Book cover of Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal

Book description

A New Scientist Book of the Year

Prehistory is all around us. We just need to know where to look.

Juan Jose Millas has always felt like he doesn't quite fit into human society. Sometimes he wonders if he is even a Homo sapiens at all. Perhaps he is a…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is probably the weirdest book I ever read. Certainly, the weirdest sciencey book.

It’s a dialogue between a palaeontologist and a novelist. The scientist, Arsuaga, sets up little excursions and events for Millás and himself around Madrid, and Millás writes about them. Each excursion illustrates some point about human evolution and behaviour.

As their relationship deepens, so do the tensions, as the scientist and the novelist don’t always see eye to eye. Arsuaga seems to delight in tormenting Millás by dragging him to places where he doesn’t initially get the point: pickup joints, childcare centres, and trains. They both…

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