science / life sciences / general

"Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but [the author] breaks the mold with this . . . book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, [this book] integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. [The author] also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend the laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves"--Provided by publisher.

"Why cracking the code of human conception took centuries of wild theories, misogynist blunders, and ludicrous mistakes. Throughout most of human history, babies were surprises. People knew the basics: men and women had sex, and sometimes babies followed. But beyond that the origins of life were a colossal mystery. The Seeds of Life is the remarkable and rollicking story of how a series of blundering geniuses and brilliant amateurs struggled for two centuries to discover where, exactly, babies come from. Taking a page from investigative thrillers, acclaimed science writer Edward Dolnick looks to these early scientists as if they were detectives hot on the trail of a bedeviling and urgent mystery. These strange searchers included an Italian surgeon using shark teeth to prove that female reproductive organs were not 'failed' male genitalia, and a Catholic priest who designed ingenious miniature pants to prove that frogs required semen to fertilize their eggs. A witty and rousing history of science, The Seeds of Life presents our greatest scientists struggling-against their perceptions, their religious beliefs, and their deep-seated prejudices-to uncover how and where we come from"--.

Combines research with case studies to paint a detailed portrait of the domestic cat. Traces the cat's evolution from solitary hunter to domesticated companion, showing that cats remain independent, predatory, and wary of social contact, qualities that often clash with the demands of their owner's modern lifestyles.