Overview

Full Product Details

9780226059884

Table of Contents

Reviews

Taylor has accomplished the difficult feat of appealing to the general reader in a book aimed also at medical professionals. Doctors really do need to imbibe Darwinism, not just as the explanation for all life but as a message of direct importance to medicine itself. --Richard Dawkins, author of The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution This is a fantastic book that I found hard to put down. Taylor has tackled some of the primary health concerns for many of us in industrialized nations, including allergies, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and back and knee problems that result from a lifetime of walking on two legs. Each chapter begins with a story of someone who is afflicted with one of these health challenges, drawing attention to real lives in ways that are compelling, and the thoroughness with which each topic is developed sets this book apart from most others that I have read on evolutionary medicine. --Wenda Trevathan, author of Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution Has Shaped Women's Health Drawing on complicated science, interviews, and current research, Taylor describes the body as an evolutionary collection of compromises, leaving the human species susceptible to degeneration and illness. . . . One anthropologist describes evolution as 'a tinker not an engineer.' Understanding how this tinkerer has molded the body provides greater insight into the ways our health works and fails. -- Booklist Taylor, a science writer and former BBC producer and director, celebrates the work of Charles Darwin and his successors in this densely packed survey of modern ailments with an evolutionary twist. . . . Taylor covers fascinating territory, and readers willing to wade into its technical aspects will find much to ponder. -- Publishers Weekly Body by Darwin attempts to trace the evolutionary history of many common medical issues, including heart disease, miscarriage, dementia, cancer, and back pain, with an eye toward what evolution can tell people about the possible origins of these problems and, ultimately, strategies for treatment. . . . Taylor succeeds in drawing provocative connections between health and evolution that add an important perspective to how people should think about the theory and practice of modern medicine. Recommended. -- Choice Body by Darwin packages cutting edge science into seven vivid true stories dramatically describing patients and their doctors discovering evolutionary explanations for diseases. More than just the perfect book club book, it advances the field of evolutionary medicine. I will use it in my classes and give copies to my friends. --Randolph M. Nesse, coauthor of Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine Taylor is often eager to demonstrate that the human body is for the most part a remarkably well-adapted structure. . . . Taylor does a fine job of raising provocative questions and pointing the reader toward the ways in which evolutionary biology has been enhancing medical science. -- Wall Street Journal There is a wealth of information in Taylor's book, and . . . those who commit time and thought to Body by Darwin will come away with a new understanding and appreciation of our bodies and how and why they work. -- Washington Independent Review of Books

Body by Darwin packages cutting edge science into seven vivid true stories dramatically describing patients and their doctors discovering evolutionary explanations for diseases. More than just the perfect book club book, it advances the field of evolutionary medicine. I will use it in my classes and give copies to my friends. --Randolph M. Nesse, coauthor of Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine

<i>Body by Darwin</i> packages cutting edge science into seven vivid true stories dramatically describing patients and their doctors discovering evolutionary explanations for diseases. More than just the perfect book club book, it advances the field of evolutionary medicine. I will use it in my classes and give copies to my friends. --Randolph M. Nesse, coauthor of Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine

Author Information

Jeremy Taylor was previously a senior producer and director for BBC Television, and he has made numerous science films for the Discovery Channel and Learning Channel, among others. He is also the author of Not a Chimp: The Hunt to Find the Genes that Make Us Human. He lives in London.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available