Book of the Month: Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin

If you haven't already gotten your copy, you can purchase it online here:
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (Vintage)

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Comment by Daniel on February 26, 2009 at 11:14am

The book starts out fast but slows a little in the middle. Should finish it tonight. Well worth the read unless you are a creationist!

Comment by Dale on February 24, 2009 at 11:58am

I think back to this book whenever my daughter hiccups which is usually daily.

Comment by PaulaT on February 24, 2009 at 11:32am

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the part about hiccups. :-)

Comment by mamapadawan on February 17, 2009 at 3:03pm

Ordering the book right now...

Comment by PaulaT on February 13, 2009 at 2:16pm

Yes! I already have the book too, will start reading it tomorrow on my 11 hour flight from Seattle to Frankfurt. It looks very interesting!

Paula T.

Comment by LabRat on February 13, 2009 at 10:42am

I'm reading it at the moment. It's a very interesting read, written with a good dose of humour.

Comment by Kirsten Sanford on February 13, 2009 at 10:13am

From the publisher:

"Why do we look the way we do? What does the human hand have in common with the wing of a fly? Are breasts, sweat glands, and scales connected in some way? To better understand the inner workings of our bodies and to trace the origins of many of today's most common diseases, we have to turn to unexpected sources: worms, flies, and even fish.

Neil Shubin, a leading paleontologist and professor of anatomy who discovered Tiktaalik — the "missing link" that made headlines around the world in April 2006 — tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years, long before the first creatures walked the earth. By examining fossils and DNA, Shubin shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our head is organized like that of a long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genome look and function like those of worms and bacteria.

Shubin makes us see ourselves and our world in a completely new light. Your Inner Fish is science writing at its finest — enlightening, accessible, and told with irresistible enthusiasm."