The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being: Evolution and the Making of Us - Softcover

Roberts, Alice

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184866477X ISBN 13: 9781848664777

Publisher: Heron Books, 2014

Synopsis

The presenter of the BBC's The Incredible Human Journey gives us a new and highly accessible look at our own bodies, allowing us to understand how we develop as an embryo, from a single egg into a complex body, and how our embryos contain echoes of our evolutionary past.

Bringing together the latest scientific discoveries, Professor Alice Roberts illustrates that evolution has made something which is far from perfect. Our bodies are a quirky mix of new and old, with strokes of genius alongside glitches and imperfections which are all inherited from distant ancestors. Our development and evolutionary past explains why, as embryos, we have what look like gills, and as adults we suffer from back pain.

This is a tale of discovery, not only exploring why and how we have developed as we have, but also looking at the history of our anatomical understanding. It combines the remarkable skills and qualifications Alice Roberts has as a doctor, anatomist, osteoarchaeologist and writer. Above all, she has a rare ability to make science accessible, relevant and interesting to mainstream audiences and readers.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Alice Roberts is an anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, anthropologist, television presenter, author, and professor at the University of Birmingham. She has presented The Incredible Human Journey and Coast on BBC 2 and Inside Science on Radio 4. She lives in Bristol with her husband and two children.

Review

"Roberts's engagingly personal style connects you to your ancestors, to your own personal beginnings as a single cell and, in a most attractive way, to herself as an author of great charm. From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself."―Richard Dawkins, bestselling author of The Selfish Gene, The God Delusion, and The Magic of Reality


"A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are ...Roberts skilfully and knowledgeably weaves embryology, genetics, anatomy, evolution and zoology to tell the incredible story of the human body... It is in comparative anatomy that this book really shines ... Roberts's anatomical expertise is seductive... This is a scientifically robust book, packed with up-to-date and historical research, and in no way trivial. But it is a long distance from ponderous, and Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory."―Adam Rutherford, The Guardian

"Alice Roberts tells us about the most amazing story on the planet--the creation of the human animal. Nothing is more extraordinary and her guided tour of the human body takes us on a fascinating journey of self-discovery."―Desmond Morris, biologist, artist, and bestselling author of The Naked Ape

Edition details

• Publisher: Heron Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184866477X
• ISBN 13: 9781848664777
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392