Your Inner Fish (A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body)

by Neil Shubin

Your Inner Fish (A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body) Overview

           Fish paleontologist Shubin illuminates the subject of evolution with humor and clarity in this compelling look at how the human body evolved into its present state. Parsing the millennia-old genetic history of the human form is a natural project for Shubin, who chairs the department of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago and was co-discoverer of Tiktaalik, a 375-million-year-old fossil fish whose flat skull and limbs, and finger, toe, ankle and wrist bones, provide a link between fish and the earliest land-dwelling creatures. Shubin moves smoothly through the anatomical spectrum, finding ancient precursors to human teeth in a 200-million-year-old fossil of the mouse-size part animal, part reptile tritheledont; he also notes cellular similarities between humans and sponges. Other fossils reveal the origins of our senses, from the eye to that wonderful Rube Goldberg contraption the ear. Shubin excels at explaining the science, making each discovery an adventure, whether it's a Pennsylvania roadcut or a stony outcrop beset by polar bears and howling Arctic winds. I can imagine few things more beautiful or intellectually profound than finding the basis for our humanity... nestled inside some of the most humble creatures that ever lived, he writes, and curious readers are likely to agree. Illus.

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Your Inner Fish (A Journey into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body) Review

          This was an interesting read; the author writes very clearly and informally, but in the earlier chapters it does read like he is giving a lecture to new (and American) students, as he uses little mannerisms taught as basic presentation skills. The editor should have caught those in the first draft. The author takes us through his early forays into the field in search of fossils, through to his co-discovery of an important fossil fish. We then work through the development of `genetic' palaeontology, as embryology and later DNA science slowly unravelled our genetic history, leading us back to our `inner fish'. Although the author manages to clearly describe the discovery of our genetic heritage (through some unpleasant genetic experiments - though not carried out by him) and show the development of current creatures from their early ancestors, he doesn't describe HOW we evolved - the process of natural selection and reproduction with variation (or words to that effect - see professor Dawkins for the latest details). Darwin is mentioned only three times in the index. There might have been space constraints on the author, but although he gave an excellent picture of the stages of our evolution, unless you are familiar with Darwin's `dangerous' theory, you might not even notice the gap in the book.

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*** Product Information and Review : Oct 1, 2011