Being Human is a fascinating and surprisingly readable romp through the marvels and miscalculations of human evolution and the myriad miracles and pitfalls that befall our bodies and minds; it's both a celebration and an analysis of our issues as a species over the centuries - right up to present day. The chapter titles give an idea of the topics Dartnell focuses on: Software For Civilisation; Family; Endemic Disease; Epidemic Disease; Demographics; Changing Our Minds; Coding Errors; and Cognitive Biases. In this book, the author takes a deep dive into human history and explores how our fundamental humanness has expressed itself in our cultures, societies and civilisations. How the different quirks of our genetics, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology and psychology have manifested themselves, and what the consequences and ramifications – not just in terms of singular, momentous events but for the over-arching constants and long-term trends of world history have been. I must admit, I was concerned that it might be too similar to Yuval Noah Harari's 'Sapiens', which I thoroughly enjoyed, but, luckily, this explores different topics - these complement Harari's work exceptionally well and don't merely cover the same ground. Illustrated by a plethora of intriguing anecdotes, Dartnell weaves a coherent yarn presented in plain, layman's English which I feel sits closer to the popular science genre than academia and is packed with interesting information, facts and statistics. A corporeal delight which reveals the profound and often shocking ways in which intrinsic aspects of our anatomy, genetics, biochemistry and psychology have left their mark on human history.

Another fascinating exploration of who we are and how we got here by Lewis Dartnell, and a great companion to Origins. Finds a perfect balance between accessible to those with little biology knowledge and those with more of a life sciences background, this is a well researched, intriguing and creative journey of how our genes, physiology and evolution have made us the amazing yet flawed species we are. A great read. With thanks to the publisher for the complimentary advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.