The book, BEING HUMAN: How Our Biology Shaped World History, by Westminster Professor of Science Communication, Lewis Dartnell, has been announced as one of Waterstones’ Best Books of 2023.
As a biologist, Professor Dartnell has long been fascinated by the inner workings of what makes the human body tick and wanted to explore the important question of how these intrinsic aspects of human beings have a deep, defining influence on the course of world history. This spans from features of the anatomy to genetics and psychology.
The book explores human biology and how it has shaped societies, relationships and economies around the world. He questions how a mutation in Queen Victoria’s DNA contributed to the Russian Revolution 100 years later, how tropical diseases on the other side of the world helped bring about the union between England and Scotland, and about how the human body’s inability to make vitamin C dominated the Age of Sail and even led to the rise of the Mafia.
BEING HUMAN, which has also been selected by Amazon for a December discount, is the third in a triptych of books written by Professor Dartnell. It sits alongside ORIGINS and THE KNOWLEDGE - both of which take the same investigative approach to examine today’s world.
About Waterstones’ announcement, Professor Dartnell said: “I’m so excited for BEING HUMAN to have been highlighted by Waterstones as one of their best books of the year. I love getting myself lost among the books on their shelves whenever I visit, and it’s an absolute thrill to have received this recognition, especially among so many other wonderful titles this year.”
Find out more about the School of Life Sciences at the University of Westminster.
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