The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of What Makes Us Human

Widely regarded as one of the rare eminent scientists who is also a graceful writer, Ian Tattersall here takes up some of the most controversial questions in evolutionary history in this superb collection of essays. Tattersall stresses that living creatures, including humans, are not finely engineered organisms with every component perfectly adapted to their function. We are - on the contrary - jury-rigged, improvised beings, owing as much to chance as to adaptation. And this is true of all living creatures. Leading the reader around the world and into the far reaches of the past, Tattersall shows us what the science of human evolution is about and what it is up against - from the sparsity of evidence to the pressures of religious fundamentalism.

The fundamental questions of our origins - and our evolutionary future - find new life in this extraordinary book, full of delightful stories, scientific wisdom, and fresh insight