'Engrossing richly informative . . . challenges us to rethink universal health benchmarks' New
Yorker A new way of thinking about diversity from the internationally renowned author of
Burn Real 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.
