About the Author:
Henry Gee is a senior editor at Nature and the author of such books as Jacob’s Ladder, In Search of Deep Time, The Science of Middle-earth, and A Field Guide to Dinosaurs, the last with Luis V. Rey. He lives in Cromer, Norfolk, England, with his family and numerous pets.
Review:
“Henry Gee, paleontology editor at Nature, confronts two commonly held views of evolution and effectively demolishes both, persuasively arguing that evolution doesn’t work the way most people believe it does and that the entire concept of ‘human exceptionalism’ (the idea that humans are fundamentally superior to other animals due to ‘language, technology, or consciousness’) is erroneous. . . . He buttresses these points with an impressive and accessible overview of the pattern of human evolution, showing just how little we actually know and arguing that different evolutionary stories could likely fit the extant data.”
(Publishers Weekly)
“If you only read one book on evolution this year, make it this one. You will be dethroned. But you won’t be disappointed.” (Geoscientist)
"The Accidental Species is an excellent guide to our current knowledge of how we got where we are. . . . Highly recommended." (BBC Focus)
“Gee sets out vehemently to dispute our common tendency to see ourselves as the pinnacle of creation, the bold, brilliant branch that is the final growth of the evolutionary tree of life. . . . a thought-provoking and challenging book.” (Library Journal)
"With a delightfully irascible sense of humor, Henry Gee reflects on our origin and all the misunderstanding that we impose on it. The Accidental Species is an excellent primer on how—and how not—to think about human evolution.” (Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses)
“The Accidental Species is at once an eminently readable and important book. For almost three decades Henry Gee, senior editor at Nature, has helped bring some of the most important discoveries in paleontology to the scientific community and the public at large. Employing years of experience, sharp wit, and great erudition, Gee reveals how most of our popular conceptions of evolution are wrong. Gee delights in shedding us of our assumptions to reveal how science has the power to inform, enlighten, and ultimately surprise.” (Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish)
“Quite simply, the best book ever written about the fossil record and humankind’s place in evolution.” (John Gribbin, author of Alone in the Universe: Why Our Planet Is Unique)
“If you only read one book on human evolution, or indeed one book on evolution, make it this one.” (Ted Nield, author of Incoming and Supercontinent)
“You may think there was nothing more to say about evolution, but The Accidental Species proves that there is―and wonderful stuff it is.” (Brian Clegg Popular Science Book Review)
“Gee is a paleontologist, an evolutionary biologist and a senior editor at the journal Nature. He is also a blues musician and a major Tolkien fan ― a set of quirky characteristics that may help explain the combination of science and humor that pervades The Accidental Species. It is Gee’s contention that scientists have been completely wrong in seeing humans as the apex of evolution. He denies that we developed big brains, the ability to use tools and all the rest through some kind of progression toward superiority. It was a lot more random, he says: We just kind of turned out this way. He illustrates his premise with detailed analysis and a mocking tone.” (Washington Post)
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