Evolution: The Human Odyssey

by Scientific American

The complex story of human evolution is a tale seven million years in the making. Each new discovery adds to or revises our story and our understanding of how we came to be the way we are. In this eBook, The Human Odyssey, we explore the evolution of those characteristics that make us human. The first section, “Where We Came From,” looks at our family tree and why some branches survived and not others. Swings in climate are emerging as a factor in what traits succeeded and failed, as we see in “Climate Shocks;” meanwhile in “Human Hybrids,” DNA analyses show that Homo sapiens interbred with other human species, which played a key role in our survival. Section Two, “What Makes Us Special,” examines those traits that separate us from other primates. Recent data indicate that our hairless skin was important to the rise of other human features, and other research is getting closer to illuminating how humans became monogamous, as shown in “The Naked Truth” and “Powers of Two,” respectively. In the final section, “Where We Are Going,” we speculate on the future of human evolution in a world where advances in technology, medicine and other areas protect us from harmful factors like disease, causing some scientists to claim that humans are no longer subject to natural selection and our evolution has ceased. Far from that, in “Still Evolving,” author John Hawks discusses how humans have evolved rapidly over the past 30,000 years, as seen in relatively recent traits like blue eyes or lactose tolerance, why such rapid evolution has been possible and what future generations might look like. Like us, our story will continue to evolve.

Genres: Science, Evolution, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Anthropology

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2017

About the author

Scientific American , as an institutional author, is a popular science magazine founded by Rufus M. Porter and controlled by Nature Publishing Group since autumn, 2008. Mariette DiChristina has been editor-in-chief since December, 2009.

Reviews

[Katie Burger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays on human evolution by Scientific American is included with an Audible Prime membership and, hey, free is always good. The audiobook is broken into three sections: Where We Came From, What Makes Us Special and Where We Are Going. Each section includes chapters written by contributing authors, including personal favorites such as primatologist Frans de Waal and paleoanthropologist John Hawks, and offers insights into specific areas of evolution and human behavior. Though much of the information were things I’ve already read, it’s always fun to think about how each new discovery revises our story.

[Paul Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is the collection of 19 articles from Scientific American, that will appeal to many people interested in the subject. They are written mostly by scientist in an accessible language. My rating of the book reflects the fact that the information provided was either already known to me or too detailed for my interests.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good articles. I probably would have given this audiobook and extra star had I been more interested in the subject. Nevertheless I was interested enough and might listen to it again.

Contents

Section 01-Where We Came From (00:06)
o Where We Came From by the Editors (01:21)
o Welcome to the Family by Bernard Wood (20:57)
o Mystery Human by Kate Wong (45:22)
o Climate Shocks by Peter B. deMenocal (27:52)
o Tales of a Stone Age Neuroscientist by Dietrich Stout (32:31)
o When the Sea Saved Humanity by Curtis W. Marean (30:24)
o Human Hybrids by Michael F. Hammer (27:38)

Section 02-What Makes Us Special (00:06)
o The Naked Truth by Nina G. Jablonski (32:07)
o The 'It' Factor by Gary Stix (30:35)
o Neandertal Minds by Kate Wong (33:28)
o Powers of Two by Blake Edgar (21:10)
o The Evolution of Grandparents by Rachel Caspari (23:42)
o One for All by Frans de Waal (14:49)
o The Origins of Creativity by Heather Pringle (30:51)

Section 03-Where We Are Going (00:06)
o Where We Are Going by the Editors (01:44)
o The Networked Primate by Mark Fischetti (15:32)
o Still Evolving (After All These Years) by John Hawks (20:03)
o Starship Humanity by Cameron M. Smith (25:55)
o The 1 Percent Difference by Kate Wong (01:33)

[Rhys Causon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this audiobook wondering what it would talk about that would be new to me as I have watched/listened to/read a fair amount of media that talks about evolution and while some of it was covering things I’ve already experienced in other things.

But there were a few topics that were spoken about that were interesting when seen through an outsider’s eyes such as the Rising Star Cave expeditions, pair bonding in primates and even what the brain of a Neanderthal could have been like.

The last section I didn’t find as interesting as it was about speculative evolution rather than what we have learned about our ancient cousins but I’m sure someone out there would enjoy those articles.

[Cameron Rhoads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of essays by Scientific American whose science I thoroughly enjoyed.