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Being Human
- Author
- Lewis Dartnell
- Narrator
- John Sackville
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 1 June 2023
- Run Time
- 9 hours 51 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
A mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world.
We’re a wonder of evolution, capable of incredible feats. But we’re also deeply flawed. Our bodies and minds often break, fail, and hinder us. To be human is to live with this extraordinary contradiction. So, to understand the course humanity has taken – from prehistoric times through the age of empire and into the modern era – we must understand who, and what, we are.
Being Human is history made flesh. From the epidemic that brought Europe’s peasants freedom, to the health deficiency which gave rise to the world’s largest criminal organisation, to the cognitive biases that led to military catastrophes in Crimea and Iraq, we see how our unique nature shaped our relationships, economies and societies – and, importantly, how it continues to impact human progress today.
'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL
'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY
'This book is quite literally wonderful' ED CONWAY
'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD
'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT
©2023 Lewis Dartnell (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
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Always an interesting and engaging writer, Dartnell ... finds fascinating nuggets in familiar stories
Guardian
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I’ve always liked Dartnell’s books for their factiness
Sunday Times
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An illuminating journey through history using our bodies as the vehicle. It's quite a ride!
Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography
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Wide-ranging, comprehensive and refreshing
Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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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
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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
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A sublime, mind-expanding exploration of who we are and how we got here
Richard Fisher, author of The Long View
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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
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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
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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
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Lewis Dartnell
- Narrator
- John Sackville
- Duration
- 9 hours 51 minutes
- Release Date
- 1 June 2023
- ISBN
- 9781529191608
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- General and world history, Human biology, Anthropology, Popular science, Evolutionary anthropology / Human evolution
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.A mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world.We’re a wonder of evolution, capable of incredible feats. But we’re also deeply flawed. Our bodies and minds often break, fail, and hinder us. To be human is to live with this extraordinary contradiction. So, to understand the course humanity has taken – from prehistoric times through the age of empire and into the modern era – we must understand who, and what, we are.Being Human is history made flesh. From the epidemic that brought Europe’s peasants freedom, to the health deficiency which gave rise to the world’s largest criminal organisation, to the cognitive biases that led to military catastrophes in Crimea and Iraq, we see how our unique nature shaped our relationships, economies and societies – and, importantly, how it continues to impact human progress today.'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY'This book is quite literally wonderful' ED CONWAY'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT©2023 Lewis Dartnell (P)2023 Penguin Audio
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