# Humanimal: How Homo Sapiens Became Nature's Most Paradoxical Creature - A New Evolutionary History - Hardcover

by **Adam Rutherford** (Author)

Publisher's note: _Humanimal_ was published in the UK under the title _The Book of Humans._  
  
Evolutionary theory has long established that humans are animals: Modern _Homo sapiens_ are primates who share an ancestor with monkeys and other great apes. Our genome is 98 percent identical to a chimpanzee's. And yet we think of ourselves as exceptional. _Are we?_  
  
In this original and entertaining tour of life on Earth, Adam Rutherford explores the profound paradox of the "human animal." Looking for answers across the animal kingdom, he finds that many things once considered exclusively human are not: In Australia, raptors have been observed starting fires to scatter prey; in Zambia, a chimp named Julie even started a "fashion" of wearing grass in one ear. We aren't the only species that communicates, makes tools, or has sex for reasons other than procreation. But we _have_ developed a culture far more complex than any other we've observed. Why has that happened, and what does it say about us?  
  
_Humanimal_ is a new evolutionary history--a synthesis of the latest research on genetics, sex, migration, and much more. It reveals what unequivocally makes us animals--and also why we _are_ truly extraordinary.

### Author Biography

**Adam Rutherford,** PhD, is a science writer and broadcaster. He studied genetics at University College London, and during his PhD on the developing eye, he was part of a team that identified the first known genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. His previous books are _A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived_\--finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction--and _Creation_, which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. He writes and presents BBC's flagship weekly Radio 4 program _Inside Science_; _The Cell_ for BBC Four; and _Playing God_ (on the rise of synthetic biology) for the leading science series _Horizon_; in addition to writing for the _Guardian_.

**Number of Pages:** 256

**Dimensions:** 1.3 x 9.1 x 6.3 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** March 19, 2019

## Details

- **Price:** 25.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 25.95 USD | In stock |

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- Humanimal: How Homo Sapiens Became Nature's Most Paradoxical Creature - A New Evolutionary History - Hardcover

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