The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History

by Kent Dunlap, Christopher Grove (Reader)

A 300-million-year tour of the prominent role of the neck in animal evolution and human culture.
 
Humans give a lot of attention to the neck. We decorate it with jewelry and ties, kiss it passionately, and use it to express ourselves in word and song. Yet, at the neck, people have also shackled their prisoners, executed their opponents, and slain their victims. Beyond the drama of human culture, animals have evolved their necks into a staggering variety of shapes and uses vital to their lifestyles. The Neck delves into evolutionary time to solve a living paradox—why is our neck so central to our survival and culture, but so vulnerable to injury and disease?
 
Biologist Kent Dunlap shows how the neck's vulnerability is not simply an unfortunate quirk of evolution. Its weaknesses are intimately connected to the vessels, pipes, and glands that make it so vital to existence. Fun and far-reaching, The Neck explores the diversity of forms and functions of the neck in humans and other animals and shows how this small anatomical transition zone has been a locus of incredible evolutionary and cultural creativity. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, History, Biology

1 pages, Audio CD

Expected publication August 18, 2026

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got the audiobook for review.
The book felt random in the best way, discusses all things neck related. Human, animals, evolution, culture and more. Was such an engaging and fun book to listen to. As someone who have barley toughts of necks in particular and had no previous interested about the subject it still hooked flme from the start.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wide-ranging look at the neck, from biology and evolution to social status signalling. This very informative and often entertaining book is an inch wide and a mile deep on all things relating to the neck, from quoting Norah Ephron's "I Feel Bad About My Neck" humorous essay to citing academic research in which the neck feathers of young birds were dyed so scientists could determine if the birds could fake the dominance that typically comes with the breed's darker neck feathers. The author is also a potter, so there is an in-depth discussion of how the necks of vases are sculpted. Yes, there's a chapter on hangings as well. I very much enjoyed exploring the subject of necks in detail across a range of disciplines in this well-written and well-narrated audiobook.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @HighbridgeAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #TheNeck for review purposes. Publication date: 18 August 2026.

[Andrea Keeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much fun! I adore niche biology books because you can often hear and feel the author's passion of the subject as you read.

This book is wonderfully written, full of cool & weird science facts, and beautifully organized. Numerous studies on various vertebrates are shared in a super digestible way. Unfortunately, inverts aren't included (see note in the introduction), but I hope to read a book on the wild evolution of invertebrate necks in the future (who would've thought!). I liked the human/social additions (e.g., ballet, ceramics, vampires), but was glad that the author kept most of the discussion to biology.

Finally, the audiobook was very well narrated.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this fantastic read!

[Sacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expert excited about their topic - the best! This book included a huge array of new.to.me facts from the evolution of the neck to the long trachea of some birds to the history of the necktie, and so many more. All written with wit and organization.

I hear about it on the Nature email.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dunlap takes a good long look at the neck of humans and the animal kingdom. It's both the "natural" and the "cultural" and just like anything you sit and ponder and research about for an extensive amount of time, the more you realize there's so much to learn.

The book shows the cutaway of the neck from it's elements like the trachea and esophagus to the spine and thyroid. The book talks about neck fighting in giraffes. The book talks about neckties, cravats, scarves, and neck coils in a specific culture. The book talks about blue collar and redneck. The book talks about St. Blaise and the blessing of the throats. The book talks about the nonexistent necks of fish and the flaps of a specific reptile around its neck. Literally anything about the subject of the neck. Ironically within 24 hours I had read in two separate books (this one and You'll Leave This World With Your Butt Sewn Shut: And Other Little-Known Secrets, Shocking Facts, and Amusing Trivia about Death and Dying about the 1929 death of Isadora Duncan, a dancer whose neck scarf got wrapped up in the wheels of a motor vehicle and killed her due to strangulation.

I return to the thought often that there are books about ANYTHING a person could think of to write about and I value the introspection and research of anyone willing to dive deep into a subject. And then when you slap a fantastic cover to match the topic, it's a forgone conclusion that I'll read it. I don't know what I don't know.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dunlap shines a spotlight on a vital but sometimes overlooked part of animal anatomy: the neck. The book examines it from many different angles. Why is the neck so fragile? How does it work? And what can we learn from non-human animals about this fascinating body part? That last question was my favorite part, especially the experiments involving lions and lion mannequins, as well as the discussion of what giraffes can teach us about hypertension. Christopher Grove narrates the audiobook in an approachable manner, sounding like the world’s most knowledgeable professor. Other chapters explore the neck’s role in art, culture, and even fashion. A few sections are more scientific, particularly those focused on evolution and sexual versus natural selection, but I found the book entertaining and accessible without becoming overly technical. Content warning: as with many books about anatomy and animal science, there are discussions of animal experimentation and suffering. Overall, this was an illuminating and informative look at a body part we rarely stop to think about.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Highbridge Audio.