'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL
'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY

A mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world.

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.

Being Human is history made flesh. 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.

'This book is quite literally wonderful' ED CONWAY
'A wild ride' TIM HARFORD
'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' JO MARCHANT

From evolution to empire, how biology has steered the course of civilisation.

What if the key to understanding human history lies not in politics, but in our own bodies? In Being Human, astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell reveals how our evolution, physiology and psychology have directed the course of empires and ideas.

From the microbes that triggered pandemics to the chemistry that shaped our diets and brains, this is the story of civilisation seen through the lens of biology. Dartnell's trademark clarity and storytelling turn complex science into a thrilling narrative about what makes us who we are - and how biology will shape what comes next.

'Illuminating' Tim Marshall

'Refreshing' Thomas Halliday

'A gripping, red-blooded narrative from a master storyteller' Jo Marchant