Why Are We Here?: The Story of the Origin, Evolution, and Future of Life on Our Planet

by Bruce Brodie

Overview

From the big bang, to the origin and evolution of intelligent life in a search for the meaning of human existence, Why are We Here?, by author Bruce Brodie, offers a look at evolution and the future of life on the planet. Through many years of research and study, Brodie addresses a host of questions: • How did chemistry come to life? • How did the release of oxygen by cyanobacteria change the natural history of life? • How did mass extinctions reset the clock and reshape the course of biological evolution? • Why are homo sapiens so dominant? • Why do humans build vast civilizations, while chimps, with whom we share more than 98 percent of our DNA, are confined to forests and experimental laboratories and zoos? • How will cultural and technological evolution, which have transcended the slow pace of biological evolution, shape the future of life on the planet? • Can we escape the many existential threats that hover over us? Why are We Here? offers a new perspective on how we think about the world, and our place and our purpose in the universe and the future of humanity. It presents a lasting sense of the amazing wonder and mystery of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532048548
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/24/2019
Pages:	446
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Bruce Brodie is a retired clinical professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina and co-founder and past chairman of the LeBauer-Brodie Center for Cardiovascular Research and Education at Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has been a leader in research in the treatment of heart attacks and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts in leading cardiology journals.

Editorial Reviews

2019-10-04
A debut science book offers a history of life in the universe, particularly on Earth.

In the beginning of this comprehensive work, Brodie examines the creation of the universe. Subsequent chapters explore the fundamentals of physics and the development of the solar system, and then the author turns his attention to his home planet. After an overview of Darwinian and Lamarckian theories of evolution, the account moves through the development of life, from the first prokaryotes and eukaryotes to what it means to be human. The volume touches lightly on a multitude of subjects, educating readers without overwhelming them, while providing plenty of material for further study (a substantial glossary and encyclopedic list of citations make up much of the back matter). The book is both informational and highly engaging, in the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Brief History of Nearly Everything, and works equally well for pleasure reading and as a substitute for a science textbook. Brodie is particularly adept at summarizing and synthesizing existing research, making the works of Stephen Jay Gould, E.O. Wilson, and Yuval Noah Harari integral components of his text. The narrative is well organized, with a logical flow from one chapter to the next, and manages to be challenging and engrossing while illuminating topics that are familiar territory, if not always as clearly presented. Brodie has a gift for pithy phrases ("We humans require hierarchy but yearn for our egalitarian heritage") that render the text deceptively simple while making it a joy to read. In the Preface, he explains that the volume, which includes diagrams and photographs, is the product of more than seven years of research. The effort put into the detailed work is evident throughout, as is the inclusion of recent developments like CRISPR gene-editing technology. Readers who are interested in refreshing their knowledge of science fundamentals will find the volume a useful overview while those who join Brodie in asking the title question will have plenty of fodder for further discussion.

A well-written, enjoyable, and thoroughly researched summary of everything that brought humans to the present day.

Kirkus Reviews