, primatology, archaeology, human biology, and the chemistry and physics of food. No one else could combine these disciplines to yield revolutionary insights about food history. He convinces us that food preparation techniques, including cooking with fire, started deeper in the hominid past than most historians thought possible, and that its legacy and effects have shaped our bodies as well as our cultures. Along the way, he helps us understand what has gone wrong with modern nutrition * Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, author of The World: A Global History * This superbly lucid and comprehensive book shows how important cooking was to making us human. Food, its composition, and how it's harvested and processed are critical in the evolution of every animal species. This masterful work shows how cooking was-and continues to be-an essential part of humanity * David Pilbeam, Henry Ford II Professor of Human Evolution, Harvard University * Catching Fireis a brilliant, pathbreaking book. Every reader will be inspired by it * Nicholas Humphrey, author of The Mind Made Flesh and Seeing Red * This is a fascinating tour through an everyday event so important we hardly notice--cooking--a human habit for some two million years, which turns out to be a key to much of who we are. Beautifully written, with convincing logic and evidence throughout * Robert Trivers, winner of the 2007 Crafoord Prize * Richard Wrangham's book is a tour de force on how to study human evolution, combining original ideas with an extraordinary range of science. With elegance and clarity, he has shown how cooking permeates all human life, and must have played a major part in making us what we are as a species * Robert Foley, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge * Wrangham has provided both an innovative hypothesis and a good read-a must for all who are interested in understanding how we became human * Dr. Leslie C. Aiello, President of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research * Catching Fire is an extraordinary book-a truly important insight into our human past, and as always with Wrangham's work, a real page turner. He has the great gift of making hard and accurate science seem like an adventure story, as indeed it is. Like Demonic Males, Catching Fire will be read in many circles, from classrooms to general readers, to the enlightenment of us all. -- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas A book of startling originality and breathtaking erudition. Drawing on disciplines as diverse as anthropology, sociology, biology, chemistry, physics, literature, nutrition, and cooking, Richard Wrangham addresses two simple but very profound questions: How did we evolve from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, and what makes us human? The answer can be found at your barbecue grill and I dare say it will surprise you... * Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbecue Bible and How to Grill; host of Primal Grill * It's nice to have it confirmed that the raw foodists are not just annoying but also wrong... [Richard Wrangham] writes in this brilliant and original piece of science writing, which explains nothing less than who we are and how we got here... With devastating clarity he shows that the "Man the Hunter" thesis simply does not add up... Wrangham convincingly argues that unlike animals, human beings could not flourish on a raw diet (so yah-boo to the wheatgrass evangelists!)... you have to pinch yourself from time to time to remember just how new Wrangham's argument is. Something this big and original in evolutionary studies doesn't come along very often... In many ways, this is an exhilarating book... It is, too, a good book for vegetarians, who for too long have endured the Neanderthal taunts of carnivorous chefs -- Bee Wilson * The Times * A daringly unorthodox book, and one that might just transform the way we understand ourselves. -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times * Compelling [and] brilliant -- William Leith * Daily Mail * Brilliantly original and illuminating -- Michael Kerrigan * Scotsman * Able to see my preparations for Sunday lunch in a dizzying new perspective... Catching Fire is very readable and not in the least technical. Wrangham makes a compelling case... Wrangham's placing of cooking at the centre of what it is to be human carries a great deal of emotional conviction too. The ritual of the family Sunday lunch now also celebrates the birth of our species -- Ian Irvine * Evening Standard * Good, big ideas about evolution are rare... Catching Fire is that rare thing, an exhilarating science book. And one that, for all its foodie topicality, means to stand the test of time -- Simon Ings * Sunday Telegraph * Lucidly written and accessible... What makes his thesis so gripping to read is that it is elegantly argued, step by step -- Harry Eyres * Financial Times * A fascinating read, to be sure, and a very accessible one * The Herald * Wrangham's enjoyably expressed theory is utterly persuasive, especially if you happen to place a high importance on cooking -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent * Richard Wrangham's ingredients are freshly gathered from an impressive variety of fields -- Steve Jones * Guardian * Transforms a daily chore into a pivotal existential act stretching back millennia... a hugely readable history of our culinary pedigree... an energetic and enjoyable book... In this vivid account of human evolution, there's no need to cook the books * Sunday Business Post * An intriguing theseis... Wrangham's basic thesis, that cooking is the key to the human condition, is convincing and is presented in a lively and readable manner -- Robin McKie * Observer * Startling and persuasive * Economist * An unusual and compelling read * Times Higher Education Supplement * A revelation -- Caroline Cranbrook * Country Life * Delectable reading -- Anita Sethi * Independent on Sunday * This is the best kind of scientific writing: clear, strongly argued and provocative. That it's still contentious makes it all the more exciting. * The Weekend Australian * A real expert in his field * Time Out * Richard Wrangham presents a powerful thesis - and the more you think about it, the more it seems to be true. As a very considerable bonus, his book is an excellent read -- Colin Tudge * Literary Review *