The Deep History of the Human Body - The Universe Within

I thought that Neil Shubin's first book, Your Inner Fish, was simply a masterpiece of non-fiction and one of my favorite books of all time. So perhaps my expectations were unrealistically high when I eagerly opened his second offering. The scope of this one is certainly more ambitious: after exploring the genetic heritage within the human species, he now considers the literally cosmic heritage of all life on Earth! It is this very expansiveness that led to my mild disappointment, however. The writing is still concise and insightful as ever. But one of the main charms of YIF was how the narrative fell largely within his own personal expertise in paleontology, anatomy, and embryology. Here, the overarching perspective requires him to change voice from that of investigator to historian. It is this degree of separation from the material that made a lack of depth at times inevitable. For example, Chapters Five and Six seem like summaries of Nick Lane's book, Oxygen. Having read the latter, I found that Shubin's breezy prose was unable to capture the elegant and subtle story of the evolution of Earth's atmosphere. But the effort fits nicely into a breathtaking overview of the history of life on Earth unlike anything I've read. Makes you wonder what he can do for an encore!

It is impressive how such a relatively slim volume manages to be so sweeping. Author Neil Shubin manages to take on geology, paleontology, chemistry and evolutionary and developmental biology through the lens of astronomy. The book alternates between big-picture overviews and behind the scene looks at how theories were developed and refined. His intimate portrayal of the history behind some famous and not so famous facts made me which that science was conveyed in as a matter of course. It seems like there would be a lot less skepticism towards scientific knowledge if people not only heard the what, the conclusion, but also the why, the way the conclusion was reached. But I digress. Between these anecdotes, Shubin would pan out so readers can more clearly appreciate the domino effect of events that led us here - from the distribution of gases after the big bang onward.

While the material is both accessible and engaging, particularly to someone with at least a passing background in science, the sheer amount of information covered makes all the information hard to digest in one read. The more impressive feat, of course, was Shubin's ability to weave all the strands together. While there is surely much more to say on each topic that he mentioned, I, for one, am thankful that he saw fit to share his insights. This was a great, mentally stimulating and awe-inspiring read.

"All the galaxies in the cosmos, like every creature on the planet, and every atom, molecule, and body on Earth are deeply connected. That connection begins at a single point 13.7 billion years ago."

===============

This book takes a big scientific fact and then links it back to life on Earth and our lives specifically. For example, the Big Bang created particles that exist on Earth and in living creatures today (including us). Along the way he tells the stories of scientists whose "wacky theories" just happened to be right and what happened in the process of proving them. Those personal stories, along with Shubin's own scientific exploration which is interspersed throughout the chapters, bring the science to a personal level and keep the reader engaged.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that Shubin celebrates the science and connections without imposing any philosophical opinions on us. I have seen some complaining about his lack of concern about climate change and it was then that I realized how refreshing it was to just get the facts without the author's personal opinion as well.

The book is only 240 pages so clearly it is an overview, but it is one with just enough details for those who, like me, have just a smattering of scientific knowledge.

The Universe Within by Neil Shubin is a wonderfully crafted primer on the history of how got here and how everything is connected. Don't let the size fool you, the ARC I received from the store's Vine program consisted of 189 pages yet Shubin manages to pack quite a lot in. For those who are just learning the history of the universe this is a must read.

I found the first chapter a little boring and really didn't contribute a lot to the story other than act as a catalyst for the rest of the book. He starts out talking about an artic dig and his finding of a 200 million year old fossil linking reptiles and mammals. Once he gets going on the history of the universe I found myself liking the book more and more. As this is a short book don't be surprised to find that he leaves key historical moments out or skims over discoveries. This is my only compliant about the book; Shubin seems to be writing for the laymen, yet he often assumes his reader will understand the more advanced science offered in the book. I'd say this is a great first step in the rich field of science history.

This is an easy to read little science book dealing with evolution and paleobiology. It was not the book I expecting and doesn't reveal any principles or insight that I didn't already know. I was looking for more insight into the science and less about the personal life of the author. It reads as if I was sitting next to the author on a long plane ride and he decided to tell me stories about his life and the science he deals with. Ho-hum. I was frankly bored by the book because I didn't find any of it interesting or compelling or useful in my field of work. I suppose he believes that making the science personal also makes it interesting to the average reader, but it doesn't. Sorry. I hope that doesn't sound harsh, because he may actually have some interesting stories to tell, but I didn't find them in the book. I just didn't gain anything by reading the book and for me that was a waste of my time. Next time the author needs to tell fewer personal anecdotes as filler material and just stick with the science. If you are really into paleobiology or know the author, this book might have more appeal to you. The sum total of the hard science in the book could be summed up on one page, instead of the 200+ pages the author spent chit-chatting with the reader.

I liked this book. It was interesting and does show how we are a result of all that has come before us. It is a very lite review of the history of the universe and life on earth showing how things like the erosion of rocks led to cooling of the earth and ultimately to the evolution of homo sapiens. But all through this book I felt like I was reading something rather lightweight. It just doesn't go very deep or build in kind of compelling case that would have led me to give it 5 stars. So I enjoyed reading it and it is a very quick read, but I don't think I will remember much about it a year from now. Shubin's book Your Inner Fish was much better.

I purchased "The Universe Within..." because I enjoyed Neil Shuban's "Your Inner Fish", which was a thought provoking work that presented new ideas (at least to me) about human development and evolution. This book, unfortunately, read like a junior high biology primer. It was very short, unfocused, wandering and without detail. His "history" starts about 3 billion years into the story. I expected to at least learn a little bit about how the single cell developed or why it became beneficial for cells to form symbiotic relationships- that would ultimately lead to humans. It seemed that the main focus of the book centered around walking on the rocks of Greenland. I know you can do better Neil- it's obvious that your publisher wanted to cash in on your success with "Your Inner Fish", but this book was a disservice to your readers. Shame on you. On the plus side, it was so short that we didn't waste too much time reading it.

The Universe Within is an interesting book relating physics and the universe with evolution and biology. I really wanted to like this book and for the most part it reads well and does not require an advanced level of scientific knowledge. However, every few pages there is a maddening logic break in the narrative where it seems the author meant to add a lot of explanatory material, but just never got around to it. Someone with a scientific background can usually bridge those gaps, but others may find it frustrating. There are some really huge omissions! I think that the book could benefit from the addition of 100-200 more pages! Yes really huge! With more explanatory material I would rate this book 5 stars.

Here's what I mean (from chapter 9):
"Like most atoms, carbon exists in a number of different forms in the natural world. All carbon atoms have the same number of protons inside their nuclei; the different versions are distinguished from each other by the number of neutrons inside. Libby's insight was that all living things will have the same carbon 14 in their bodies . . . ." WHOA! Wait a minute. The author has failed to mention that 1) normal carbon is carbon 12, and that 2) carbon 14 is radioactive. Without this knowledge the section does not make sense.

Another example is from chapter 8 which seems totally muddled. Note how much explanatory material should have been added!:
"Mammals that lack color vision have only two proteins to perceive color; we and the Old World apes that perceive colors have four." WHOA! Wait a minute. Four!?? [In a comment to this review, it has been noted that the author has now corrected this to 3. Vine reviewers get a pre-publication copy which occasionally gets changed. This does not change my review since this is only one example of many problem areas. Furthermore, merely changing 4 to 3 does not fix the problem of too little explanatory material] I believe Wikipedia has it right when it says, "Perception of color begins with specialized retinal cells containing pigments with different spectral sensitivities, known as cone cells. In humans, there are three [!!] types of cones sensitive to three different spectra, resulting in trichromatic color vision. Each individual cone contains pigments composed of opsin apoprotein." First of all, although most mammals have only two cone types, they do perceive color - just not as well as humans. Second, the author appears to be talking about 4 cone types which is just plain wrong.

He does get it correct that our trichromatic vision arose when one of our color genes was duplicated ("The four proteins that allow us to see colors are duplicates of the two seen in other mammals."), but, of course, there was only one duplication of only one of the two genes giving a total of 3, NOT a duplication of 2 genes to give 4. So the one gene in our ancestor's DNA for longer wavelengths of light was (probably) duplicated, and then the 2 versions of this gene slowly diverged in structure by evolutionary processes over millions of years to become the red and the green genes humans have today. The author should also have noted there is another different, but still reasonable biological hypothesis for the origin of human trichromatic vision.

P.S.
Yes, I know that some women are believed to have 4 cone types derived from the mutant gene that produces sex-linked red/green color blindness in men, but the author does not indicate in any way he is discussing this topic. As Wikipedia says, "Because humans usually have three kinds of cones with different photopsins, which have different response curves and thus respond to variation in color in different ways, we have trichromatic vision. Being color blind can change this, and there have been some unverified reports of people with four or more types of cones, giving them tetrachromatic vision."

And unto dust shalt return.

Turns out that phrase is far more true than you probably realize. If you want to learn just how true it is, read this book. It's a great overview of geology, astronomy, and biology. So often we think of these as separate subjects, but Shubin manages to integrate them into a seamless whole. He takes what could be an overwhelming subject and simplifies it without dumbing it down, and makes it personal as he tells of his adventures looking for bones. You can tell he really loves what he's writing about. It's a great companion to Shubin's earlier book, _Your Inner Fish_. My biggest complaint is that it's really not long enough. I found myself wanting more. But as a starting point, this can't be beat.

The history of life, the cosmos, and everything...that about sums up this highly readable book about the connections we need to make to understand our planet, other planets, and ourselves. Those with strong science backgrounds may be frustrated by the shallow depth of this book, but I found it readable, understandable, enjoyable, and adept at illustrating a web of complex connections which can inspire such wonder about creation. I noticed another reader felt this book channeled the magic of the PBS series Cosmos, and it does. But I also felt it had some of the fascination of the BBC's Connections, which really illustrated the interconnections between people, things, places, and events. A layperson's survey of a fascinating topic.

*****
"A beautiful story, beautifully told. Our very bodies store within them the entire arc of cosmic history, and Neil Shubin's tale weaves, with great authority, accuracy and a wonderfully light touch, a grand synthesis that manages to incorporate forefront research in astronomy, geology, paleontology, and genetics."---Lawrence Krauss
*

"Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return," is a divine statement about our modest origin and final destination in the vast universe, to which we are eternally connected to its planet earth. In The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History..., Paleontologist Neil Shubin elaborates on this cosmic tie. He further explores our embedded kinship that proves how we are just small atoms sparked in time. He confirms that atoms from the Big Bang can be found in our planet and inside our bodies, "The particles that make us, have traveled billions of years across the universe; long after we and our planet are gone."

The Universe Within captures not only the elation of science readers and the joy of peer academics, inspiring many creative dot-connectors in different fields, to share their lifelong contributions to further reveal the ever elusive and yet fascinating cosmic links "each of us has with the cosmos." Although described best fit for readers with a genuine longing for vivid speculative science, Dr. Shubin's book is both scientific landmark and novel research. In spite of various extra notes in his beautiful exposition, I was not willing to be punctual in writing a review. Aware of the pain of intellectual separation, I am not putting the book away.

The book is also a vivid record of people who lead scientific discovery forward, in search of our cosmic links as much as their creative thought. Shubin gives tribute to the innovators while providing a colorful tour of the conceptual and material facades of scientific discovery. The Eureka cries came after years of hard work, failure, and, often much lost time and effort, while shying from taking pride in their work. "However, that barricade has long been breached, by no less than Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, biologists Richard Dawkins, cosmologist Brian Swimme, and fellow paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin," comments a critic.

Neil Shubin is a Paleontologist, dealing with extinct and fossil animals and plants, his achievements are the synthesis of expeditionary field discoveries in genetics and genomes. His main competency lies in connecting the evolutionary dots. following his work, the exposition should be entitled, "Connecting the Dots with the Universe within." What is magical in Paleontology that inspires her speculative researchers into insightful ideas, and creative concepts, which led Neil Shubin into Teilhard de Chardin Gnosis of the Omega of cosmic apex? (Tipler/ Feynman-Weinberg-DeWitt quantum gravity Model Theory of Everything)

The Omega Point: The Search for the Missing Mass and the Ultimate Fate of the Universe (Bantam New Age Books)

Disclaimer: I am reviewing an unproofread advance copy that I received for free through the Vine program.

This book was a good, enjoyable read. Lots of good material, good science, also interesting personal anecdotes.

The idea and organization/structure are little strange, but that's interesting too: starts out with a personal story about going out for the first time, with the wrong boots/wrong equipment in a frigid climate, to hunt for fossils, and soon moves along into stuff about the Big Bang, onto how a cataclysmic collision that broke the Moon free from the Earth led to the tides, and the 24-hour daily cycle, that influenced the evolution of we humans and all other living things on Earth, etc.

I was looking forward to reading this book. Professor Shubin is a talented popular science writer who has serious real science cred. I was hoping for a book that would look at cosmology and geology with a human evolution angle. But the balance of this book is heavily weighted toward geology with the addition of some cosmology in the beginning chapters. How the geology and cosmology relate to human evolution is often thrown in at the end of a chapter almost as an afterthought.

It's all very well written, but I've read much of the geology material before and have even met some of the people Professor Shubin references. Yes geology is a very interesting topic, but I'd like to know more about things like the evolution of color vision in our ancestors and less about how uplift of the Himalayas may or may not have significantly cooled the planet.

If you're interested in a well written, if cursory, look at the physical evolution of our cosmos and our planet, The Universe Within is a good start. Professor Shubin writes in an engaging style and is very generous with his compliments of other scientists, most of whom are unknown to the public at large. But if, like me, you really want a book that looks at how humans and their ancestors were influenced by the physical world and its changes over time, this book will come up short.

Readers who like readable popular science are those most likely to enjoy Neil Shubin's The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People. Instead of a dense presentation of developments in paleontology, physics, biology and geology, Shubin tells a story that will captivate and engage most general readers. He shows how we are connected to the elements that make up the universe. Shubin talks about his own fieldwork with enthusiasm, but never to excess. Most readers will learn a thing or two from this book, and enjoy the experience.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

I'm not sure why -- maybe it the semi-patronizing tone, maybe the lack of in-depth stories. But this book reads more like a Junior High textbook than a text for the educated layman. "The Universe Within" is a rehash of well-worn material about the origins of the universe and solar system with a smattering of new and interesting facts. Like, if Jupiter had formed closer to the Sun, we Earthlings would have compensated for its stronger gravity by evolving shorter and stubbier. But such insights spanned just a few, short sentences.

A disappointing sequel to the marvelous "Your Inner Fish."

This little book contains multitudes. Neil Shubin has managed to wrap-up cosmology, geology, biology, evolution, sociology, paleontology, archaeology, geophysics ... everything, in a very tidy, readable, even poetic package. This is the book to share with your teens, to explain how it all, I mean IT ALL fits together. It's a book to share with your creationist friends, at least if they are actually open to reasoned argument, because their position simply won't stand up to this account of how the world, the universe, and our bodies work.

Not that Shubin ever stoops to that battle. Like most thoughtful, educated people, the questions raised by the "intelligent design" crowd don't ever cross his radar. But the refutations are all here.

And the scope! Shubin offers clear explication of how the Big Bang led directly to the pixels you are reading right now, and your eyes and nerves and brain doing the reading, supported by the heart and lungs and blood, embedded in the atmosphere and biosphere and geologic formations. Another title for this book could have been "Genesis."

A wonderful read. Head right over to your local indy bookstore and order it now!

Neil Shubin is learning on the job and hence 'The Universe Within' is better than 'Your Inner Fish.' Drawing broad strokes, the author ties your cells to the stars, evoking the genesis of the universe, planets, and life. The perpective is one of deep time and broad expanse, avoiding the entanglements of depth that could run to hundreds of pages on any particular topic such as human evolution or plate tectonics.

I have integrated Your Inner Fish into my biology curriculum, and was hoping that Universe would provide a similar opportunity for high school students to engage with science writing.
Alas, the magic that was within Tiktalik is not in Shubin's Universe.

Shubin fails to develop a unifying narrative. The book reads like a series of textbook selections of scientists, their discoveries and their accomplishments.

Frankly, it is dull, and lacks the sense of adventure that was present in Your Inner Fish.

Neil Shubin brings the same charming, enthusiastic, engrossing approach to both YOUR INNER FISH and THE UNIVERSE WITHIN. He isn't a teacher, but I wish he was.
Would Shubin be allowed to teach in a school? I worry that he wouldn't. His theories can't even be called theories because they're too well explained to be considered anything other than fact. But would that hold weight in a school? Both books are anti-creationist, beautifully explaining and filling in the gaps in evolution.
Hopefully, I'm being too negative. It was a genuine thrill to see the development of humanity from amoeba to fish to mammal in YOUR INNER FISH. That thrill is replicated in THE UNIVERSE WITHIN though the idea of the moon being formed from a asteroid collision with Earth. And even more so with concrete ideas about the universe expanding from The Big Bang.
I learnt a lot from both YOUR INNER FISH and THE UNIVERSE WITHIN, and I think you will too. And what's even better is that you'll do it at breakneck pace and with the desire to keep turning the pages.
Neil Shubin is the best teacher you never had. And that's why he's a great writer.

What an absolute pleasure! An enjoyable readable look at how our deep history and tight connections to the growing universe and evolution. Really great science writing, smooth and very powerful. Brings together elements of biology and geology and astronomy into a compelling narrative. Fully referenced and includes notes for anyone wanting to read further about any of the issues raised.

This is a brief, but very interesting, look at our origins...at, literally, the most elemental level. Neil Shubin is a good writer who is able to break down complex ideas into their basic building blocks, without ever patronizing the reader or going off on confusing technical tangents.

Essentially, the universe, our planet, and all of life as we know it originated through physical and chemical reactions that has allowed continued development.

For such a slim volume, there is a lot in here. What does "red shift" mean, and how does that help us determine the distance between our solar system and a star we can observe? How did all the elements named on the periodic table derive from only three basic components? Can we add more elements?

And, at the beginning of the book, how could Shubin (and his team of fellow geologists) while hiking across a rocky landscape, possibly see a tiny fossilized tooth of a prehistoric shrew-sized mammal? And what information could be gleaned from that discovery? These concepts are mind-blowing, and Shubin makes them fun.

Shubin does not get into the Creationist vs. Evolutionist discussion, which is beyond the scope of this book and not at all relevant to his topic. As a person who believes in God as the Creator, I have no bone to pick with his approach or his interpretation of evidence. In fact, it makes me feel even more awed by the fact that the processes he describes have such a narrow margin for error, and that the odds stacked against any life, let alone human life, are beyond astronomical...if not for a unifying force that, as it were, allows all the stars to line up correctly. (My faith, Catholicism, recognizes the validity of conclusions like Neil Shubin's, and sees no conflict with accepting this AND Scripture.)

But as long as we're on the topic of religion, I should mention that one of my pet peeves is reading about how Galileo, according to Shubin, was almost executed for his insistence that the Earth orbits the Sun.

This canard has been cited by otherwise well-educated people as "proof" that the Church was anti-science, but it's like talking about the Salem witch-burnings: never happened.

Galileo was not the first person to come up with the concept of heliocentrism, and many of his contemporaries--who were men of the Church as well as astronomers--agreed with him.

Galileo wasn't satisfied with merely presenting a scientific theory and building evidence to support it--he wanted the Church to promote heliocentrism as theological fact, which the Church couldn't and wouldn't do. Planetary orbits were in a completely different discipline than theology. Galileo was (rightly) censured in the Church's attempt at damage control. There was no huge trial, there was no torture, there was no order of execution, there was no dungeon, there was no rejection of heliocentrism. Galileo did not get in trouble for his IDEA--he got in trouble for undermining the authority of the Church...and it was appropriate for him to be placed under house arrest, at his villa, and allowed to continue his studies and write but NOT go about stirring up trouble.

You can look this all up.

I don't fault Shubin for this slip, but his editors should have caught this. It makes me think that other information in the book that deviates from Shubin's area of expertise is similarly off the mark.

But this book is worthwhile, and it will inspire you to do more reading on the topics he discusses. He helpfully provides a list of further reading suggestions, which I really appreciate. It's like getting a CD WITH the lyrics. If high school students read this before taking chemistry or physics, it would really inspire them. And if you're a total layman like me--who happens to like to stargaze and search for fossils--it's good solid background about what makes up our world.

Just remember, that Galileo was a crybaby.

How to show the relation between the world evolution, our own evolution as dominant specie and the geological facts? This is what Neil Shubin made in this book based in his work as a geologist.
This book is also from the British Library in Lima.

So much here to ponder. Lots of great information and eye opening revelations. Shubin is a wonderful writer whose style never bogs down with technical jargon or hard to understand concepts. The book is well researched and filled with historical anecdotes and brief histories of many scientists and big thinkers.

Anything that can help people connect to the deep realities of existence deserves five stars. The books explores how each of us is not only a summary of changes in time but also of every level of nature. I would like to see this made into a documentary too.

This novel contains an incredible amount of information. The author, Neil Shubin, begins by explaining the origin of the universe and continues through the evolution of humans. Through out the novel, many of the many events in our planet's history are analyzed in their origin, results, and how they relate to who we are today. From the creation of mass 14 billion years ago, through the formation of Earth, the moon, life, plate tectonics, ice ages, and evolution, this novel gives an easy to understand explanation of major events in our history.

Shubin intended the novel to be for a general audience which makes it a great read for all ages. Unfortunately, anyone with education in the field will read this as very elementary information and even notice many important events that are left out of the novel. I, being in school for geology, really enjoyed reading the novel because of Shubin's creative writing style and unique delivery of explaining scientific theories, but didn't exactly learn a whole lot. I would have enjoyed if there was a bit more depth in some of the topis as they seemed to be glanced over a bit.

Over all, I thought this was an enjoyable book and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning about how we are connected to the Earth and the cosmos above.

This is a really fascinating look at the interconnectedness of nature. Anyone who likes Carl Sagan books or Cosmos will enjoy this immensely. It shows how all the aspects of the universe set the stage for evolution.

"The Universe Within" is too broad for my tastes. I should be more specific: broad is fine if the book is long enough to tie in all the disparate threads. But this volume is too thin to fall into that category. It's a fine piece of popular science, but it doesn't really stand out among the many other similar works out there. I wouldn't recommend *against* the book, but if you're looking for something in-depth I might look elsewhere.

Very slap dash - guys in the field, sort of thing. The biology was surprisingly weak. Most accept that the "creatures" that created the Great Oxygen Event were cyanobacteria, not algae.

More depth, as observed, not only would have helped but also would have added integrity and credibility to some really broad statements. For beginners these kinds of off-the-cuff remarks all too easily translate to misconceptions ... like lemming going over cliffs, because they over populate.