- 320 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
A
Science News Best Science Book of the Year: "A brilliant, fun, and scientifically deep stroll through history, anatomy, and evolution." —AgustÃn Fuentes, PhD, author of
The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional
Winner of the W.W. Howells Book Prize from the American Anthropological Association
Blending history, science, and culture, this highly engaging evolutionary story explores how walking on two legs allowed humans to become the planet's dominant species.
Humans are the only mammals to walk on two rather than four legs—a locomotion known as bipedalism. We strive to be upstanding citizens, honor those who stand tall and proud, and take a stand against injustices. We follow in each other's footsteps and celebrate a child's beginning to walk. But why, and how, exactly, did we take our first steps? And at what cost? Bipedalism has its drawbacks: giving birth is more difficult and dangerous; our running speed is much slower than other animals; and we suffer a variety of ailments, from hernias to sinus problems.
In First Steps, paleoanthropologist Jeremy DeSilva explores how unusual and extraordinary this seemingly ordinary ability is. A seven-million-year journey to the very origins of the human lineage, this book shows how upright walking was a gateway to many of the other attributes that make us human—from our technological abilities to our thirst for exploration and our use of language—and may have laid the foundation for our species' traits of compassion, empathy, and altruism. Moving from developmental psychology labs to ancient fossil sites throughout Africa and Eurasia, DeSilva brings to life our adventure walking on two legs.
Includes photographs
"A book that strides confidently across this complex terrain, laying out what we know about how walking works, who started doing it, and when." — The New York Times Book Review
"DeSilva makes a solid scientific case with an expert history of human and ape evolution." — Kirkus Reviews
"A brisk jaunt through the history of bipedalism . . . will leave readers both informed and uplifted." — Publishers Weekly
"Breezy popular science at its best." — Science News
Winner of the W.W. Howells Book Prize from the American Anthropological Association
Blending history, science, and culture, this highly engaging evolutionary story explores how walking on two legs allowed humans to become the planet's dominant species.
Humans are the only mammals to walk on two rather than four legs—a locomotion known as bipedalism. We strive to be upstanding citizens, honor those who stand tall and proud, and take a stand against injustices. We follow in each other's footsteps and celebrate a child's beginning to walk. But why, and how, exactly, did we take our first steps? And at what cost? Bipedalism has its drawbacks: giving birth is more difficult and dangerous; our running speed is much slower than other animals; and we suffer a variety of ailments, from hernias to sinus problems.
In First Steps, paleoanthropologist Jeremy DeSilva explores how unusual and extraordinary this seemingly ordinary ability is. A seven-million-year journey to the very origins of the human lineage, this book shows how upright walking was a gateway to many of the other attributes that make us human—from our technological abilities to our thirst for exploration and our use of language—and may have laid the foundation for our species' traits of compassion, empathy, and altruism. Moving from developmental psychology labs to ancient fossil sites throughout Africa and Eurasia, DeSilva brings to life our adventure walking on two legs.
Includes photographs
"A book that strides confidently across this complex terrain, laying out what we know about how walking works, who started doing it, and when." — The New York Times Book Review
"DeSilva makes a solid scientific case with an expert history of human and ape evolution." — Kirkus Reviews
"A brisk jaunt through the history of bipedalism . . . will leave readers both informed and uplifted." — Publishers Weekly
"Breezy popular science at its best." — Science News
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access First Steps by Jeremy DeSilva in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Evolution. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One Interpretation of the Human Family Tree
- Contents
- Author’s Note
- Introduction
- Part I: The Origin of Upright Walking
- Part II: Becoming Human
- Part III: Walk of Life
- Conclusion: The Empathetic Ape
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index
- Photo Section
- About the Author
- Copyright
- About the Publisher