Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Incredible Unlikeliness of Being
Incredible Unlikeliness of Being: Evolution and the Making of Us | Alice Roberts
28 posts | 7 read | 1 reading | 8 to read
Alice Roberts takes you on the most incredible journey in nature, revealing your path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person. It's a story that with our distant ancestors and an extraordinary, unlikely chain of events that shaped human development and left their mark on all of us. This is your story, told as never before. Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes, to those visible in your anatomy. This is the incredible story of you!
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Graywacke
post image
Pickpick

A bit of work, but there is a whole lot of interesting information and it‘s very thorough. Roberts brings in ideas and hunts down perspectives, and it left me feeling very up-to-date. I‘m left thinking about about how evolution works, and about our pronate knees, twisting forearms (which the dog and cat lack), and all the intricate movements behind throwing - something we do really well.

AllDebooks That's a great review. 👍 8mo
57 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
AllDebooks
Mehso-so

This book has some fascinating details on human evolution, delving into embryology and anatomy. It is quite heavy going at times, due to the sheer amount of information. You need to have a deep interest in evolution and anatomy to persevere. This would be a soft pick for me, but I'm put off with the author's jovial asides. It feels like she's trying to convey detailed scientific topics but still be your bff.

Read for #NaturaLitsy July #buddyread

jlhammar Great review! 9mo
AllDebooks @jlhammar thanks x 9mo
30 likes2 comments
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Our final discussion thread before we leave behind evolution, for now.

What were your final thoughts on this one? Would you read more by Alice Roberts?

I've always loved The march of progress image. I never fully appreciated how ingrained into our culture it really is until reading Roberts take on it.

📣 Next up Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, starts 1st August. 📣

See All 18 Comments
Hooked_on_books Love the pic! 😂 I really enjoyed the chapter on the lower extremity. I found it interesting to compare the gait and pelves of humans and other apes and how our knowledge of human anatomy allows us to gather info on our past hominid ancestors from their bones alone. That was really cool. Overall, I enjoyed the info in this book, but felt she needed to work a bit more on her writing. 9mo
AllDebooks @Hooked_on_books me too, can't beat Homer 🤣 💯 agree on your comments 😊 9mo
vonnie862 The Simpsons' March of Progress is hilarious! I also looked up the Dalek version she mentioned and I had to guffaw. 9mo
vonnie862 What I liked about this book was it read easily. I was able to understand everything she was saying. BUT...there was soooo much information that it was hard to remember things. However, I did learn a few things and it has me wondering of things that I never thought about. For instance, the chapter about our limbs was fascinating. We always think about the evolution of walking but not running. 9mo
jlhammar 😂 Great image choice! These last chapters when she was referencing the hominid skeletons were by far my favorite. Had me researching Lucy, Turkana/Noriikotome Boy and Kadanuumuu (Big Man) to learn more. Overall though, I didn‘t enjoy this enough to want to read more by Roberts. 9mo
AllDebooks @jlhammar I found these last few vhapters more interesting. I don't think I would be too interested in reading more of her books, love her as a presenter though 9mo
BookwormAHN Love the graphic 😸 9mo
Graywacke I‘m glad i read this. A whole lot of interesting information and it‘s very thorough. She brings in a lot of complex ideas and hunts down perspectives, and it left me feeling very up-to-date. (The last section had me thinking of the opening scene in the Curious George movie and Ted‘s take on Australopithecus. ☺️) 9mo
Graywacke My take on Alice Roberts is that she‘s very attuned to short presentations. She has a charming writing style and a nice voice. But she hadn‘t worked out a strong book length structure for this book. She has the content, but it comes across as a list. The thread tying it all together was weak and got lost. Reading an e version, I kept thinking i had just read the last paragraph of a section and was constantly surprised I was still mid-chapter. 9mo
Graywacke I would definitely read her again. She‘s thorough and feels reliable. I feel like she will always get to the key point of a specific topic. 9mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke great feedback!! I've just discovered I have another of her books, so I will be reading her again 9mo
AllDebooks @BookwormAHN who doesn't love The Simpsons, right? 😊 9mo
Graywacke So, I‘m still thinking about several things from this last section - how there are muscles we only use when we run, and how (in shape) humans can outrun other animals, and that our twisty forearms are unique (and how I thought it was all in the wrist), and all the motions involved in throwing. Also i‘m still annoyed she claimed we can scratch our back, because we can, but never that one itchy spot. ☹️ 9mo
Graywacke @AllDebooks cool. Ancestors sounds terrific. 9mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke 😅 not all of us can reach that scratch, rein yourself in, Alice!!
Also have her latest which looks fascinating
9mo
37 likes18 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
post image
Pickpick

This book looks at human evolution by pulling in aspects of human embryology and anatomy with comparative anatomy and fossils of extinct hominids. The info is quite interesting (though much of it wasn‘t new to me), but the book can be a bit choppy with poor transitions. A low pick for that. (Though I did learn that chimpanzees have much larger testicles than humans, which I found fascinating.)

AllDebooks Great review x 9mo
Megabooks And gorillas have much smaller ones! 9mo
Megabooks This book sounds really interesting. 9mo
Hooked_on_books @Megabooks Yes, she mentioned gorillas, too! I also thought the discussion of why each species has the size testicles they do was fascinating. Apparently she‘s a tv presenter for these topics and quite good at it. She does need a little polishing/editing with her writing, but the info is fascinating for sure. 9mo
47 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
vonnie862
post image
Mehso-so

Read this for the #naturalitsy buddy read. I usually don't do nonfiction books (other than memoirs) so this one was a challenge. It reads easily but there is so much information and vocabulary that it had my head spinning. However, I am glad I read it because I learned a few things about our evolution. 3⭐️

review
jlhammar
post image
Pickpick

Rounding up to a pick. Definitely had some fascinating bits and Roberts clearly knows her stuff, but I guess I‘m just not all that interested in human anatomy. #NaturaLitsy

AllDebooks Great review x 9mo
66 likes1 comment
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Catching up on Sunday's Observer and came across this article.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/22/small-brained-early-humans-homo-...

May be of interest 🤔 Fyi, same article, just different headline.

jlhammar Thanks for sharing! 9mo
Soscha I got that audio book on preorder already! 9mo
34 likes2 comments
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Our reading schedule for the last week with evolution.
Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

Eyelit I‘d like to be added to the tag list please and thank you! 9mo
AllDebooks @Eyelit that's great, welcome. We're just in the process of selecting our Sept/Oct reads. I'll set up voting tomorrow. Here's what has been suggested so far x https://litsy.com/p/SWxnc0lmNGhr 9mo
AllDebooks @Eyelit here's August buddy read 9mo
Eyelit Thanks! 9mo
19 likes4 comments
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Week 3 discussion thread

Is anyone else captivated by the acanthostega and its 8 fingers/toes?

See All 18 Comments
Soubhiville Wow, cool animal! I‘m not reading along this month, but he look intriguing to me. 9mo
vonnie862 Lol I was just talking about the toes/fingers with my husband! I also found it interesting that this creature didn't have weight bearing wrists so it couldn't walk but crawl instead. I am looking forward to reading about how we started walking. 9mo
vonnie862 Also, the chapter on gonads was interesting. I had to look up bonobos for a visual aide. 😅 9mo
jlhammar Oooh, cool photos! Yes, that was really interesting. I have to say, “Guts and Yolk Sacs” might be the most disgusting chapter title I‘ve ever encountered 😆 9mo
Graywacke Enjoyed these chapters. Evolution is a funny thing - or simultaneous series of endless things. 9mo
AllDebooks @Soubhiville it's one of the first animals with recognisable animals with limbs but no structures to support weight, as @vonnie862 mentioned. 9mo
AllDebooks @vonnie862 lol 😆 🫣 9mo
AllDebooks @jlhammar lol, I agree, squeamish chapter too. 9mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke isn't it just? I think these have been my favourite chapters so far, although every time we go back to embryology, I inwardly groan 🤯 9mo
Hooked_on_books I felt like most of these chapters were a lot of human anatomy and embryology, well done but not a lot new for me. I did find the toes but interesting and am floored by the relative hugeness of chimpanzee testicles. Some men would be very jealous if they knew! 😂 9mo
AllDebooks @Hooked_on_books 🤣🤣🤣🤣 9mo
TheKidUpstairs I'm SUPER behind on this one, as I was only able to start reading this week. I'm finding it fascinating, but slow going, so I'll be continuing in August alongside 9mo
AllDebooks @TheKidUpstairs No worries, it's always a relaxed buddyread. Glad you're engaged with it but it is a lot of information to take in. I think we've all gone slowly with this one. I know I've had to reread a few pages 😅 9mo
TheBookHippie I‘m enjoying this I just started as well as just got book! 9mo
26 likes1 stack add18 comments
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Our 2nd week discussion thread is open.

All welcome to join us. Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

📣📣 Please see my next post re recommendations for September and October #buddyreads 📣📣

See All 14 Comments
Graywacke I‘m way behind. I‘ll come back when I catch up 9mo
jlhammar The most interesting bit for me in this week‘s chapters was the recent study finding not only women‘s preference for deeper voices, but that they remembered things better when they‘d been told them by a man with a low voice. I‘m finding that my mind keeps wandering while reading this one. I don‘t dislike it, but it isn‘t really grabbing me either. 9mo
Cuilin Apologies I 🪂 . The writing and subject is fabulous and interesting but I can‘t seem to focus for long on it. 9mo
SamAnne @jhammar oh that‘s depressing. And believable. I wasn‘t able to fit this book in this month but always enjoy the discussions. 9mo
vonnie862 @jlhammar I too found it interesting about the male voices. 9mo
vonnie862 It's hard to remember everything I read since there was so much information. However, the chapter on the deep voices and the importance of the coccyx were interesting. I always wondered why and the important of the tail bone. 9mo
AllDebooks @jlhammar I feel the same. I read it, I'm engaged and find it interesting, but nothing is staying with me 9mo
Hooked_on_books I found the comparative anatomy of skulls to be really interesting. I liked reading about and seeing the picture of a human and chimp skull side by side to see the differences. But I also found that chapter odd, since the first section was super engaging, then she slapped some embryology into the chapter and it just didn‘t fit. The choppiness we mentioned last week clearly continues. 9mo
rockpools I‘m afraid I‘m with @Cuilin on this one, and have bailed. It‘s really interesting, but is light years out of my reading comfort zone, and I just don‘t have the brain energy to get through it right now. 9mo
Graywacke Ok. Caught up. This is all very interesting. But it‘s intense info. Feels like the author is taking class she teaches and putting it into a popular science book format, and feeling very committed to include all the essential info. I need to take breaks. 9mo
Graywacke I found myself sharing about the larynx and about the different torso shapes of our dog vs us, and I wasn‘t boring anyone. 🙂 9mo
26 likes14 comments
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Week 3 reading schedule

Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist. All welcome to join us

blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

#Thisbook🤯

I have to say, 'splanchnocranium' is my new favourite word.
I'm also having anxiety-inducing dreams about having to resit my nursing exams from years ago, and failing on anatomy 🙃 😅🫣

blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

🤔 Are you enjoying this so far?
🤯 Are you learning new things?
😐 Likes/dislikes
🖋 Do you like the author's style?

Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist. All welcome to join us.

See All 14 Comments
Cuilin The author‘s style is very approachable, however most of it I‘m not retaining. I‘m reminding myself there‘s no exam at the end so just keep going. 9mo
jlhammar Interesting so far. Funny that you mention an exam @Cuilin as I was thinking this one feels a bit more like homework than pleasure reading. I had no idea that historically some cultures would bind the heads of babies to produce a more conical skull. Fascinating! 9mo
Graywacke Like @Cuilin , i like the author‘s voice. I keep thinking it should be really good on audio. She sets things up well, writes engagingly. On the negative side, she ultimately jumps around a bit, and is “wordy” and runs on a bit. And what do we do with this info in the next chapter? But I‘m intrigued. Never thought to ask why i have a head, or why doesn‘t a starfish have one. 9mo
vonnie862 @Graywacke I'm with you about how it jumps around and how it's too "wordy." I keep telling myself, "I am so not going to remember this." LOL however, I do like gow easy it is to read despite all of the words. BTW, I found the skull chapter fascinating. I had to touch my husband's skull and mine to see the differences the author was talking about. ? 9mo
AllDebooks @Cuilin lol, I hear you on that one 😅 9mo
AllDebooks @jlhammar I had heard of it before but not that is was a custom among so many different cultures 9mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke I've never thought about why we have heads either 😅 9mo
AllDebooks @vonnie862 the skull difference astounded me too 9mo
AllDebooks I like her narrative style, tho agree it's erratic and wordy in places @Graywacke @vonnie862 I have a nursing background and the first chapter completely frazzled me. Hopefully, as the brain is the most complex organ to discuss, and we've got that one ticked off, it gets easier from here 😅 9mo
Hooked_on_books I‘ve taken embryology, so the first two chapters didn‘t hold much new info to me, though I do think her writing style is quite engaging. I found the section on mirror neurons interesting and like others, the skull shaping in various cultures was quite interesting. I don‘t like how her chapters end, it seems abrupt and awkward. 9mo
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm My copy still hasn‘t come in at the library, so I‘m behind. 😅 9mo
25 likes14 comments
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Week 2 of our Evolution #buddyread

blurb
rockpools
post image

Giving this a go for #natualitsy.

It‘s interesting, but anatomy and evolution are not my go-to topics. So many new words 😵‍💫

Cuilin Oh me too, I‘m trying to read on knowing I‘m missing some. 9mo
62 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Graywacke
post image

Ok, #naturalitsy , I‘ve started.

Tamra This looks great - anxious to find out what you think! 10mo
34 likes1 comment
blurb
LitsyEvents
post image

repost for @AllDebooks:

#Naturalitsy July's #buddyread
Theme - Evolution

Here's the reading schedule for our next book, starting today. All welcome to join us.

Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2605169

AllDebooks Thank you for the share x 10mo
27 likes1 comment
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy July's #buddyread
Theme - Evolution

Here's the reading schedule for our next book, starting today. All welcome to join us.

Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

AllDebooks @Graywacke @Julsmarshall @vonnie862 tagging you as not on my previous post taglist. 10mo
Graywacke Just picked up a kindle copy and started 10mo
AllDebooks @Graywacke 😊 yay, happy to see you back x 10mo
28 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
LitsyEvents
post image

#Naturalitsy

Our selected book for July's theme of evolution is The incredible unlikeliness of being. Our July #buddyread starts on the 1st July.Reading scedule posted Mondays, discussion thread on Saturdays.

repost for @alldebooks let her now if you want to be added to the tag list!

AllDebooks Thank you for the share x 10mo
34 likes1 comment
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy

Our selected book for July's theme of evolution is The incredible unlikeliness of being. Our July #buddyread starts on the 1st July.Reading scedule posted Mondays, discussion thread on Saturdays.

@LitsyEvents

Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist. All welcome to join us.

31 likes13 comments
blurb
LitsyEvents
post image

#Naturalitsy #Buddyread

We have our chosen books for the summer. 🌞 I will post the voting graphics straight after this one.

July - Evolution (tagged) Starts 1st July

August - Fiction - Migrations (tagged in comments) Starts 1st August

All welcome to join us. Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

* I'll post the reading schedules towards the end of the month. repost @Alldebooks

AllDebooks Thank you for the tag x 10mo
27 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
AllDebooks
post image

#Naturalitsy #Buddyread

We have our chosen books for the summer. 🌞 I will post the voting graphics straight after this one.

July - Evolution (tagged) Starts 1st July

August - Fiction - Migrations (tagged in comments) Starts 1st August

All welcome to join us. Please do let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

* I'll post the reading schedules towards the end of the month.

@LitsyEvents

See All 14 Comments
jlhammar Awesome! Haven‘t read either of these yet. Thanks! 10mo
AllDebooks @jlhammar my pleasure. X 10mo
TheBookHippie I‘m in!!! Thx so much! It‘ll take me the week to catch up! 😅😂🤣 10mo
Hooked_on_books I‘ve read Migrations, which is wonderful, so I won‘t be joining for that. If I can track down a copy of the July book, I‘ll join in. 10mo
Chelsea.Poole Love Migrations!! 10mo
TheKidUpstairs I'm so excited for these. Migrations has been sitting on my shelf for a long time, just waiting to be read! 10mo
AnnR @AllDebooks Would it be possible to remove me from the tag lists for now? A family member is very ill and I've been trying to deal with caregiving along with navigating the broken medical system in the US. It is overwhelming. I hope at some point down the line I will have time to participate in #Naturalitsy though. 🍁 Thanks for continuing to lead the group. (edited) 10mo
AllDebooks @Ann_Reads oh Ann, I'm so very sorry to read this, it must be so tough. I hope you're managing to take time out for yourself to relax and recover. Of course, I'll take you off the taglist. Hopefully for now and we'll see you back in the future, no pressure tho. You know where we are. Always happy to chat if you need a shoulder x 10mo
AllDebooks @Hooked_on_books ok, thanks for letting me know, Holly. 😊 10mo
35 likes14 comments
blurb
MichelleRoss
post image

I've got 30mins kid free and I'm making the most of it!

Sydsavvy Your shoes and the flowers! 💐💐 8y
MichelleRoss @Sydsavvy I love these sneakers! They were an $8 Old Navy clearance find ;) The flowers are at the church where my stepdaughter is auditioning for our community choir. 8y
6 likes2 comments
blurb
MichelleRoss
post image

I should be sleeping but instead I'm up reading and listening to a rare Alaska thunderstorm. I'll be paying for this in the morning.

blurb
MichelleRoss
post image

Another Sunday. Another bonfire. Another little bit of reading time. #sundayfunday

blurb
MichelleRoss
post image

Such a good read. I had to break out my glasses though, some of the writing that labels the figures is so. darn. tiny.

quote
MichelleRoss
post image

"...but if I'd been in charge of naming acorn worms, they would have been called sperm worms, which is obviously far surperior because it rhymes."

blurb
MichelleRoss
post image

So far, such a great book! Evolution is so incredibly fascinating.