‘Illuminating’ <\/b>TIM MARSHALL, author of Prisoners of Geography<\/i>
‘Refreshing’ <\/b>THOMAS HALLIDAY, author of Otherlands<\/i><\/p>\n
Being Human<\/i> is history made flesh. It will change how you see the world.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Lewis Dartnell takes us on a mind-expanding journey across time to show how our biology has determined history. 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.<\/p>\n
‘This book is quite literally wonderful’ <\/b>ED CONWAY, author of Material World<\/i>
‘A wild ride’ <\/b>TIM HARFORD, author of How to Make the World Add Up<\/i>
‘A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller’<\/b> JO MARCHANT, author of Cure<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Powerful yet dextrous, instinctive yet thoughtful, we are expert communicators and innovators. Our exceptional abilities have created the civilisation we know today. But we’re also deeply flawed. Our bodies break, choke and fail, whether we’re kings or peasants. Diseases thwart our boldest plans. Our psychological biases have been at the root of terrible decisions in both war and peacetime. This extraordinary contradiction is the essence of what it means to be human – the sum total of our frailties and our faculties. And history has played out in the balance between them. Now, Lewis Dartnell tells our story through the lens of this unique, capricious and fragile nature. He explores how our biology has shaped our relationships, our societies, our economies and our wars, and how it continues to challenge and define our progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[75],"product_tag":[1924,648,2704,99,349],"class_list":["post-103785","product","type-product","status-publish","product_cat-history","product_tag-anthropology","product_tag-general-world-history","product_tag-human-biology","product_tag-popular-science","product_tag-social-cultural-history","pa_book_author-dartnell-lewis","pa_cover-paperback","pa_dewey-304-27-edition23","pa_imprint-vintage","pa_language-english","pa_pages-8261","pa_publisher-vintage","pa_readership-general-trade-code-k","first","onbackorder","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\n