The Story of the Human Body

Evolution, Health, and Disease

By: Daniel Lieberman

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman - chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field - gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease.

The Story of the Human Body brilliantly illuminates as never before the major transformations that contributed key adaptations to the body: the rise of bipedalism; the shift to a non-fruit-based diet; the advent of hunting and gathering, leading to our superlative endurance athleticism; the development of a very large brain; and the incipience of cultural proficiencies. Lieberman also elucidates how cultural evolution differs from biological evolution, and how our bodies were further transformed during the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

While these ongoing changes have brought about many benefits, they have also created conditions to which our bodies are not entirely adapted, Lieberman argues, resulting in the growing incidence of obesity and new but avoidable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Lieberman proposes that many of these chronic illnesses persist and in some cases are intensifying because of "dysevolution," a pernicious dynamic whereby only the symptoms rather than the causes of these maladies are treated. And finally - provocatively - he advocates the use of evolutionary information to help nudge, push, and sometimes even compel us to create a more salubrious environment.

©2013 Daniel Lieberman (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"No one understands the human body like Daniel Lieberman or tells its story more eloquently. He's found a tale inside our skin that's riveting, enlightening, and more than a little frightening." (Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run)

"Monumental: The Story of the Human Body, by one of our leading experts, takes us on an epic voyage that reveals how the past six million years shaped every part of us - our heads, limbs, and even our metabolism. Through Lieberman's eyes, evolutionary history not only comes alive, it becomes the means to understand, and ultimately influence, our body's future." (Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish)

"A lucid, engaging account of how the human body evolved and the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and the modern world." ( Publishers Weekly)

A great discussion of human evolution/physiology

I love human evolution books. This one didn't get started for me until well into the 2nd chapter because it is basic knowledge. The rest of the book goes into length and specifics discussing hominid development from a physiological perspective. I am familiar with most of the material from other audiobooks but enjoyed the overview. It is easy to follow and discusses how pre-humans and early humans compare. 4 stars because much of the info is standard fair.
This is a good science book for audio.

It may be too familiar for some listeners [nerds] who are familiar with the topic.

It has a lot of take aways

It made me think a lot in having a more healthy lifestyle. Nice narrator as well.

Fascinating Perspectives on Ultimate Causes

The amazing tale of how our bodies came to be this way. I changed because of this book. I eat better, exercise more, and am better able to sustain motivation, all because I have a better perspective after hearing how it all came to be. An excellent read.

Introduced new ideas for me

I had never really considered the idea of mismatched diseases or even that something like poor eyesight could be considered a disease. I learned a lot and have recommended it to friends.

Very Good Casual Read

Easy to listen to educational read. Broad amount of information covered... but never too boringly in depth. I especially enjoyed when he started talking about mismatch diseases.

Fantastic

This book was so educational and a wonderful "read". It talked about everything I am interested in, in my field of study. Considering buying the book just to have it for the future.

JUST MARVELOUS BOOK

If you could sum up The Story of the Human Body in three words, what would they be?

JUST FANTASTIC BOOK

What did you like best about this story?

To Understand the human body evolution and devolution .....how the body works and why surplus of energy is bad for humans

What about Sean Runnette’s performance did you like?

all

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Missing monkey ....

Any additional comments?

just incredible book I would say the best so for out many many I have read..... congratulations to Daniel e Liberman..

Good book on human evolution

A lucid account of human evolution. Skipped a few chapters that seemed to go on and on. Overall excellent synthesis of a great deal of research.

Informative

This book started off a bit slow and use a bunch of language I didn’t understand, but the longer I listened the more I understood and appreciated the information for which this book provided.

Enlightening

Loved every minute of it.

Definitely going to add this to my daily reading routine.