Overview
Life began about four billion years ago on our planet. Like an old patchwork quilt, evolution stitched the human being together from parts of ancient species now long extinct. Like any species, humans have hundreds or even thousands of traits that have been passed down through time. The evolutionary age of our different traits can be told from how widely distributed they are among today's living creatures. The book aims to explain some human traits and how we--as social, sexual, language-obsessed technological apes--evolved into our own modern species. Combining hard science with philosophical thought, this work aims to explain where humans have come from, and where we are going. Free of complicated jargon, it breaks down the concept of evolution starting with the human body's most basic component--our cells. Building from there, chapters explore which traits became inherited over evolutionary time, ultimately projecting what could be next for our species.
Full Product Details
Author: Peter Luykx
Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint: McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.40cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.399kg
ISBN: 9781476686127
ISBN 10: 1476686122
Pages: 284
Publication Date: 25 May 2022
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
A must read for all interested in learning something about evolutionary traits in humans but who have had no previous training in biology. I am amazed that the author has managed to bring together so many superficially unrelated aspects of human biology... The reader is profiting from the almost 60 years of teaching experience that Luykx has under his belt. His treatment of the literature is so sovereign that it reminds one of David Attenborough's publications! I particularly enjoyed the writing style of the author: it is simple and straight-forward, the sentences are well-connected making for a smooth flow of thought. Unlike some biology textbooks, this is a book that you can read in bed, on a plane. It's a gem! --David Robinson, professor emeritus, Centre for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany
a fresh, beautifully written, reader-friendly exploration of the slow, subtle evolutionary processes that resulted in human beings as we know them today. ...Surprising and sometimes hilarious comparisons are used to deepen our understanding of the human condition. ...An extraordinary read and highly recommended.--Christine A. Nalepa, Ph.D., research specialist for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (retired), adjunct associate professor, North Carolina State University A must read for all interested in learning something about evolutionary traits in humans but who have had no previous training in biology. I am amazed that the author has managed to bring together so many superficially unrelated aspects of human biology... The reader is profiting from the almost 60 years of teaching experience that Luykx has under his belt. His treatment of the literature is so sovereign that it reminds one of David Attenborough's publications! I particularly enjoyed the writing style of the author: it is simple and straight-forward, the sentences are well-connected making for a smooth flow of thought. Unlike some biology textbooks, this is a book that you can read in bed, on a plane. It's a gem! --David Robinson, professor emeritus, Centre for Organismal Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany The Patchwork Human is such an extraordinary accomplishment. So well researched, so thoughtful, and so insightful. I can't praise it enough. It is far better than any book I have read covering similar topics. --Steven Brooke, author and photographer; fellow, American Academy in Rome; adjunct professor, University of Miami School of Architecture. As a retired meteorologist with no background in the biological sciences, I found The Patchwork Human by Peter Luykx very illuminating about our biology and evolution as Homo sapiens. The patches of this book are well-stitched together to provide the non-biologist with a clear path through human evolution from the basic biology of all living things to the process and pattern of our own evolution as a species. Surprisingly, and perhaps even humbling, I found the author's interview with a sea urchin quite revealing. For successful evolution, organisms must adapt to their changing environments and reproduce. Modern Homo sapiens is making rapid, large scale environmental changes that are affecting evolution on this planet. The sea urchin will probably survive these changes, but Homo sapiens may not. --James M. Gross, Ph.D., retired meteorologist, National Hurricane Center, Miami, Florida What a wonderful book! I loved it. It is entertaining, informative, and often humorous. Genetics professor emeritus Peter Luykx gives us a grand tour of evolution in all its glory--with a focus on how we 'patchwork humans' came to be. He tells us what scientists know and what remains a mystery. The writing is excellent, reader-friendly, and crystal-clear. Luykx has a gift for clear and lucid explanations. He makes the science easy to understand through analogies and real-life stories. The book is filled with insight after insight. The interview with a sea urchin is a riot....Once I started [the book], I couldn't put it down. --Ira Mark Egdall, physicist, retired aerospace program manager, author of Einstein Relatively Simple
Author Information
Peter Luykx, professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Miami, Florida, has published research in genetics, cell biology, and evolution, and has taught and written for the non-scientist in those areas. He lives in Miami.
