Status
Available
Collection
Publication
New York : Pantheon Books, c2008.
Description
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.--From publisher description.
Media reviews
Shubin's engaging book reveals our fishy origins (for which we can thank hiccupping and hernias) and shows how life on Earth is profoundly interrelated. A book after Darwin's heart.
Shubin connects with sections on his own work discovering fossils, and on the sometimes surprising roots of modern human complaints. But the paleontologist can't escape his own academic history — much of Your Inner Fish reads like a cross between fleshed-out lecture notes and a dummed-down
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textbook. Show Less
Your Inner Fish combines Shubin's and others' discoveries to present a twenty-first-century anatomy lesson. The simple, passionate writing may turn more than a few high-school students into aspiring biologists.
User reviews
LibraryThing member kaelirenee
There are many aspects to the body that make us human. Limbs, eyes, stature, genetics. None of it just happened. And this is evident by looking at all those that have come before us. By clearly showing how evolution is decent with modification, Neil Shubin shows how we can better understand the
Shubin examines many examples like this, showing how the fossil record show evolutionary history, and how many of these conclusions have been drawn in his field. Included are examples of how body plans form, limbs form, teeth end up in the mouth, and how the ear is formed.
The book is engaging, entertaining, and informative. The author strikes an excellent balance between not talking over the audiences head and not dumbing down the information. Recommended for anyone interested in evolution, paleontology, body plans, and examining many of the missing links that have been discovered.
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whys and wherefores of our own bodies by looking at the structure of simpler organisms, namely fish. An excelent example (to me) was the examination of the cranial nerves. I remember them from my anatomy class as seemingly tangled and I couldn't understand why they were so random. But by looking at embryology, fish, and many other aspects of comparative vertebrate anatomy, I now understand how beautifully arranged they really are.Shubin examines many examples like this, showing how the fossil record show evolutionary history, and how many of these conclusions have been drawn in his field. Included are examples of how body plans form, limbs form, teeth end up in the mouth, and how the ear is formed.
The book is engaging, entertaining, and informative. The author strikes an excellent balance between not talking over the audiences head and not dumbing down the information. Recommended for anyone interested in evolution, paleontology, body plans, and examining many of the missing links that have been discovered.
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LibraryThing member jpsnow
Shubin shows us the connection between all animals' cellular and anatomical structures. Drawing from his expertise in paleontology, he presents a convincing series of examples. The bone configuration in the arm limbs of humans, whales, and reptiles matches that found in the original walking fish of
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300 million years ago. The cell grouping and molecules that cause growth of limbs and eyes is similar across species and can be transported between them. Structures in our inner ear match sensory structures found in sharks. His story isn't so much about the evolution of these structures as it is about recurrence. He also describes how the original bodies started not from a single cell splitting, but by separate microorganisms banding together for defense, a phenomena that has been repeated in the laboratory. For me this book was an update on everything I learned in high school biology. It's an educational lesson wrapped in a very enjoyable story. Show Less
LibraryThing member Justantolin
As an aspiring man of science, I can truly appreciate this incredible depiction of one of humankind's earliest ancestors. Beyond simple biological jargon, Shubin establishes a pervasive insight into the questions of substance that govern the fossil record. From the tiny bones in our mammalian ears
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to the arrangement of individual bones in each of our limbs, he lays out a fascinating picture of the many ways in which our bodies are abounding with remnants of a more "fishy" body and lifestyle. His emphasis of the virtue of the scientific method and the necessity to endlessly experiment and create does the field of paleontology real justice. Show Less
LibraryThing member nancenwv
An engaging tour of human evolution. He answered a lot of things I have wondered about as a curious science layperson- like how and why did this move toward specialized multi-celled bodies begin and how could an eyeball ever evolve?
While Shubin shared the excitement of paleontologists unwrapping
While Shubin shared the excitement of paleontologists unwrapping
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clues to missing links I really got a sense of the timespan of the fossil record. The story of each body slowly changing into the next step is truly amazing. Who knew that the three bones of our inner ear are re-fashioned pieces of reptile jaws? Show Less
LibraryThing member co_coyote
If, like me, you haven't picked up a biology textbook in the last 20 years, I'm afraid your biological knowledge is completely out of date. In an effort to learn more about the world around me, I've been making an effort to learn about the latest findings. Sean Carroll's books have been enormously
My only complaint is the title of this book. It put me off reading it for a long time. It's too cute and suggests a superficial approach to the topic. Happily, such is not the case. While much of the technical detail is smoothed over, the essence of the new understand provided by molecular and developmental biology is explained in clear and interesting prose that makes the general ideas extraordinarily compelling. It is interesting to me that we have come so far in biology that you can have a paleontologist and and a molecular biologist working side by side in the same lab and not think it is the least bit strange.
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helpful, but they are still a bit on the technical side. Neal Shubin's book, Your Inner Fish, covers much the same ground, but in a more accessible and understandable way for the general reader. The findings are absolutely remarkable. The same genes, the same body plans, the same proteins, jury-rigged over eons of time can produce remarkable diversity.My only complaint is the title of this book. It put me off reading it for a long time. It's too cute and suggests a superficial approach to the topic. Happily, such is not the case. While much of the technical detail is smoothed over, the essence of the new understand provided by molecular and developmental biology is explained in clear and interesting prose that makes the general ideas extraordinarily compelling. It is interesting to me that we have come so far in biology that you can have a paleontologist and and a molecular biologist working side by side in the same lab and not think it is the least bit strange.
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LibraryThing member Devil_llama
A fun exploration of human evolution, tracing our relationship with the fish. This is a good way to find a new approach to human evolution, which all too often is obsessed with the other primates only, and neglects our fishy lineage.
LibraryThing member Atomicmutant
Just a quick comment for now....this is a fantastic science book, for everyone. Wonderfully written, with lots of amazing detail. If you're thinking about reading it, do it! You'll be glad you did. Best science book I've read in a while.....
LibraryThing member woodge
Neil Shubin is a paleontologist who delves briefly into the history of the human body by way of fossils and DNA evidence. Sure, I learned stuff... like how interconnected all the species really are; and that mammals have three bones in the inner ear while other species have fewer; and that there's
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a gene called Sonic hedgehog; and how to extract DNA using common household appliances and items you could easily buy in a store (a blender is involved and I'm easily reminded of the Bass-O-Matic). But, really this short book (just over 200 pages) was a bit of a slog to get through (although the explanations are clear enough). I've read other non-fiction that was much more compelling. But if you've an interest in fossils and DNA and where we came from, you might find this enlightening. But since this book deals with actual science, I definitely wouldn't recommend this book to Creationists. Though I suppose a Creationist wouldn't be picking up a title like this one in the first place. They're probably looking for something more along the lines of Your Inner Godliness: A Journey Into the Four Thousand Year History of the Human Body. But I digress. Show Less
LibraryThing member deslni01
Your Inner Fish is a wonderful and enthusiastically written book on evolution and the connection between all species of creatures on Earth. What do humans have in common with fish? A lot, actually. Neil Shubin takes the reader on an adventure of paleontology and biology to examine different body
Looking back through billions of years of change, everything innovative or apparently unique in the history of life is really just old stuff that has been recycled, recombined, repurposed, or otherwise modified for new uses. This is the story of every part of us, from our sense organs to our heads, indeed our entire body plan.
From the arms, forearms and wrists to the eyes, brain, nerves and ears, to embryonic development and various genetic similarities, Neil combines his excitement for his work with a remarkable prose to provide a basic and general overview of evidence for evolution and common ancestry, in a very simplified way. The many pictures and diagrams interspersed do an excellent job simplifying many ideas, and provide wonderful clarity for many of the ideas.
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parts and where they originated and how they developed. In Neil's own words, Looking back through billions of years of change, everything innovative or apparently unique in the history of life is really just old stuff that has been recycled, recombined, repurposed, or otherwise modified for new uses. This is the story of every part of us, from our sense organs to our heads, indeed our entire body plan.
From the arms, forearms and wrists to the eyes, brain, nerves and ears, to embryonic development and various genetic similarities, Neil combines his excitement for his work with a remarkable prose to provide a basic and general overview of evidence for evolution and common ancestry, in a very simplified way. The many pictures and diagrams interspersed do an excellent job simplifying many ideas, and provide wonderful clarity for many of the ideas.
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LibraryThing member jasonlf
The title and cover warrant five stars. But the rest of the book was more like three and a half stars. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the scientific process and how paleontologists go about finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. I also liked the way the author brought together
But going through each aspect of our anatomy, bit by bit, with relatively little analytic content (or at least not much that was new to me) could drag at times. And there wasn't nearly as much to take away from the book as there was from, for example, Sean Carroll's Making of the Fittest.
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paleontology, genetics, and embryology into a coherent story. Some of the particular topics, like that anatomy of hands and teeth were fascinating. But going through each aspect of our anatomy, bit by bit, with relatively little analytic content (or at least not much that was new to me) could drag at times. And there wasn't nearly as much to take away from the book as there was from, for example, Sean Carroll's Making of the Fittest.
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LibraryThing member Ella_Jill
It’s a fascinating book that traces the origins of limbs, hands, teeth, eyes, ears, smell receptors, and bodies themselves, with data from paleontology, embryology and genetics.
From reading this book, I've gained a new understanding of not only how our various body parts and organs evolved and
It was also fascinating for me to learn how precursors of some of our organs and various structures existed in very early animals, biding their time till the situation changed and they could evolve into something useful.
I also found out many interesting facts about how our organisms from this book. For instance, I was surprised to learn that an odor receptor can interact with only one kind of molecule, and that's why we need so many of them, and consequently so many odor genes. But a particular smell may be composed of many molecules in various quantities, and so the author likens the signals our brain receives from various activated odor receptors to a chord. Another thing that surprised me was that a gene that switches on, say, hand- or eye-building genes in one animal would do the same in a totally different animal if inserted into its embryo, simulating its genes to build an eye or a hand wherever it's inserted. Thus, a mice gene can trigger a fly's eye-building genes to make an extra eye – a fly's type of eye, of course – wherever it's inserted.
A paleontologist, Neil Shubin also writes about their work: how they decide where to go to search for fossils, how they look for them in the field, and the work that gets done with the fossils after they get home. He says that it may take several expeditions to the same place to discover something significant, and since they usually search in most undisturbed places – deserts or high Arctic where it snows even in July – they have to put up with prolonged stays in tents in uncomfortable conditions. However, he manages to write with humor about the lifestyle necessitated by his profession. In general, I've found this a very well written book. No matter what he writes about, it never gets boring.
From reading this book, I've gained a new understanding of not only how our various body parts and organs evolved and
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why, but how the evolution works in general. Time and again, some genes got duplicated by mistake, and then eventually one of the copies mutated into something useful, and the mutation survived because it gave an advantage to the descendants who had inherited it. In this way, for example, two kinds of color vision receptors that most mammals have increased to three in Old World monkeys, and the number of odor genes have multiplied from a handful in jawless fish to over a thousand in mammals. However, evolution is apparently a two-way street. Once something becomes less useful, mutations that prevent that gene from functioning properly don't harm the animal too much and get passed on to the next generation. Thus, once colorful fruit appeared in the jungles and monkeys developed a richer color vision "in response" and began relying more on sight and less on smell to identify the best fruit to eat, their sense of smell deteriorated. Shubin writes that "fully three hundred" of their (and our) odor genes "are rendered completely functionless by mutations that have altered their structure beyond repair." It was also fascinating for me to learn how precursors of some of our organs and various structures existed in very early animals, biding their time till the situation changed and they could evolve into something useful.
I also found out many interesting facts about how our organisms from this book. For instance, I was surprised to learn that an odor receptor can interact with only one kind of molecule, and that's why we need so many of them, and consequently so many odor genes. But a particular smell may be composed of many molecules in various quantities, and so the author likens the signals our brain receives from various activated odor receptors to a chord. Another thing that surprised me was that a gene that switches on, say, hand- or eye-building genes in one animal would do the same in a totally different animal if inserted into its embryo, simulating its genes to build an eye or a hand wherever it's inserted. Thus, a mice gene can trigger a fly's eye-building genes to make an extra eye – a fly's type of eye, of course – wherever it's inserted.
A paleontologist, Neil Shubin also writes about their work: how they decide where to go to search for fossils, how they look for them in the field, and the work that gets done with the fossils after they get home. He says that it may take several expeditions to the same place to discover something significant, and since they usually search in most undisturbed places – deserts or high Arctic where it snows even in July – they have to put up with prolonged stays in tents in uncomfortable conditions. However, he manages to write with humor about the lifestyle necessitated by his profession. In general, I've found this a very well written book. No matter what he writes about, it never gets boring.
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LibraryThing member JBD1
A basic, approachable look at human evolution, including some very interesting sections on the possible and convoluted origins of certain health issues (hiccups, hernias). Shubin's got a reasonably funny sense of humor and keeps the book moving along at a good, brisk pace.
LibraryThing member Rosaschuchert
"Your Inner Fish" is about the evolution of life on Earth into what it is today and the discovery of one of the first animals to walk on land. I found this book to be extremely interesting. Some of the concepts were hard to wrap my head around and I was often confused by the information, but
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overall I feel I learned a lot from this book. The language of the book is all objective, all facts about evolution; however, you could feel the author's excitement over his work and discoveries. The book brings you on a journey from the first organisms of life, to the first to walk the Earth, to the first human beings, and along the way making connections between organisms across the globe and throughout time. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dorritt
I understand that this book has spawned a fairly popular BBC production, which I should probably check out. I picked the book up because I was looking for answers to lingering questions I’ve had about evolution, and was pleased to find not only the answers I was looking for, but answers to a lot
Essentially, the book traces the ancient antecedents of our human anatomy back to their evolutionary beginnings. Some of our traits are relatively newly acquired – our sense of smell, for instance. But the basic genes that establish our body shape – that distinguish “head” from “tail”, and “left” from “right”, for instance – are ancient indeed, originating from genes that have been around since the first jellyfish populated primordial oceans.
The book tackles our basic body systems one at a time, using evidence from paleontology, embryology and genetics to painstakingly track the evolution of each body part from its origins to its modern day form/function. For instance, the author tracks how bones that used to form part of reptilian skulls in time came to be repurposed as mammalian earbones; how nerves that used to enable fish to use their throats to both breathe and eat gradually came to control the muscles that pump our heart (inefficiencies in this “jury rigged system” are to blame for hiccups, by the way); and how the genes that used to produce gills in fish have been repurposed by evolutionary pressures to create the features of our human faces.
Though the first few chapters were on the dry side, I eventually began warming to the topic and by the end was reading enthusiastically. This experience, however, inclines me to be cautious about recommending Inner Fish to others. In spite of the author’s herculean efforts to make the content entertaining and accessible, folks looking for a light scientific read or who have forgotten most of what they learned in 9th grade biology may find parts of this a tough slog. If, however, you find yourself (like me) wondering how the millions of specialized creatures inhabiting the earth today can possibly have evolved from clumps of primodial ooze, then I think you’ll find this book both fascinating and informative.
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of questions I probably should have been asking! A serviceable analogy is to imagine Shubin as a magician revealing his trade secrets. Before I read this, the idea of nature having separately created so many specialized adaptations seemed almost incomprehensible. Then Shubin reveals the “behind the curtain” manipulations of natural selection and change over time, and suddenly these outcomes seem not just explicable, but even just a little obvious. I expect this is how Watson felt every time Sherlock Holmes revealed the logical process that lay behind his seemingly “miraculous” deductions. Evolutionary science is by no means “elementary,” but in Shubin’s hands it is revealed to be both logical and credible. Essentially, the book traces the ancient antecedents of our human anatomy back to their evolutionary beginnings. Some of our traits are relatively newly acquired – our sense of smell, for instance. But the basic genes that establish our body shape – that distinguish “head” from “tail”, and “left” from “right”, for instance – are ancient indeed, originating from genes that have been around since the first jellyfish populated primordial oceans.
The book tackles our basic body systems one at a time, using evidence from paleontology, embryology and genetics to painstakingly track the evolution of each body part from its origins to its modern day form/function. For instance, the author tracks how bones that used to form part of reptilian skulls in time came to be repurposed as mammalian earbones; how nerves that used to enable fish to use their throats to both breathe and eat gradually came to control the muscles that pump our heart (inefficiencies in this “jury rigged system” are to blame for hiccups, by the way); and how the genes that used to produce gills in fish have been repurposed by evolutionary pressures to create the features of our human faces.
Though the first few chapters were on the dry side, I eventually began warming to the topic and by the end was reading enthusiastically. This experience, however, inclines me to be cautious about recommending Inner Fish to others. In spite of the author’s herculean efforts to make the content entertaining and accessible, folks looking for a light scientific read or who have forgotten most of what they learned in 9th grade biology may find parts of this a tough slog. If, however, you find yourself (like me) wondering how the millions of specialized creatures inhabiting the earth today can possibly have evolved from clumps of primodial ooze, then I think you’ll find this book both fascinating and informative.
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LibraryThing member Beej415
A fascinating and very approachable explanation of the evolution of humans from the first excursions out of the pond. Shubin steers clear, mostly, from any reference to the "debate" between creationists and scientists, but the book so superbly and plainly presents the connections between modern
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humans and our ancestors of every type, that it should be used as a teaching tool as part of every high school science curriculum in the country. Show Less
LibraryThing member WomblingStar
This was a really enjoyable book and very interesting. It was very easy to read and explained the technical science in basic language. It covers paeleontology and the finding of a creature that explains a step in evolution. It also covers how we have evolved from single cell organsisms and
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embryology. Very interesting and would recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member aamermoquim
Interesting premise but long winded, meandering and repetitive. Author takes unnecessary detour to his own career to illustrate points that could be better explained otherwise. Author is also a incessant name dropper.
But, the book provides incontrovertible evidence to the reality of evolution. If
But, the book provides incontrovertible evidence to the reality of evolution. If
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you still deny evolution after reading this book, nothing will convince you. Show Less
LibraryThing member amaraduende
This wasn't written all that well (not badly by any means...) but it was pretty interesting...
LibraryThing member satyridae
This book started out slow for me, but I grew to like it more and more as I went on. Shubin's boyish sense of humor asserted itself in the latter parts of the book, to my delight. The book is very easy to understand, so much so that I would unreservedly recommend it to any bright middle schooler
Recommended.
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who wants to understand evolution, and I think it belongs in every high school library. The drawings are brilliant, not to mention amusing. Shubin also uses practical and interesting examples to illustrate the concepts he's discussing. In addition to all that, he told me exactly why people who drink a lot think they are spinning when in fact they are not moving at all. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member Alina100
The book talks about our fishy origins and shows how life on Earth is interrelated. This book is intended for the kind of people who are interested in the evolution process, as well as science in general.
LibraryThing member Sovranty
This book allows the reader to own the evolutionary path of the human species. Often, it seems books focusing on evolution use other species to example and follow. This book may lend convincing to those weary of human evolution. Entertaining and well illustrated.
LibraryThing member cajela
A fascinating and well explained book of popular science; Neil Shubin is a very clear and easy writer. This covers the discovery of Tiktaalik, the fish-amphibian intermediary with fossils found exactly as predicted in the Canadian arctic.
But it's not just a paleontology story, it's about what we
But it's not just a paleontology story, it's about what we
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have in common with our early ancestors in terms of genes, embryology and anatomy. What do we have in common with fish? Lots! Read it and find out, it's worth the time. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
Your Inner Fish is a popular science book and scientist memoir - the author digs up millions year old fossils for a living in exotic parts of the world. The main idea is that humans evolved from more primitive creatures, like fish, and we still have the vestiges of those creatures in our biology
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and anatomy. The first and last chapter are very good, but the meat of the book was somewhat uninteresting, for me. The author is clearly excited about it, and other readers really enjoyed it, but for some reason I just didn't find much of interest. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheCrow2
A great book about the human body and what we have common with out ancestors like fish, jellyfish or even sponges. Paleontological, anatomical and genetical proofs that we are a close relative of the great family of Earth's animals. And yes, the explanation why we hiccup...
LibraryThing member nbzottel
The first time I picked up "Your Inner fish" I was taken aback at all the terminology Shubin throws at his readers - and that even though I myself was studying anatomy at that moment. Two years later it proved to be an interesting read on how all animal life is related in often not very obvious
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ways. Nice to know where hiccups come from and who we have to thank for them: thanks for that, mr. tadpole! Show Less
Awards
Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize (Shortlist — 2009)
Society of Midland Authors Award (Winner — Adult Nonfiction — 2009)
Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize (Shortlist — 2009)
Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science (Winner — 2008)
National Academies Communication Award (Winner — 2009)