Humans

Humans—who are we? Physically, we’re unremarkable in the animal world—a hairless ape. But somehow, in combination, our characteristics make us remarkable.

How can our fingers open this book with such precision, prizing apart pages just a fraction of a millimeter thick? How can we understand the symbols in it and read the thoughts someone has transferred to the page? With our union of dexterity and brain power, we discovered ways of finding food and beating the elements not only in our home on the African savanna, but in every habitat from jungle to Arctic tundra. Uncovering exactly how we did this is not easy. Each fossil or flint tool discovery seems to rewrite the human story.

This thought-provoking book presents the latest advances in understanding, challenging old myths and baked-in misconceptions—all through the lens of the human body. Do women have hearts, lungs, and legs adapted to running down prey because they inherited their fathers’ hunting DNA, or because in fact, they did their share of hunting themselves? Humans tells the story of our evolution with beautiful illustrations of our seemingly ordinary anatomy alongside mind expanding diagrams of what we achieved with it.