An exhilarating history of humankind, chronicling thousands of years of trial and error—but mostly error—in the rise of civilization
Modern humans have come a long way in the seventy thousand years they’ve walked the earth. Art, science, culture, trade—on the evolutionary food chain, we’re true winners. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, and sometimes—just occasionally—we’ve managed to truly f*ck things up.
Weaving together history, science, politics and pop culture, Humans offers a panoramic exploration of humankind in all its glory, or lack thereof. From Lucy, our first ancestor, who fell out of a tree and died, to General Zhou Shou of China, who stored gunpowder in his palace before a lantern festival, to the Austrian army that attacked itself one drunken night, to the most spectacular fails of the present day, Phillips reveals how even the most mundane mistakes can shift the course of civilization as we know it. Lively, wry and brimming with brilliant insight, this unique compendium offers a fresh take on world history and is one of the most entertaining reads of the year.
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“A timely, irreverent gallop through thousands of years of human stupidity. Every time you begin to find our foolishness bizarrely comforting, Tom Phillips adds another kick in the ribs. Beneath all this book’s laughter is a serious question: Where does so much serial stupidity take us?”
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Nicholas Griffin, author of Ping-Pong Diplomacy