Publishers Weekly
★ 02/08/2021
Paleoanthropologist DeSilva (A Most Interesting Problem) takes readers on a brisk jaunt through the history of bipedalism. Humans are the only living mammals to walk upright, the author notes, and in exploring how and why, he reveals what the fossil record says about the history of human evolution, migration, and social organization. “Homo erectus almost certainly moved in and out of Africa in pulses” rather than in one big wave, for example, and he describes various primate fossils that led to new discoveries in bipedalism, including those of Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old skeleton whose bones confirmed “bipedalism appeared early in our evolutionary history.” DeSilva argues bipedalism is a “prerequisite for changes that define our species” as it freed up hands for tool-making, and investigates its implications on modern human life, including the creative benefits of walking and the complications it introduces into giving birth. DeSilva’s love of fossil discovery and of collaborating with colleagues comes through in the wonder he experiences in examining bones firsthand: “Light reflected from it as if it were a geode, not an ancient human fossil. I hadn’t expected Taung to be so beautiful.” DeSilva’s ability to turn anatomical evidence into a focused tale of human evolution and his enthusiasm for research will leave readers both informed and uplifted. Agent: Esmond Harmsworth, Aevitas Creative Management. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
A book that strides confidently across this complex terrain, laying out what we know about how walking works, who started doing it and when. DeSilva proposes that our bipedalism is at the root of our uniqueness as a species, and the book is carefully structured, neatly braiding his own research with the wider narrative and history of human evolution. . . . DeSilva is a genial companion on this stroll through the deep origins of walking.” — New York Times Book Review
“Before our ancestors thought symbolically, before they used fire, before they made stone tools, or even entered the open savanna, our ancestors walked upright. In one way or another, this odd locomotory style has underwritten the whole spectrum of our vaunted human uniquenesses, from our manual dexterity to our hairless bodies, and our large brains. In the modern world it even influences the way other people recognize us at a distance, and it is crucial to our individual viability. In this authoritative but charmingly discursive and accessible book, Jeremy DeSilva lucidly explains how and why.” — Ian Tattersall, author of Masters of the Planet and The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack
“Master anatomist and paleontologist Jeremy DeSilva makes no bones about the fact that when looking at fossils ‘I let myself be emotional…’ Thus does this world expert and gifted story teller take us on a tour through the sprawling, complicated, saga of human origins. Drawing on his personal knowledge of topics ranging from sports medicine to childcare and his acquaintance with a host of colorful characters—whether lying inert in museum drawer, sitting behind microscopes or feuding with one other—DeSilva adds flesh and projects feelings onto the bones he studies, a tour de force of empathic understanding.” — Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, author of Mother Nature and Mothers and Others: The evolutionary origins of mutual understanding
“It should come as no surprise that walking matters. But what will surprise most readers is how and why. DeSilva takes us on a brilliant, fun, and scientifically deep stroll through history, anatomy, and evolution, in order to illustrate the powerful story of how a particular mode of movement helped make us one of the most wonderful, dangerous and fascinating species on Earth.” — Agustín Fuentes, Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University and author of Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being
"DeSilva has a gift for identifying important but often overlooked observations . . . While the subject of human evolution might seem daunting—especially discussions of the relationships between ape and hominin ancestors—DeSilva uses personable language and always keeps it interesting." — Library Journal (starred review)
DeSilva makes a solid scientific case with an expert history of human and ape evolution . . . Accessible, valuable popular anthropology. — Kirkus Reviews
“A brisk jaunt through the history of bipedalism . . . DeSilva’s ability to turn anatomical evidence into a focused tale of human evolution and his enthusiasm for research will leave readers both informed and uplifted.” — Publishers Weekly
“This is breezy popular science at its best, interweaving anecdotes from the field and lab with scientific findings and the occasional pop culture reference. DeSilva gets extra credit for naming oft-overlooked experts who made key discoveries . . . [DeSIlva] makes a compelling case overall.” — Science News
"DeSilva has written one of the most interesting 'science books' I’ve read in the last five years and one of the most interesting 'walking books' over the same span." — First Things
New York Times Book Review
A book that strides confidently across this complex terrain, laying out what we know about how walking works, who started doing it and when. DeSilva proposes that our bipedalism is at the root of our uniqueness as a species, and the book is carefully structured, neatly braiding his own research with the wider narrative and history of human evolution. . . . DeSilva is a genial companion on this stroll through the deep origins of walking.”
Agustín Fuentes
It should come as no surprise that walking matters. But what will surprise most readers is how and why. DeSilva takes us on a brilliant, fun, and scientifically deep stroll through history, anatomy, and evolution, in order to illustrate the powerful story of how a particular mode of movement helped make us one of the most wonderful, dangerous and fascinating species on Earth.”
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Master anatomist and paleontologist Jeremy DeSilva makes no bones about the fact that when looking at fossils ‘I let myself be emotional…’ Thus does this world expert and gifted story teller take us on a tour through the sprawling, complicated, saga of human origins. Drawing on his personal knowledge of topics ranging from sports medicine to childcare and his acquaintance with a host of colorful characters—whether lying inert in museum drawer, sitting behind microscopes or feuding with one other—DeSilva adds flesh and projects feelings onto the bones he studies, a tour de force of empathic understanding.
First Things
"DeSilva has written one of the most interesting 'science books' I’ve read in the last five years and one of the most interesting 'walking books' over the same span."
Science News
This is breezy popular science at its best, interweaving anecdotes from the field and lab with scientific findings and the occasional pop culture reference. DeSilva gets extra credit for naming oft-overlooked experts who made key discoveries . . . [DeSIlva] makes a compelling case overall.
Ian Tattersall
Before our ancestors thought symbolically, before they used fire, before they made stone tools, or even entered the open savanna, our ancestors walked upright. In one way or another, this odd locomotory style has underwritten the whole spectrum of our vaunted human uniquenesses, from our manual dexterity to our hairless bodies, and our large brains. In the modern world it even influences the way other people recognize us at a distance, and it is crucial to our individual viability. In this authoritative but charmingly discursive and accessible book, Jeremy DeSilva lucidly explains how and why.
Sunday Times (London)
"Gone Girl-esque . . . [a] slick, sharp debut thriller."
The Guardian
"Smart, gobble-at-a-sitting thriller about life as a yummy mummy influencer and the dark side of Instagram."
Evening Standard (London)
"A cautionary tale about the perils of being a social influencer, and might just be the first example of Instagram noir."
Press Association
"Taught, tight thriller . . . it's a great contemporary subject, examining Instagram culture and the consequences of sharing too much of yourself on social media."
Stylist (UK)
"A thriller not for the faint-hearted . . . it's a smart read."
Library Journal
★ 04/01/2021
Why, how, and when did human ancestors first walk on two feet? Why are humans so uniquely bipedal, at least among mammals? DeSilva (anthropology, Dartmouth Coll.; A Most Interesting Problem) tackles these issues in his latest work. Its scope includes the several-million-year prehistory of bipedal hominins. DeSilva has a gift for identifying important but often overlooked observations regarding bipedalism; for instance, he notes that humans are quite clumsy compared to four-legged mammals. He also discusses anatomical differences between human bipedalism and bird bipedalism. Readers will glean a solid framework of human origins, including the divergence of chimpanzee and hominin ancestors some six million years ago. He discusses various theories attempting to explain human bipedalism, such as the aquatic ape hypothesis. Other ideas, such as the ability to carry food with freed arms, offer plausible scenarios favoring bipedalism. While the subject of human evolution might seem daunting—especially discussions of the relationships between ape and hominin ancestors—DeSilva uses personable language and always keeps it interesting. VERDICT DeSilva provides a scholarly yet accessible conversation on the origins of human bipedalism. A great introduction to human origins, anthropology, and primatology for general audiences. Includes recent discoveries that are updates to previous popular works.—Jeffrey Meyer, Iowa Wesleyan Univ.
Kirkus Reviews
2021-01-19
Big brains, opposable thumbs, and tool use made humans masters of the planet, but walking upright came first.
In this fine account, Dartmouth paleoanthropologist DeSilva writes that humans are “the only fully bipedal ape,” and there is no shortage of explanations of how we evolved that way. Darwin speculated that standing freed our hands to make tools, which jump-started the growth of our brains. It’s sound logic, but common sense is no substitute for evidence, and fossils reveal that hominids walked long before they made tools. DeSilva makes a solid scientific case with an expert history of human and ape evolution, emphasizing the importance of food. Humans have a nongrasping big toe in line with the other toes, which are short and bend upward as we walk. This is the opposite of all other primates, whose toes are long and bend downward for grasping. Since Darwin’s time, fossils reveal ancient but upright hominids close to 6 million years old, the accepted period when hominid and ape evolution diverged. Since all living apes walk on their knuckles, researchers yearned to discover the first primate who rose up to become the founding proto-human. It turns out he or she may not have existed. Ardipithecus, perhaps the oldest hominid, walked upright despite possessing feet with some apelike features, and this was also a feature of ape fossils from the period before the common ancestor. As a result, some (but not all) anthropologists believe that knuckle-walking is not a primitive trait; modern apes evolved it. One scientist pointed out, “Asking why humans stood up from all fours is the wrong question….Perhaps we should instead be asking why our ancestors never dropped down on all fours in the first place.” DeSilva devotes the final 100 pages to the generally dismal consequences of bipedalism: dangerous childbirth, backaches, hernias, knee injuries, bunions, etc. On the bright side: Walking is good for us.
Accessible, valuable popular anthropology.
