Humanimal : how homo sapiens became nature's most paradoxical creature--a new evolutionary history / Adam Rutherford.

Title:

Author:

Rutherford, Adam

ISBN:

9781615195312

1615195319

Publication Info:

New York :

Subject(s):

Human evolution -- Popular works.

Holds: Copies (not including on-order items):

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Publisher's note: Humanimal was published in the UK under the title The Book of Humans.

Evolutionary theory has long established that humans are animals: Modern Homo sapiens are primates who share an ancestor with monkeys and other great apes. Our genome is 98 percent identical to a chimpanzee's. And yet we think of ourselves as exceptional. Are we?

In this original and entertaining tour of life on Earth, Adam Rutherford explores the profound paradox of the "human animal." Looking for answers across the animal kingdom, he finds that many things once considered exclusively human are not: In Australia, raptors have been observed starting fires to scatter prey; in Zambia, a chimp named Julie even started a "fashion" of wearing grass in one ear. We aren't the only species that communicates, makes tools, or has sex for reasons other than procreation. But we have developed a culture far more complex than any other we've observed. Why has that happened, and what does it say about us?

Humanimal is a new evolutionary history--a synthesis of the latest research on genetics, sex, migration, and much more. It reveals what unequivocally makes us animals--and also why we are truly extraordinary.

Author Notes

Adam Rutherford, PhD, is a science writer and broadcaster. He studied genetics at University College London, and during his PhD on the developing eye, he was part of a team that identified the first known genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. His previous books are A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived --finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction--and Creation , which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. He writes and presents BBC's flagship weekly Radio 4 program Inside Science ; The Cell for BBC Four; and Playing God (on the rise of synthetic biology) for the leading science series Horizon ; in addition to writing for the Guardian .

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Rutherford (A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived), a science journalist and BBC radio host, assembles an enlightening "compendium of that which unequivocally fixes us as animals, and simultaneously reveals how we are extraordinary." He focuses primarily on three broad topics-tool usage, sex, and communication-looking closely at the myriad ways that other animals resemble humans. By describing instances of crows who "manufacture and use hooked tools to fish out fat grubs" and works of art created by Neanderthals over 64,000 years ago, among other topics, Rutherford teaches a great deal about the basics of evolutionary relationships, while cementing homo sapiens's position as just another member, among many, of the animal kingdom. But RuthA-erA-ford also looks beyond those similarities to explore what makes humanity unique, concluding that while there is a continuum of types of cultures across the animal kingdom, humans reside at one end of that spectrum. He observes: "we stand apart most significantly... in cultural accumulation and transmission," since "many animals learn" but "only humans teach." Rutherford's entertaining work offers a refreshing and perspective-altering view of the complex history of life on Earth. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Choice Review

In Humanimal, Rutherford, a science journalist, draws on findings from molecular biology, anthropology, and linguistics, among other fields, to survey what makes humans simultaneously singular among and similar to other animals. The result is an engaging, entertaining, and highly accessible account. The book is punctuated with footnotes, useful for readers who wish to delve into specific anecdotes from natural history but unobtrusive for readers who prefer to approach the book as a freestanding narrative. Rutherford's interweaving of long-standing findings with very recent discoveries nicely underscores his central argument: that we are just beginning to understand the remarkable capacities of non-human animals and their relevance to the evolution of human behavior. Pencil drawings by Alice Roberts nicely highlight some memorable behaviors in non-human animals, including fire-spreading by a bird and tool use by a dolphin. While individual chapters (e.g., one that serves as an overview of genetics and genomics) will be of lower interest for specialists, the book as a whole will be enjoyable and thought provoking for readers of diverse interests and expertise. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels. --Diane Patricia Genereux, Broad Institute of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Library Journal Review

British geneticist Rutherford (A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived) explores how humans resemble and differ from other living beings. Noting that the human genome has 23 pairs of chromosomes, only one pair fewer than other great apes, he presents a wide-ranging discussion of why, despite small genetic differences, human capabilities surged ahead of those of other creatures. In a section on the use of tools, for example, Rutherford considers how other animals can construct tools and use fire, abilities once thought to be unique to humans. He provides intriguing illustrations for his points, such as certain dolphins who use live sponges as nose guards when they go after prickly prey, and hawks who light twigs from wildfires so that they can spread the fire and draw prey out of hiding. In an amusing section on sex, he ponders why so little of it is actually for procreation. He also explores the human physical structures that enabled language and our development of consciousness and a sense of regret. Rutherford speculates in conclusion that our development of social culture is what may have made humans "the paragon of animals." VERDICT Engaging, accessible, and highly recommended.-Caren Nichter, Univ. of -Tennessee at Martin © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Part 1 Humans and Other Animals
Tools	p. 19
What It Takes to Be a Maker	p. 29
Tooled-Up Animals	p. 34
Sponging Dolphins	p. 37
The Birds	p. 41
Fiery the Angels Fell	p. 46
War for the Planet of the Apes	p. 57
Farming and Fashion	p. 66
Sex	p. 77
The Birds and the Bees	p. 83
Autoeroticism	p. 90
Mouthing Off	p. 95
Whole Lotta Love	p. 99
Homosexuality	p. 106
And Death Shall Have No Dominion	p. 120
Sex and Violence	p. 123
Part 2 The Paragon of Animals
Everyone Is Special	p. 135
Genes, Bones, and Minds	p. 139
24 - 2 = 23	p. 143
Hands and Feet	p. 153
Trippingly on the Tongue	p. 157
Speak Now	p. 165
Symbolism in Words	p. 169
Symbolism Beyond Words	p. 177
If Only You Could See What I've Seen with Your Eyes	p. 187
Know Thyself	p. 193
Je Ne Regrette Rien	p. 197
Teach a Village to Fish ...	p. 203
The Paragon of Animals	p. 209
Acknowledgments	p. 217
References	p. 219
Index	p. 231
About the Author	p. 246

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