BBC R4 Book of the Week‘Brilliant’ Guardian‘Fascinating and often delightful’ The TimesWhat if intelligent life on Earth evolved not once, but twice? The octopus is the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien. What can we learn from the encounter?In Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith, a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver, tells a bold new story of how nature became aware of itself – a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared.Tracking the mind’s fitful development from unruly clumps of seaborne cells to the first evolved nervous systems in ancient relatives of jellyfish, he explores the incredible evolutionary journey of the cephalopods, which began as inconspicuous molluscs who would later abandon their shells to rise above the ocean floor, searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so – a journey completely independent from the route that mammals and birds would later take.But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess? How did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually ‘think for themselves’? By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind – and on our own. Read more

Winner of the Royal Society Science Book.'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer' - The Times4.6 billion years of the story of life on Earth, in twelve concise chapters. Brief, brilliant and entirely gripping.For billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place – covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape through volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life has been extinguished and picked itself up to evolve again.From that first foray to the spread of early hominids who later became Homo sapiens, life has persisted, undaunted. A (Very) Short History of Life: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters is an enlightening story of survival, of persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life has always existed, and continues to exist today. It is our planet like you’ve never seen it before.Dr Henry Gee presents creatures from ‘gregarious’ bacteria populating the seas to duelling dinosaurs in the Triassic period, to magnificent mammals with the future in their grasp. Life’s evolutionary steps – from the development of a digestive system to the awe of creatures taking to the skies in flight – are conveyed with an up-close intimacy.'Henry Gee makes the kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting.' – Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel Read more

'A personal, fun and positive book encouraging dietary diversity and NOT calorie counting' Professor Tim Spector, author of The Diet Myth and Spoon-Fed'Empowering' Hello! magazineWhy stress causes weight gainHow fasting makes you less hungryWhy sunflower oil is unhealthyHow cold showers can cut your carb cravings'If I could give you one bit of advice right now, it would be to take all the energy you're putting into fad diets and put it into becoming the most genuinely healthy version of you. If you've got a plan, you're already halfway there. And now you've got this book, you've got one.'Davinia Taylor was overweight, depressed and unmotivated. She couldn't walk around the block, let alone go for a run or do an exercise class, and she struggled to keep up with her four young sons. In desperation she turned to biohacking to sort her head out - the unexpected bonus was that she lost nearly three stone and has kept it off for years through a series of health tricks from cold showers, to MCT oil, to ancestral eating. She spent tens of thousands of pounds on specialists and Harley Street doctors, trying the most cutting-edge therapies available, only to discover that the true secrets of feeling amazing are very easy and affordable. Start with eating for your mental health, and weight loss is an effortless side effect.Divided into four sections: Mood, Food, Movement and Rest, the book takes a holistic approach to weight loss, reminding you that true health is not just about what you eat. It's Not a Diet concludes with a two-week reset programme to put Davinia's advice into action easily and achievably.Non-Fiction Paperback No.1 bestseller, The Sunday Times, 6th June 2021 Read more

Relieve anxiety, burnout, feelings of overwhelm, and chronic physical symptoms by healing your dysregulated nervous system with this 5-stage roadmap based on the latest science. Dr. Linnea Passaler has helped thousands globally in her digital health program address a wide range of symptoms associated with nervous system dysregulation—from mental symptoms, including anxiety, burnout, and brain fog, to physical symptoms, such as digestive issues, chronic inflammation, and fatigue. In Heal Your Nervous System, Dr. Passaler presents her 5-stage plan, developed over the last decade, to equip you with the knowledge to understand and regulate your unique nervous system. Despite its advances, conventional medicine has often overlooked the importance of nervous system regulation in our health and quality of life. This is especially true for highly sensitive individuals, who may be more susceptible to a dysregulated nervous system. Instead of merely treating the symptoms, Dr. Passaler shows you how to make a profound shift from reactive treatment to proactive healing. Grounded in recent scientific advances in neurobiology, chronic stress, trauma, and sensitivity, this is not a short-term or one-size-fits-all solution, but a comprehensive strategy to tackle the source of your symptoms, and restore your physical, cognitive, and emotional health. In Heal Your Nervous System, you will discover:  How anxiety, trauma, and chronic stress are not just “in your head,” but manifest in all areas of your healthHow to assess your current level of nervous system dysregulationWhy nervous system dysregulation can cause both mental and physical symptomsHow your individual sensitivity profile and past experiences came together to tip your nervous system into a state of dysregulationThe four most common mistakes people make in their healing journey, and how to avoid themTop essential habits that support your nervous system during your healing journeySimple practices, exercises, and routines that progressively reverse nervous system dysregulationHow to organize the most effective practices into the right order, a sequence that supports your healing without getting overwhelmedYour nervous system and health are far more adaptable than you think. With Heal Your Nervous System as your guidebook, you can navigate a fresh path, reverse symptoms, and progressively move towards a robust mind and body. Read more

“Enthralling . . . a gripping read that offers a remarkably broad and in-depth look into the evolution and impact of Earth’s deadliest creatures.” ―Josh Goller, Spectrum CultureIn Venomous, the biologist Christie Wilcox investigates and illuminates the animals of our nightmares, arguing that they hold the keys to a deeper understanding of evolution, adaptation, and immunity. She reveals just how venoms function and what they do to the human body. With Wilcox as our guide, we encounter a jellyfish with tentacles covered in stinging cells that can kill humans in minutes; a two-inch caterpillar with toxic bristles that trigger hemorrhaging; and a stunning blue-ringed octopus capable of inducing total paralysis. How do these animals go about their deadly work? How did they develop such intricate, potent toxins? Wilcox takes us around the world and down to the cellular level to find out.Throughout her journey, Wilcox meets the intrepid scientists who risk their lives studying these lethal beasts, as well as “self-immunizers” who deliberately expose themselves to snakebites. Along the way, she puts her own life on the line, narrowly avoiding being envenomated herself. Drawing on her own research, Wilcox explains how venom scientists are untangling the mechanisms of some of our most devastating diseases, and reports on pharmacologists who are already exploiting venoms to produce lifesaving drugs. We discover that venomous creatures are in fact keystone species that play crucial roles in their ecosystems and ours—and for this alone, they ought to be protected and appreciated.Thrilling and surprising at every turn, Venomous will change everything you thought you knew about the planet’s most dangerous animals. Read more

From one of America’s most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness.At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer—and the reason we make other people suffer—is that we don’t see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness. In this “sublime” (The New Yorker), pathbreaking book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life—how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright’s landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world’s most skilled meditators. The result is a story that is “provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding” (The New York Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species. Read more

THE TIMES BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF 2024GUARDIAN BEST IDEAS BOOKS OF 2024ECONOMIST BEST BOOKS OF 2024FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2024From one of the world's great science writers, a book that explores the deepest principles of evolutionary history.In this groundbreaking new approach to the evolution of all life, Richard Dawkins shows how the body, behaviour, and genes of every living creature can be read as a book - an archive of the worlds of its ancestors. A perfectly camouflaged desert lizard has a desiccated landscape of sand and stones 'painted' on its back. Its skin can be read as a description of ancient deserts in which its ancestors survived - and, before that, of the worlds of its more remote ancestors: a genetic book of the dead.But such descriptions are more than skin-deep. The fine chisels of Darwinian natural selection carve their way through the very warp and woof of the body, into every biochemical nook and corner, into every cell of every living creature. A zoologist of the future, presented with a hitherto-unknown animal, will be able to reconstruct the worlds that shaped its ancestors, to read its unique 'book of the dead'.The book is filled with fascinating examples of the power of Darwinian natural selection to build exquisite perfection, paradoxically accompanied by what look like gross blunders. Along the way, Dawkins dismantles influential criticisms of the 'gene's-eye-view' of life. And, to end with a provocative sting in the tail, the author asks there is a sense in which all our 'own' genes can be seen as a gigantic colony of cooperating viruses?From the author of The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor's Tale comes a revolutionary, richly illustrated book that unlocks the door to an ancient past, seen through wholly new eyes. Read more

In this paradigm-shifting book from acclaimed Harvard Medical School doctor and one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people on earth, Dr. David Sinclair reveals that everything we think we know about ageing is wrong, and shares the surprising, scientifically-proven methods that can help readers live younger, longer.For decades, the medical community has looked to a variety of reasons for why we age, and the consensus is that no one dies of old age; they die of age-related diseases. That's because ageing is not a disease – it is inevitable.But what if everything you think you know about ageing is wrong?What if ageing is a disease? And that disease is curable.In LIFESPAN, Dr. David Sinclair, one of the world’s foremost authorities on genetics and ageing, argues just that. He has dedicated his life’s work to chasing more than a longer lifespan – he wants to enable people to live longer, healthier, and disease-free well into our hundreds. In this book, he reveals a bold new theory of ageing, one that pinpoints a root cause of ageing that lies in an ancient genetic survival circuit. This genetic trick – a circuit designed to halt reproduction in order to repair damage to the genome –has enabled earth’s early microcosms to survive and evolve into more advanced organisms. But this same survival circuit is the reason we age: as genetic damage accumulates over our lifespans from UV rays, environmental toxins, and unhealthy diets, our genome is overwhelmed, causing gray hair, wrinkles, achy joints, heart issues, dementia, and, ultimately, death.But genes aren’t our destiny; we have more control over them than we’ve been taught to believe. We can’t change our DNA, but we can harness the power of the epigenome to realise the true potential of our genes. Drawing on his cutting-edge findings at the forefront of medical research, Dr. Sinclair will provide a scientifically-proven roadmap to reverse the genetic clock by activating our vitality genes, so we can live younger longer. Readers will discover how a few simple lifestyle changes – like intermittent fasting, avoiding too much animal protein, limiting sugar, avoiding x-rays, exercising with the right intensity, and even trying cold therapy – can activate our vitality genes. Dr. Sinclair ends the book with a look to the near future, exploring what the world might look like – and what will need to change – when we are all living well to 120 or more.Dr. Sinclair takes what we have long accepted as the limits of human potential and mortality and turns them into choices. THE EVOLUTION OF AGEING is destined to be the biggest book on genes, biology, and longevity of this decade. Read more

‘Insightful and breathtaking’ YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of Sapiens‘Bold and sweeping’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads‘Profoundly thought-provoking’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut EconomicsHow has humans' evolutionary inheritance shaped global society?Why are humans everywhere prone to believe in ghosts?How might our tendency to imitate one another be contributing to the climate catastrophe?And does our deep evolutionary past impel us to vote for strongmen?In 1987, Harvey Whitehouse went to live with an indigenous community deep in the Papua New Guinea rainforest. His experiences there convinced him that, far from being wildly different, humans are fundamentally alike: their beliefs and behaviours rooted in a set of evolutionary urges that can be found in any society, anywhere.Here, Whitehouse roves across twelve millennia and five continents to uncover how these evolved urges have both shaped and been reshaped by human history. Along the way, he shows that this ancient inheritance does not just hold the key to explaining the modern world – but perhaps also to changing it.__‘Ranges widely across disciplines and timescales to formulate an exhilarating narrative of human history . . . Enthralling and mind-expanding’ IRISH TIMES‘Profoundly important . . . Whitehouse shows how evolution sculpted our psychological make-up, how we overcame its limitations over the course of world history, and how we can wield this knowledge to face the challenges of the future’ LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Being Human‘A very powerful, provocative and inspiring analysis of the human condition . . . Compelling and highly readable, this book shows why anthropology matters’ GILLIAN TETT, Financial Times columnist and Provost of King’s College, Cambridge‘A thought provoking look at social forces, and the ways ordinary people can change the world’ GUARDIAN Read more

Throughout history people have sought to cope with a life that is often stressful and hard. We have actually known for some time that developing compassion for oneself and others can help us face up to and win through the hardship and find a sense of inner peace. However in modern societies we rarely focus on this key process that underpins successful coping and happiness and can be quick to dismiss the impact of modern living on our minds and well-being. Instead we concentrate on 'doing, achieving' and having'. Now, bestselling author and leading authority on depression, Professor Paul Gilbert explains how new research shows how we can all learn to develop compassion for ourselves and others and derive the benefits of this age-old wisdom. In this ground-breaking new book he explores how our minds have developed to be highly sensitive and quick to react to perceived threats and how this fast-acting threat-response system can be a source of anxiety, depression and aggression. He describes how studies have also shown that developing kindness and compassion for self and others can hep in calming down the threat system: as a mother's care and love can soothe a baby's distress, so we can learn how to soothe ourselves. Not only does compassion help to soothe distressing emotions, it actually increases feelings of contentment and well-being. Here, Professor Gilbert outlines the latest findings about the value of compassion and how it works, and takes readers through basic mind training exercises to enhance the capacity for, and use of, compassion. Read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER AND BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARFINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2022'Pacey and potentially revolutionary' Sunday Times 'Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read' The Guardian For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what's really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action.'This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast' Nassim Nicholas Taleb'The most profound and exciting book I've read in thirty years' Robin D. G. Kelley Read more

From bestselling author and renowned spaniel trainer Janet Menzies comes The Cocker Spaniel, the only book on cocker spaniels you will ever need!"I would recommend this book to anyone who has recently acquired, or intends to acquire a Cocker Spaniel. It is ideal for a person who is looking for guidance to take them through puppyhood, basic training and even on to the dizzy heights of advanced training, competitions and field trials." - Lyn Randall - Field Trial Secretary, The Cocker Spaniel ClubWith many readers coming to cockers for the first time, this book offers complete guidance for their very earliest care and training at home, and then introduces both cockers and their owners to a range of different activities and competitions. Drawing on more than a quarter of a centurys experience with cockers, the author takes you on a wonderful journey from the moment your puppy arrives home to the day that you start enjoying sport and activities together.Topics covered include:Getting started at homeBasic educationCocker health Training your cocker as a gundog Agility and obedience activitiesA-Z cocker problem solverUseful contactsMany cocker owners want to work their dog as a gundog in country sports, including field trials and working tests. With The Cocker Spaniel the transition from family dog at home to elite performance dog in the field is seamless and easy to achieve. There is plenty of technical instruction on how to work your cocker in the field, as the author has done, successfully, with five Field Trial Champions to her name."There is no one more suited to guide you through the highs (and sometimes lows) of owning a cocker spaniel...Menzies writes with clarity and enthusiasm and the book is an essential guide for anyone who has, or is thinking about, one of these sterling sorts as either a home or working companion." - Alexandra Henton, The Field"even cocker spaniel experts will pick up a tip or two an all-round excellent read that will have your dog walking to heel in no time." - The Scottish FieldAbout the AuthorJanet Menzies is a professional author and journalist who trains, works and breeds cocker spaniels. She is a gundog and shooting correspondent for The Field magazine and writes a monthly blog on gundog training for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC). She has made up five Field Trial Champions, most of whom she bred herself. Best-known is FTCh Gournaycourt Ginger, one of the most consistent cockers of recent years. Although cockers are her first love, Janet writes about all the gundog breeds and enjoys all her country sports. Read more

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2024SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY TRIVEDI SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2024FOYLE'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023LONGLISTED FOR BLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST IDEAS BOOKS OF 2023ONE OF THE TELEGRAPH'S FIFTY BEST BOOKS OF 2023ONE OF PROSPECT'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023ONE OF DUA LIPA'S SERVICE95 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR '5 INSPIRING READS TO KICK START THE NEW YEAR''Funny and very important' Chris van Tulleken, bestseling author of Ultra-Processed People'Educates and emboldens' Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry'Should revolutionise our understanding of human life' George Monbiot, bestselling author of Regenesis'A vast and revolutionary history of female evolution' Sunday TimesHow did wet nurses drive civilization? Are women always the weaker sex? Is sexism useful for evolution? And are our bodies at war with our babies?In Eve, Cat Bohannon answers questions scientists should have been addressing for decades. With boundless curiosity and sharp wit, she covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex. Eve is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it's an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Bohannon's findings, including everything from the way C-sections in the industrialized world are rearranging women's pelvic shape to the surprising similarities between pus and breast milk, will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens have become such a successful and dominant species, from tool use to city building to the development of language. Read more

Bridges the gap between AI and neuroscience by telling the story of how the brain came to be.'I found this book amazing' Daniel Kahneman, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and bestselling author of Thinking Fast & SlowThe entirety of the human brain’s 4-billion-year story can be summarised as the culmination of five evolutionary breakthroughs, starting from the very first brains, all the way to the modern human brains. Each breakthrough emerged from new sets of brain modifications, and equipped animals with a new suite of intellectual faculties.These five breakthroughs are the organising map to this book, and they make up our itinerary for our adventure back in time. Each breakthrough also has fascinating corollaries to breakthroughs in AI. Indeed, there will be plenty of such surprises along the way. For instance: the innovation that enabled AI to beat humans in the game of Go – temporal difference reinforcement learning – was an innovation discovered by our fish ancestors over 500 million years ago. The solutions to many of the current mysteries in AI – such as ‘common sense’ – can be found in the tiny brain of a mouse. Where do emotions come from? Research suggests that they may have arisen simply as a solution to navigation in ancient worm brains. Unravelling this evolutionary story will reveal the hidden features of human intelligence and with them, just how your mind came to be. Read more

An Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far 2024A Waterstones Best Book of 2024One of Prospect's Top Thinkers 2024'Utterly engrossing . . . Ambitious, accessible and important' James O'Brien'Consistently gripping - dazzling in its sweep and thrillingly brain-twisting in its arguments' Tom HollandA provocative new vision of how our world really works - and why chance determines everything. In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas deep-dives into the phenomenon of randomness, unpicking our neat and tidy storybook version of events to reveal a reality far wilder and more fascinating than we have dared to consider. The bewildering truth is that but for a few incidental changes, our lives - and our societies - would be radically different.Offering an entirely new perspective, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and random events. How much difference does our decision to hit the snooze button make? Did one couple's vacation really change the course of the twentieth century? What are the smallest accidents that have tilted the course of history itself? The mind-bending lessons of this phenomenon challenge our beliefs about the very workings of the world. From the evolution of human biology and natural disasters to the impact of global events on supply chain disruptions, every detail matters because of the web of connectivity that envelops us. So what if, by exploding our illusion of control, we can make better decisions and live happy, fulfilling lives? Read more

'Brilliant' – The Times'Hugely informative and entertaining' – New Scientist'Put this at the head of your reading lists immediately' – Eric IdleFrom the winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize, a thrilling and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of humankind.For the first time in over ten millennia, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. The global population is forecast to begin declining in the second half of this century, and in 10,000 years’ time our species will likely be extinct.In The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, Henry Gee shows how we arrived at this crucial moment in history, beginning his story deep in the palaeolithic past and charting our dramatic rise from one species of human among many to the most dominant animal to ever live on Earth.But rapid climate change, a stagnating global economy, falling birth rates and an unexplainable decline in average human sperm count are combining to make our chances for longevity increasingly slim. There could be a way forward, but the launch window is narrow . . .Drawing on a dazzling array of the latest scientific research, Gee tells the extraordinary story of humanity with characteristic warmth and wit, and suggests how our exceptional species might avoid its tragic fate.'Like Jared Diamond meets Arthur C. Clarke with a dash of Douglas Adams' – Philip Ball, author of How Life Works Read more

'An engrossing, richly informative exploration of human biological diversity . . . it challenges us to rethink universal health benchmarks' New YorkerReal diversity isn’t skin deep. Over the past 100,000 years, as humans expanded into every biome on the planet, our bodies and our cultures have been fine-tuned to our local environments. Beyond the physical demands of our climate, we live our lives immersed in ideas and norms that affect what we eat, how we move and why we get sick – all of which, in turn, affect how our bodies work.As an evolutionary anthropologist conducting ground-breaking research with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has come to see much more clearly how our genes and environments combine to shape our bodies and our health: for better or worse. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways it can change in response to its environment: from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens. He also highlights the critical ways we misinterpret biological adaptations: in healthcare, public policy and individual choices.With so much of our wellbeing and public discourse centred on human biology, a clear understanding of the distinction between socially constructed and genetic differences is more important than ever. This timely reappraisal of an overlooked science is an essential guide to our remarkable bodies. Read more