The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease
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- Create Date：2021-08-25 08:54:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Daniel E. Lieberman
- ISBN：0141399953
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Summary
In The Story of the Human Body， Daniel Lieberman， Professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard， shows how we need to change our world to fit our hunter-gatherer bodies。
This ground-breaking book of popular science explores how the way we use our bodies is all wrong。 From an evolutionary perspective， if normal is defined as what most people have done for millions of years， then it's normal to walk and run 9 -15 kilometres a day to hunt and gather fresh food which is high in fibre， low in sugar， and barely processed。 It's also normal to spend much of your time nursing， napping， making stone tools， and gossiping with a small band of people。
Our 21st-century lifestyles， argues Daniel Lieberman， are out of synch with our stone-age bodies。 Never have we been so healthy and long-lived - but never， too， have we been so prone to a slew of problems that were， until recently， rare or unknown， from asthma， to diabetes， to - scariest of all - overpopulation。 The Story of the Human Body asks how our bodies got to be the way they are， and considers how that evolutionary history - both ancient and recent - can help us evaluate how we use our bodies。 How is the present-day state of the human body related to the past？ And what is the human body's future？
"Monumental。 The Story of the Human Body， by one of our leading experts， takes us on an epic voyage"。 （Neil Shubin， author of Your Inner Fish）。
"Riveting， enlightening， and more than a little frightening"。 （Christopher McDougall， author of Born to Run）。
Daniel Lieberman is the Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and a leader in the field。 He has written nearly 100 articles， many appearing in the journals Nature and Science， and his cover story on barefoot running in Nature was picked up by major media the world over。 His research and discoveries have been highlighted in newspapers and magazines， including The New York Times， Boston Globe， Discover， and National Geographic。
This ground-breaking book of popular science explores how the way we use our bodies is all wrong。 From an evolutionary perspective， if normal is defined as what most people have done for millions of years， then it's normal to walk and run 9 -15 kilometres a day to hunt and gather fresh food which is high in fibre， low in sugar， and barely processed。 It's also normal to spend much of your time nursing， napping， making stone tools， and gossiping with a small band of people。
Our 21st-century lifestyles， argues Daniel Lieberman， are out of synch with our stone-age bodies。 Never have we been so healthy and long-lived - but never， too， have we been so prone to a slew of problems that were， until recently， rare or unknown， from asthma， to diabetes， to - scariest of all - overpopulation。 The Story of the Human Body asks how our bodies got to be the way they are， and considers how that evolutionary history - both ancient and recent - can help us evaluate how we use our bodies。 How is the present-day state of the human body related to the past？ And what is the human body's future？
"Monumental。 The Story of the Human Body， by one of our leading experts， takes us on an epic voyage"。 （Neil Shubin， author of Your Inner Fish）。
"Riveting， enlightening， and more than a little frightening"。 （Christopher McDougall， author of Born to Run）。
Daniel Lieberman is the Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and a leader in the field。 He has written nearly 100 articles， many appearing in the journals Nature and Science， and his cover story on barefoot running in Nature was picked up by major media the world over。 His research and discoveries have been highlighted in newspapers and magazines， including The New York Times， Boston Globe， Discover， and National Geographic。
Reviews
Martin Smedjeback
，
Fascinating and informative about our bodies' evolutionary past and how mismatched it can be in today's affluent societies。 Also good advice on exercise and food for a long and healthy life。 Fascinating and informative about our bodies' evolutionary past and how mismatched it can be in today's affluent societies。 Also good advice on exercise and food for a long and healthy life。 。。。more
Markus Lustig
，
What a fantastic book。 Have you ever wondered why some diseases and illnesses have become more and more common？ Have you ever wondered why media tells us that we should eat thing A and next week it tells it's bad for you？ Then you should read this book。 After reading this， it is easy to start to feel guilty for being born in the 20th or the 21st century。 It is easy to feel bad for feeling bad about doing the wrong choices for one's health and wellbeing。 But to me， that is not the point。 Once one What a fantastic book。 Have you ever wondered why some diseases and illnesses have become more and more common？ Have you ever wondered why media tells us that we should eat thing A and next week it tells it's bad for you？ Then you should read this book。 After reading this， it is easy to start to feel guilty for being born in the 20th or the 21st century。 It is easy to feel bad for feeling bad about doing the wrong choices for one's health and wellbeing。 But to me， that is not the point。 Once one knows what is and what has been， it becomes one's own choice。 This book runs like a series of lectures。 First the general ideas， then the specifics from several angles and after that to the next topic。 That being said， some might find this book to be full of repetition。 In a sense it is， but to me it was all bearable。 。。。more
Dfour
，
Despite the fact it took that author 2 sentences into the Preface to make certain everyone knows he teaches at Harvard （eye roll）， this really is a well written and important book。 It deserves to be widely read and discussed。
Han_na
，
Onpa vaikea arvioitava。 Ei muuten ollut lyhyt historia tämä。 Ensimmäinen osuus oli mielenkiintoinen， vaikkakin äärettömän yksityiskohtainen kuvaus ihmisen evoluutiosta。 Loppupuolella minut yllätti， miten syvälle mentiinkin sitten erilaisiin elintasosairauksiin - joihin en kyllä koskaan olisi likinäköisyyttä ajatellut kuuluvaksi！ Opin uusia sanoja， kuten kulttuurievoluutio ja sopeumasairaus， sekä sain valtavasti uutta tietoa mm。 fysiologiasta （esim se， että miehillä ja naisilla on eri määrä lanti Onpa vaikea arvioitava。 Ei muuten ollut lyhyt historia tämä。 Ensimmäinen osuus oli mielenkiintoinen， vaikkakin äärettömän yksityiskohtainen kuvaus ihmisen evoluutiosta。 Loppupuolella minut yllätti， miten syvälle mentiinkin sitten erilaisiin elintasosairauksiin - joihin en kyllä koskaan olisi likinäköisyyttä ajatellut kuuluvaksi！ Opin uusia sanoja， kuten kulttuurievoluutio ja sopeumasairaus， sekä sain valtavasti uutta tietoa mm。 fysiologiasta （esim se， että miehillä ja naisilla on eri määrä lantionikamia， oli uutta - tätä tietoa en kyllä tosin pystynyt löytämään suomenkielisestä internetistä， mutta englanniksi heti）。 Yllättävä， mutta tarkemmin ajateltuna looginen tieto oli， että maanviljelykseen siirtyminen lyhensi ihmisten keskipituutta。 Eniten ehkä petyin siihen， miten monesti kuultuja ja epäinnovatiivisia Liebermanin ehdotukset meidän kaikkien terveyden pelastamiseksi olivat。Kaikin puolin uskottava， tieteellinen esitys ihmiskehon evoluutiosta ja ilman toisen ja kolmannen osan kummallista mielipidetykitystä olisi ollut ihan viiden tähden teos。 。。。more
Arthur Krause
，
Interesting book。 From time to time a bit heavy。
Joan Casey
，
So repetitive -- still interesting but could have been 35% shorter。
José Francisco
，
I have learned quite a lot about the human body and our condition as a social species。 This book is a great introduction to our body， what we evolved to be and， unfortunately， how far away we now are from what we are meant to be。 However， which is one of the aspects of this book that I like the most， it does not try to convince you to leave behind the confort of modern life to start living like 20000 years ago。 It makes it obvious that life nowadays is far better than those times。 We CAN eat bet I have learned quite a lot about the human body and our condition as a social species。 This book is a great introduction to our body， what we evolved to be and， unfortunately， how far away we now are from what we are meant to be。 However， which is one of the aspects of this book that I like the most， it does not try to convince you to leave behind the confort of modern life to start living like 20000 years ago。 It makes it obvious that life nowadays is far better than those times。 We CAN eat better， we CAN sleep better and we CAN， overall， live better。 Notice that the "CAN" word is the important part here。 This book shows us that we CAN， in fact， be better， yet we choose to do harmful things to our body， sometimes uncounsciously。 I learned how can we live among the technologies of today at the same time we avoid the most common diseases of the modern era which are， for the most part， due to bad preservation of our body。 I learned this through a background of our evolution as a species and a cultural and social being。 For me， as an engineer， getting this kind of background， detail and comprehension is essential to make the best decisions I can in my everyday life。Remember， we have only one body， so we should treat it well。 。。。more
Veronica Gerolia
，
"We didn’t evolve to be healthy， but instead we were selected to have as many offspring as possible under diverse， challenging conditions。"- The story of the Human body "We didn’t evolve to be healthy， but instead we were selected to have as many offspring as possible under diverse， challenging conditions。"- The story of the Human body 。。。more
Elaine
，
A very interesting book。 I put it away for a long time before picking it up again。 Like the idea of providing evolution history and how you became who / what you are。 What you do will affect what outcomes。
Megan Regel
，
This was an excellent read。 You don’t have to be worried about fat shaming or ableism。 More below。 I was worried about how he’d discuss weight and fatness。 And although he discusses why we are fatter than ever， he walks the line between explanation and fat phobia with care。 He doesn’t fat shame， or at least I didn’t feel he was fat shaming （and of course， your mileage may vary）。 He talks about calories in terms of energy， not an evil thing to avoid， and explains how and why diets frequently fail This was an excellent read。 You don’t have to be worried about fat shaming or ableism。 More below。 I was worried about how he’d discuss weight and fatness。 And although he discusses why we are fatter than ever， he walks the line between explanation and fat phobia with care。 He doesn’t fat shame， or at least I didn’t feel he was fat shaming （and of course， your mileage may vary）。 He talks about calories in terms of energy， not an evil thing to avoid， and explains how and why diets frequently fail。 。。。more
Vincent
，
This book is amazing。I learned something new on every page。Lieberman is brilliant and teaches the reader so much in a very approachable way。Readers will learn about everything from how taste and smell works to how the foot functions in shoes and hands work in gloves without direct touch。There is so much to know and appreciate about the human body。I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone。
Craig Wanderer
，
Great book; Daniel did a wonderful job of educating while entertaining。 If you want to have a better understanding of evolution， especially where our food is involved， I would encourage you to read this book。 I suspect that Harari Yuval Noah used this as a send off for his most excellent book "Sapiens， a brief history of humankind" do to both of their arguments regarding farming。 Dude Great book; Daniel did a wonderful job of educating while entertaining。 If you want to have a better understanding of evolution， especially where our food is involved， I would encourage you to read this book。 I suspect that Harari Yuval Noah used this as a send off for his most excellent book "Sapiens， a brief history of humankind" do to both of their arguments regarding farming。 Dude 。。。more
Kevin Macdonald
，
In theory， I’m very interested in this stuff… In practice， not so much。 😂 I think this book is better written than the other Lieberman book I read， so this is not a knock against him as a writer， researcher， or scholar—but reading about this stuff just reminds me why I never even considered studying biology or becoming an evolutionary biologist。 😅 I made it 76 pages in！ （I will say this is 1000% better than Sapiens）
Richard Zarth
，
This is an amazing book。 Academically researched and easy to read with a flowing writing style。 The author goes back to the beginning to understand how the human body evolved and how our recent modern society has created a mismatch of ailments。
Vjay b
，
3。5
Ardhi Listyar
，
Finally， a book that discusses human physique and diseases from an evolutionary perspective。 Fascinating。
Mika Myllymäki
，
Kiinnostavia teorioita ihmiskehon evoluutiosta。 Olisin antanut viisi tähteä， mutta loppua kohden kirjassa alkoivat samat teemat toistumaan。
Nadya
，
This was a very delightful read！ Although I have never studied anything in-depth， I love anatomy， history， and evolution。 And this book covers it all in a fascinating way。 I am a movement facilitator （clever way of saying I am a yoga， diet， and movements teacher and coach） and I absolutely loved the way this book shed some light on what I do as well。 But this book should be interesting for anyone who has an interest in human health and bodies， whether their own or others。 This is not a diet and This was a very delightful read！ Although I have never studied anything in-depth， I love anatomy， history， and evolution。 And this book covers it all in a fascinating way。 I am a movement facilitator （clever way of saying I am a yoga， diet， and movements teacher and coach） and I absolutely loved the way this book shed some light on what I do as well。 But this book should be interesting for anyone who has an interest in human health and bodies， whether their own or others。 This is not a diet and lifestyle book， but it will most definitely add to our understanding of ourselves and what we do， why some things work and why others definitely don’t。 Coupled with concepts such as genetics and epigenetic， an understanding of how we digest food， how our nervous systems work， and how to create better environments for all of these， the knowledge in this book was absolutely necessary。 Daniel Lieberman writes in an easy style that gives even a layperson the chance to understand the concepts。 And yes， he does repeat certain concepts often， but I found it necessary to understand new chapters/sections in context where the explanation previously took a whole chapter/section to explain。 Simply put， I loved it。 I will recommend it for most people actually， just to understand why your body craves and works as it does。 。。。more
Becky Knutson
，
Loved this book！ It nicely complimented other books I have read around the themes of the evolution and history of humans。 （Reference: Homo Deus， Sapiens， The Body by Bill Bryson， The Sixth Extinction， and even health books like The Cancer Code and Salt， Sugar， Fat。）Very well researched and organized。 Heavy history presented in a nicely flowing story。 Very interesting to learn about the different species before Homo sapiens and how we have adapted to environmental changes over time。
Brandi
，
DNF @ 20% Nothing is inherently wrong with this。 It's clearly very well researched and thought out， I'm just not engaged enough to finish it DNF @ 20% Nothing is inherently wrong with this。 It's clearly very well researched and thought out， I'm just not engaged enough to finish it 。。。more
Alexandra
，
kinda dragged - would recommend the second book more。 But as usual - eat you unprocessed veggies and get some movement！"Brains and guts each consume about the same amount of energy per unit mass。。。。your guts also have about 100 million nerves - more than the number of nerves in your spinal column or your entire peripheral nervous system。 This second brain evolve hundreds of millions of years ago to monitor your gut's complicated activities。。。。 One odd fact about humans is that our brains and GI kinda dragged - would recommend the second book more。 But as usual - eat you unprocessed veggies and get some movement！"Brains and guts each consume about the same amount of energy per unit mass。。。。your guts also have about 100 million nerves - more than the number of nerves in your spinal column or your entire peripheral nervous system。 This second brain evolve hundreds of millions of years ago to monitor your gut's complicated activities。。。。 One odd fact about humans is that our brains and GI tracts， when empty， are similarly large。""If you grow up eating soft， highly processed food your face will be smaller than if you grow up eating hard， tough food。 If you spend your first few years in a hot climate you develop more working sweat glands than if you were born in a cool environment。""Skeptics are correct to point out that absence of evidence isn't always evidence of absence。""Despite having domesticated animals early farmers generally ate less meat than hunter gatherers because animals are more valuable alive for their milk than dead for their flesh and because farm animals require lots of land and labor。。。。do the economic benefits of industrially producing so much low quality inexpensive meat outweigh the costs to human health and the environment？""。。the second evolutionary explanation for why humans often do novel， potentially harmful things: we frequently mistake comfort for well-being。"Myopia may be caused by focusing intently on close objects （like text in books） as children， or even into adulthood。 Especially large eyes。"A more extreme， and frankly troubling， idea is that the invention of eyeglasses has been so beneficial for so many individuals that eyeglasses have actually permitted indirect selection for genes for intelligence that indirectly cause myopia。" 。。。more
Diane
，
Amazing Book！Such an eye opening and fascinating read！ There are so many things we don’t know about the human body and evolution。 This was very interesting and informative！ This describes what evolution has done to our bodies and why we have so many illnesses。 This is a starting point for me。 I feel that diet has everything to do with our illnesses and this book can help me make better decisions about my health and my body。
Karim
，
كتاب رائع، مفيد للغاية و غني بالمعلوماتأسئلة كثيرة لا تخطر بالبال يطرحها الكتاب: هل وجودنا كبشر عقلاء هو امر محتوم؟ كيف حصلنا على اجساد بهذا الشكل؟ لماذا اقدامنا مقوسة؟ لماذا نقف على طرفين بدلا من اربع اطراف مثل باقي الكائنات؟هل كانت الزراعة و الصناعة مفيدة لاجسادنا ام لا؟ لماذا نفضل استخدام المصعد بدل الدرج و تناول السكريات و الدسم بدل الخضروات و الألياف؟ لماذا نصاب بشكل كبير بالداء السكري و حسر البصر و آلام أسفل الظهر رغم انها كانت نادرة سابقا؟هل لبس الأحذية، الجلوس على الكراسي، و حتى القراءة كتاب رائع، مفيد للغاية و غني بالمعلوماتأسئلة كثيرة لا تخطر بالبال يطرحها الكتاب: هل وجودنا كبشر عقلاء هو امر محتوم؟ كيف حصلنا على اجساد بهذا الشكل؟ لماذا اقدامنا مقوسة؟ لماذا نقف على طرفين بدلا من اربع اطراف مثل باقي الكائنات؟هل كانت الزراعة و الصناعة مفيدة لاجسادنا ام لا؟ لماذا نفضل استخدام المصعد بدل الدرج و تناول السكريات و الدسم بدل الخضروات و الألياف؟ لماذا نصاب بشكل كبير بالداء السكري و حسر البصر و آلام أسفل الظهر رغم انها كانت نادرة سابقا؟هل لبس الأحذية، الجلوس على الكراسي، و حتى القراءة هي تصرفات مفيدة ام ضارة لاجسادنا؟ و كيف بإمكاننا ان نصون أجسادنا و نحافظ عليها؟كتاب سيغير نظرتك عن العالم و كيف تتصرف و تتعامل مع البيئة المحيطة بك 。。。more
Markus Pietilä
，
4，5/5？ 5/5？
Josh
，
This was a very instructive read。 The author’s main goal is to explore modern health in light of our evolutionary journey， and if nothing else， I now have a stronger motivation to treat my body right and eat well。 The first part of the book dragged on for awhile—I’m not a big fan of pulling solely from the archaeological record since a lot of speculation can enter in—but after it started tying things into health ramifications， it got a lot more interesting。 If this （evolutionary lens） is an appr This was a very instructive read。 The author’s main goal is to explore modern health in light of our evolutionary journey， and if nothing else， I now have a stronger motivation to treat my body right and eat well。 The first part of the book dragged on for awhile—I’m not a big fan of pulling solely from the archaeological record since a lot of speculation can enter in—but after it started tying things into health ramifications， it got a lot more interesting。 If this （evolutionary lens） is an approach to health that intrigues you （and I think it probably should）， I’d highly recommend this book。 。。。more
Andrew Pan
，
The first part is quite good and informative， it is worth reading。 But the second part is kind of repetitive and exhausting。 Part 3 is okay and actually， there is not too much conclusion about how we can do about it。 More exercise？ Less sugar？ We all know this and then what？ Maybe a thinner version of this book would be better。
Tim
，
t“Human evolution never was a triumph of brains over brawn， and we should be skeptical of the science fiction that the future will be any different。 We cannot alter the bodies we inherited in more than superficial ways， and it is dangerously arrogant to think we can engineer feet， liver cells， brains， or other body parts any better than nature already does。” tThis book is a fascinating study of the human body and how it evolved from our ape ancestors to today。 I will say that I am not someone wh t“Human evolution never was a triumph of brains over brawn， and we should be skeptical of the science fiction that the future will be any different。 We cannot alter the bodies we inherited in more than superficial ways， and it is dangerously arrogant to think we can engineer feet， liver cells， brains， or other body parts any better than nature already does。” tThis book is a fascinating study of the human body and how it evolved from our ape ancestors to today。 I will say that I am not someone who believes in evolution and look at the world through the paradigm of Christianity and creationism。 However， that does not discount what this book informs the reader about what our bodies are capable of， what they are meant to do and consume， as well as how to address many of our present ailments。 Lieberman gives a thorough， yet readable， explanation of what our ancestors were like and how they lived along with the slow changes over ~8 million years。 As he discusses our migration from the trees to the ground and then into large civilizations he explains what our bodies are designed to do and how we can have a better chance of achieving a long， healthy existence。 tSome of his main ideas include dysevolution， mismatch diseases， feedback loops， and cultural evolution。 In a nutshell he argues that we evolved to eat certain foods， remain active， and not be overly anti-germs。 As we ignore this problems occur like bad eyes， poor health， and morbidity especially in old age。 A lot of simple ideas to apply came out of this book and， other than being slightly redundant at times， was very readable。 tDefinitely worth picking up。 。。。more
Ray
，
Well-written and relatively entertaining。 The earlier portion of the book describes human evolution and is a good refresher or intro into that field。 The last few chapters is where the author attempts to offer a list of diseases and how evolution affects them。 I have a number of issues with this。 I will preface this by saying that I love studying evolution。 The problem with some of the author's narrative is that he takes a reductionist view on certain topics， one being the insulin obesity hypoth Well-written and relatively entertaining。 The earlier portion of the book describes human evolution and is a good refresher or intro into that field。 The last few chapters is where the author attempts to offer a list of diseases and how evolution affects them。 I have a number of issues with this。 I will preface this by saying that I love studying evolution。 The problem with some of the author's narrative is that he takes a reductionist view on certain topics， one being the insulin obesity hypothesis。 He doesn't necessarily argue for it being true but uses it as a mechanism by which modern diets can increase obesity。 He also offers similarly less plausible theories in his myopia section。 I can't fault him for mentioning them， but this brings us into the second point。 The lens of evolution can be fun to think about but I personally don't see much utility in "evolutionary" thinking， at least in regards to certain diseases。 For example， regarding obesity， we know that if most people simply consumed less calories， they would lose weight。 In that case， we can use research from psychology to help guide us， maybe in crafting better educational programs or government interventions through the use of subsidies， taxes， etc。 For myopia or flat feet， I could see trying to think through something "evolutionarily" to devise experiments and interventions， but at the end of the day， I will defer to the intervention that is most effective。 For instance， he mentions a correlation between time outdoors and myopia。 If we were to conduct a RCT and demonstrate that more time outdoors in fact does not work to reduce rates of myopia， I wouldn't push it as a way to prevent myopia， even if it may have some evolutionary logic。 I don't think the author would disagree with me here， but I'm just using these as examples of the difficulty I have with needing to think through medical problems with an evolutionary lens。 。。。more
Petr L
，
První část knihy připomíná knihu Sapiens od Harariho popisem vývoje lidského druhu。 V druhé části je popsáno související téma nesouladu mezi našimi evolučně nastavenými těly a prostředím， v kterém žijeme。 Druhá část mohla být stručnější， mnoho popsaných poznatků a návodů ke zdravému životnímu stylu je dle mého zřejmá。 A ještě citát: "Nevyvinuli jsme se k tomu， abychom byli zdraví， ale prošli jsme výběrem， abychom měli co nejvíce potomstva navzdory rozmanitým a náročným podmínkám。 V důsledku toho První část knihy připomíná knihu Sapiens od Harariho popisem vývoje lidského druhu。 V druhé části je popsáno související téma nesouladu mezi našimi evolučně nastavenými těly a prostředím， v kterém žijeme。 Druhá část mohla být stručnější， mnoho popsaných poznatků a návodů ke zdravému životnímu stylu je dle mého zřejmá。 A ještě citát: "Nevyvinuli jsme se k tomu， abychom byli zdraví， ale prošli jsme výběrem， abychom měli co nejvíce potomstva navzdory rozmanitým a náročným podmínkám。 V důsledku toho jsme se nikdy nevyvinuli tak， abychom se dokázali racionálně rozhodovat， co jíst nebo jak cvičit v podmínkách nadbytku a pohodlí。 A interakce mezi těly， která jsme zdědili， prostředími， která utváříme， a rozhodnutími， jež někdy přijímáme， uvedly do pohybu zákeřný cyklus。" 。。。more
Sharon
，