Catching Fire

How Cooking Made Us Human

By: Richard Wrangham

Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau

Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Ever since Darwin and The Descent of Man, the existence of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. But in Catching Fire, renowned primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: our evolutionary success is the result of cooking.

In a groundbreaking theory of our origins, Wrangham shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution. When our ancestors adapted to using fire, humanity began. Once our hominid ancestors began cooking their food, the human digestive tract shrank and the brain grew. Time once spent chewing tough raw food could be used instead to hunt and to tend camp. Cooking became the basis for pair bonding and marriage, created the household, and even led to a sexual division of labor.

Tracing the contemporary implications of our ancestors diets, Catching Fire sheds new light on how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today. A pathbreaking new theory of human evolution, Catching Fire will provoke controversy and fascinate anyone interested in our ancient origins - or in our modern eating habits.

©2009 Richard Wrangham (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Top 10 Books of 2009 (Dwight Garner, The New York Times)

• Books of the Year 2009 (The Economist)

"[A] fascinating study...Wrangham's lucid, accessible treatise ranges across nutritional science, Paleontology and studies of ape behavior and hunter-gatherer societies; the result is a tour de force of natural history and a profound analysis of cooking's role in daily life." ( Publishers Weekly)

" Catching Fire is convincing in argument and impressive in its explanatory power. A rich and important book." (Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma)

the most awesome book I have ever read (heard)

Being female and observing females of many species, I have found that female equates to interest in food and male equates to interest in something else, need I say? Cooking backburnered as unimportant even to the point of it being required female activity is appraised in a whole new light and well proved up in this awesome book. Hey it is cooking that got us big brains, you know that lowly female activity? It makes me laugh! I think the genius author of this book will probably be excommunicated from the male religion of male supremacy. I also thought his points about why women CHOSE to be mated is also very important as well. Anyone who cannot see the importance and genius of this book and the importance of every thought in it, well, needs more cooked food and non-processed cooked food.

On a personal note, I tried a raw food diet and gave it up and now I know why and I don't have to feel guilty that I do not serve up my dogs a raw food diet instead of opening a can.

Really interesting insights

Really interesting insights in early adoption of fire from our ancestors and their learning of cooking as an activity that shaped our biological development, social behaviour and so many other aspects of ourselves. A must listen to.

very informative

I liked it a lot, nice follow. It is a very interesting topic. it is worth your time.

Fire the 🐐 no 🧢

This book blew my mind. I cannot stop thinking about this book. I can not stop talking about this book. Fantastic research and reporting.

Evolution of Man

Thought provoking look at the role of cooking in the evolution of man. In fact, the most important influence. Very logical argument that takes you to places that you night not have considered such as we are hairless upright running apes because we tamed fire thus making body fur unnecessary which makes us much more efficient at cooling and thus able to outrun furred game that overheats after a short period. Gets into the relationships between men and women, the expansion of the brain, the growth of society, etc., all traceable to cooking of food. Short and thought provoking. Arguments well supported and well narrated. I recommend.

A Doctorial Dissertation

This is an excellent book to listen to if you want to go to sleep. I DO NOT recommend it for drivers. It reads like a doctorial thesis that was released to the general public. It is way too detailed about caloric absorption, raw versus cooked and hominid diets. It was well thought-out and convinced me thoroughly of his hypothesis. I slogged through the first 6 hours or so, dredging up long-forgotten college biology data. It wasn't until he went into the sociologial aspects of hearth-fires, gender-based work divisions and the rise of marriage in primitive societies that it became interesting to me.
This is not a work for the casual or the uneducated listener.
The narrator is excellent. He does his best to cut through the jungle of dense words; to give it life and even poetry.
I'm glad I bought it but I'm never going to listen to it again.

So interesting, it will change your perspective

I loved this book! It will change everything you ever knew about cooking, men and women, evolution, nutrition, and life for us humans here on earth, compared to animals. It is shocking. A definite must read, great narration too! If you ever wanted to know why we are different from animals, this answers it. Listen and find out.

Compelling Premise

I found this book compelling in both ideas and ease of listening. The author provides a well-supported glimpse into the shaping of human culture, from brain and species evolution to gender roles. I had to laugh in agreement that, indeed, regardless of professional or business life, in the end, women are the cooks for men and family. Enlightening to hear a view as to why. This book has generated great conversation at our evening dinner table and continues to perk in my mind.

Extremely informative

Whether you’re interested in food science, anthropology, archaeology, or eating healthier in your day to day life, this book provides solids scientific theory. I mainly have trouble with his explanation of sex division of labor because I feel it is incomplete and contradicts some of his other theories. Otherwise, fabulous, and definitely worth a read.

Fascinating and the narrator was perfect for this.

The subject seemed odd at first but became really believable with the careful presentation of arguments and supporting research. The narrator Kevin Pariseau was perfect for this book; I wish he had been the narrator of many of the other non-fiction books I've heard. The book gets a little slow in places and there is some repetition but overall it was a great listen.