Some Assembly Required

Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA

By: Neil Shubin

Narrated by: Marc Cashman

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

An exciting and accessible new view of the evolution of human and animal life on Earth. From the author of national bestseller, Your Inner Fish, this extraordinary journey of discovery spans centuries, as explorers and scientists seek to understand the origins of life's immense diversity.

“Fossils, DNA, scientists with a penchant for suits of armor - what’s not to love?” (BBC Wildlife Magazine)

Over billions of years, ancient fish evolved to walk on land, reptiles transformed into birds that fly, and apelike primates evolved into humans that walk on two legs, talk, and write. For more than a century, paleontologists have traveled the globe to find fossils that show how such changes have happened.

We have now arrived at a remarkable moment - prehistoric fossils coupled with new DNA technology have given us the tools to answer some of the basic questions of our existence: How do big changes in evolution happen? Is our presence on Earth the product of mere chance? This new science reveals a multibillion-year evolutionary history filled with twists and turns, trial and error, accident and invention.

In Some Assembly Required, Neil Shubin takes listeners on a journey of discovery spanning centuries, as explorers and scientists seek to understand the origins of life's immense diversity.

©2020 Neil Shubin (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"An engaging, must-read for anyone with an interest in evolution." (Library Journal starred review)

"A rollicking ride.... It’s light of touch, anecdote-rich and funny...satisfyingly informative.... Fossils, DNA, scientists with a penchant for suits of armour - what’s not to love?" (BBC Wildlife Magazine)

"Another winner from Dr. Shubin, who skillfully and thoughtfully steers us through the incredibly fascinating world of DNA and fossils. Dr. Shubin’s clear and engaging writing rewards us with a deeper understanding of how all life on our planet is interconnected. Steeped in the paradigm of evolutionary theory, he inspires us to think more deeply about our connectedness with the natural world. Charles Darwin would applaud Dr. Shubin’s clear explanations and insightful rendering of the incontrovertible evidence for the evolution of all life on planet Earth." (Donald Johanson, director, Institute of Human Origins; discoverer of "Lucy")

Excellent and engaging

This is my favorite type of book. It imparts scientific knowledge while telling the stories of the researchers behind it. It's specifically about the genetic mechanics of evolution. I've read a lot of books about evolution, this is the first I've read that shows us the toolbox. Very entertaining, and well worth the read.

Good book,

Clearly written for the non scientist. Narration is easy to listen to. I recommend this book.

Enjoyable and informative

Entertaining, informative, interesting. A quick overview of a very wide and deep subject - a primer, which prompted me to look deeper. I think I’ll listen again someday.

All around great

Neil Shubin's work is a fascinating! He walks the reader through some of the most amazing aspects of the workings of life. His style is easy to understand and it makes use of great examples. Well narrated, too.

mollusk dna ftw

shrimp have sonic hedgehog too woowoowoo. listened about 90 minutes at a time to be prove how tough i am.

5 stars for content and perf. 2 for sound quality

Excellent book and narration. The sound quality is poor without some type of tailoring of output.

Outstanding like his first book

If your a southern Baptist. It my be beyond your grasp. It’s a very well organized history up to where we are now. It also covers in depth where we at now. A small amount of 100 level biology will help you move along well with the author. Enjoy I certainly did.

intuitive prospective of development

I was aware of many of the concepts presented here but did get a new perspective on genetics which made this book very worthwhile. This book goes very fast and very worth your time to give you the up-to-date perspectives as everything is changing so fast in this field.

an absolute must-read

So good I had to listen to it more than once. An informative review of the history of developmental biology.

A good listen

Liked the tone of the narration and easy story to follow. Learned a few things along the way.