0142004820

Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body

by Armand Marie Leroi (Penguin, $16)

“Mutants is an exquisitely life-enhancing book. It captures what we know of the development of what makes us human, and it recognizes the random tragedy inflicted by nature and nurture.” Peter Little Nature 427, 101–102 (2004).

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A Brief History of the Human Race

by Michael Cook (Granta, £9.99)

“An elegant, quick and engaging way to review what has happened in history, to learn much that is new, and to appreciate the past of the whole world, not just the West. It meets scientists almost halfway, trying to ground the events of history literally in the material facts of the planet.” Melvin Konner Nature 428, 123–124 (2004).

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Sight Unseen

by Melvyn Goodale and David Milner (Oxford University Press, £14.99)

“Goodale and Milner emphasize that much of what goes on in our brains, and even in our cortices, escapes our conscious ‘I’, partly because of the separation of the visual systems for perception and action... this volume is a perfect present for anyone even remotely interested in the brain.” Manfred Fahle Nature 429, 703 (2004)10.1038/429703a.