Biology Book Review: The Story of the Human Body
The Story of the Human Body by Daniel Lieberman was one of the most interesting books I have ever read. As I spent more time reading this book, I became even more amazed at the journey humans had to make before civilization was even a thought. This book showed me how little I knew of the rich evolutionary history humans have. The book begins from the last common ancestors humans had with chimpanzees and takes you all the way to the development of culture and civilization.
Daniel Lieberman discusses the most important evolutionary traits that humans have developed. From the mechanics of walking to the size of our stomachs, The Story of the Human Body explains what each adaptation contributed to our survival. He discusses the environment of ancient times and explains how it affected the evolution of our bodies. After highlighting the key adaptations we all carry, Lieberman goes on to discuss the positive and negative effects civilization has had on our biology.
The negative effects of modern life are referred to as “mismatch” diseases, a topic I have covered in the past. He proposes that the most common non-infectious diseases we suffer from today are the result of a mismatch between our lifestyle and what our bodies evolved to expect. This category contains conditions such as obesity, cancer, and diabetes. This phenomenon has occurred because human civilization has progressed faster than our bodies could evolve. The book opens your eyes regarding countless conditions many people take for granted.
If you are interested in better understanding your body, this is the book for you. After reading it, you will be able to look at your life and notice things that you can change to achieve a healthier existence. Lieberman suggests many small changes over the course of the book that you can take into account. However, the book is designed to be informational, so most of the changes you should make must be inferred from the facts in the text. I personally find that type of learning fun but it could be hard work.
The writing style of this book is very logical. In fact, the progression of events is so mechanical that there is very little room for confusion. It does a great job of discussing our evolution as well as highlighting lifestyle choices that negatively affect these adaptations. Lieberman breaks down the biomechanics of each adaptation in an understandable way.
If you have no knowledge of the human body and our unique biology, this book would be rated a 10/10. However, if you have some basic knowledge about the subject, there may be one or two moments where the book focuses on things you already know. This is understandable since the goal is to teach people that know nothing about biology how humans came to be. However, it can be a mild annoyance as you read things you already know. Therefore, I will give this book a 9/10 as my official biology book review rating.
Here is an Amazon link (Audible/Hardcopy) to the book if you are interested in learning more.