Eve

How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution

By: Cat Bohannon

Narrated by: Cat Bohannon

Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

An ambitious, eye-opening, myth-busting, and groundbreaking history of the evolution of the female body, by a brilliant new researcher and writer

Why do women live longer than men? Why do women have menopause? Why are women more likely to get Alzheimer’s? Why do girls score better at every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? And does the female brain really exist?

In Eve, Cat Bohannon answers questions scientists should have been addressing for decades. With boundless curiosity and sharp wit, she covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex. Eve is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it’s an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Bohannon’s findings, including everything from the way C-sections in the industrialized world are rearranging women’s pelvic shape to the surprising similarities between pus and breast milk, will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens have become such a successful and dominant species, from tool use to city building to the development of language.

Picking up where Sapiens left off, Eve is a landmark book, offering a true paradigm shift in our thinking about what the female body is and why it matters.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Cat Bohannon (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“For over a century and a half since Darwin, we have talked about the origin of man. But what about women? Marshaling considerable  wit, scholarship, and cutting edge science Cat Bohannon traces the history and importance of female biology and, in the process, gives us a refreshing new view on the origin of humanity.”—Neil Shubin, University of Chicago biologist and author of Your Inner Fish

“Eve was immeasurably useful to me in my life-long quest to understand my own body. I highly recommend it to anyone who is on the same journey.” —Hope Jahren, best-selling author of Lab Girl and Story of More

“This book is almost fantastically interesting. Every few pages there would be some fact I didn't know or an idea that was new to me, and I would ask my wife if she knew, and she’d say, “What? You’re kidding! No!” and we'd end up talking for half an hour, and it would be midnight, and I'd only read 8 pages. So this book took a LONG time to read, but for the best possible reasons. Frankly, I’m writing this while I’m still on page 387, where Cat Bohannon talks about why sex feels good. I definitely plan to finish.” —Charles Mann, best-selling author of 1491

So great!

Now let’s stop researching and start feeding women and children high quality food. Hoping Cat will follow up with a book on malnutrition (including how diet culture is malnutrition and a person can get too many calories and still be malnourished)

Omg. Must-read of the year.

Someone said, there is this new book. Ok. And then I went into a book store and saw it. Ok. And then I listened to it on Audible. Wow. I ended up hooked through every chapter, even the hard topics. It is an easy read, and it's not dumbed-down science: it's just simple and patient storytelling. This is one of those rare books that is both as entertaining as pop fiction as it is deep with the latest state of science. Cat has managed to tell a story of the modern human body and the many struggles it took to get here, and then goes beyond into how we can be better to ourselves, to each other, and even the planet. It talks about the financial sense of investing in women in society to uplift all of us. It talks about how if we want the best for our future generations we have a lot of work to do. Bravo.

Everyone, including Anatomists & Biologists, Both Male & Female Should Read This!

This book is backed up by scientific studies where they exist and by sound reasoning otherwise. She’s not saying women are better than men, just that they are different Her ideas make more sense than most of the theories I have heard. It is time for people to recognize certain differences between male and female brains. Doing this is good for all of us.

Fabulous look at evolution

every human person, and
especially women should read this book is a biologist. I found the science, fascinating, a science teacher I found her explanation, understandable, relatable, and exceptional. It helps me value my own body better as a woman.

Buying copies for my mom, sisters, friends

Absolutely loved this book. It tells the story of the evolution of the female body by focusing on different parts of the body. I learned so much! It was very accessible. Would absolutely recommend to others.

The fear of humans.

I liked the hypothesis of womanhood & how it evolved.
Also the scientific, socioeconomic and cultural realities.

Detailed, well researched, accessible, and fascinating

I enjoyed the science presented in an understandable way. I also liked the uncertainty - no rigid doctrine here. And I enjoyed the personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout. I will be quoting and recommending this book to people.

So much interesting info and insightful connections!

The author’s voice is very pleasant to listen to - conversational, humorous, clear. Of course, the scope of the narrative has a necessarily feminist tone, but none of the conclusions are arrived at in a dismissive, flippant, or opinionated manner. Everything is based in biology, genetics, & behavioral research. Fascinating and very thought provoking - I think I’ll have to listen a couple more times to really absorb it all!

Mind blown!

Funny, smart, and exceptionally fascinating. Plus galvanizing in the cause of humane human survival and evolution.

Essential reading for feminists, scientists, and parents of girls

Depth and breadth of research, voice pleasant to listen to… hopeful possibilities, understanding of material.