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  • The Story of the Human Body

  • Evolution, Health, and Disease
  • Written by: Daniel Lieberman
  • Narrated by: Sean Runnette
  • Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (24 ratings)

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The Story of the Human Body

Written by: Daniel Lieberman
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Publisher's Summary

In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman - chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field - gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease.

The Story of the Human Body brilliantly illuminates as never before the major transformations that contributed key adaptations to the body: the rise of bipedalism; the shift to a non-fruit-based diet; the advent of hunting and gathering, leading to our superlative endurance athleticism; the development of a very large brain; and the incipience of cultural proficiencies. Lieberman also elucidates how cultural evolution differs from biological evolution, and how our bodies were further transformed during the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

While these ongoing changes have brought about many benefits, they have also created conditions to which our bodies are not entirely adapted, Lieberman argues, resulting in the growing incidence of obesity and new but avoidable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Lieberman proposes that many of these chronic illnesses persist and in some cases are intensifying because of "dysevolution," a pernicious dynamic whereby only the symptoms rather than the causes of these maladies are treated. And finally - provocatively - he advocates the use of evolutionary information to help nudge, push, and sometimes even compel us to create a more salubrious environment.

©2013 Daniel Lieberman (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"No one understands the human body like Daniel Lieberman or tells its story more eloquently. He's found a tale inside our skin that's riveting, enlightening, and more than a little frightening." (Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run)
"Monumental: The Story of the Human Body, by one of our leading experts, takes us on an epic voyage that reveals how the past six million years shaped every part of us - our heads, limbs, and even our metabolism. Through Lieberman's eyes, evolutionary history not only comes alive, it becomes the means to understand, and ultimately influence, our body's future." (Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish)
"A lucid, engaging account of how the human body evolved and the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and the modern world." ( Publishers Weekly)

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Brilliant book

brilliantly puts evolutionary logic behind today's health woes. loved it. thanks
well narrated and storyline is perfect as well

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we must cultivate our bodies

superb diction and cadence added to the intriguing subjec of why we fall I'll and what best can be done about it, makes this audible a must for every one

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loved this.

A great guide to our health. worth reading. after reading this I have become more aware of my body and have started making better choices.

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