Description

‘Illuminating’ TIM MARSHALL, bestselling author of The Future of Geography
‘Refreshing’ THOMAS HALLIDAY, bestselling author of Otherlands

Our biology will change how you see the world. Lewis Dartnell explores how human biology has shaped relationships, societies, economies and wars across the globe

How did haemophilia bring down the Russian royal family? And scurvy give rise to the Mafia?

We are a wonder of evolution. Our exceptional abilities created life as we know it, but we’re also deeply flawed. This extraordinary contradiction between our faculties and frailties is the essence of what it means to be human. And history has played out in the balance between them.

Here, Lewis Dartnell tells our story through the lens of this uniquely fragile nature for the first time. From cognitive biases to endemic diseases, he explores how human biology has shaped relationships, societies, economies and wars across the globe – and considers how, importantly, it continues to challenge and define our progress.

‘A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller’ JO MARCHANT, author of Cure
‘A wild ride’ TIM HARFORD, author of How to Make the World Add Up

Publisher Review

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 * A brilliant, super-informative and enjoyable read * Dr Camilla Pang, author of Explaining Humans * Lewis Dartnell has a well-deserved reputation for engaging writing on big themes. Being Human is so engrossing that it's hard to put down * Martin Rees, author of If Science is To Save Us * Dartnell has done it again. Full of surprising, vivid and profound lessons, this book is quite literally wonderful * Ed Conway, author of Material World * A very entertaining read * Sunday Times *