The Ascent of Man

Folio Society, 2012. Good secondhand condition.

What distinguishes humans from other living beings? How did the human race evolve from nomadic hunter-gatherers to the urbanised social creatures we are today? Based on the classic television series of the same name, The Ascent of Man answers these immense questions. In Jacob Bronowski?s inspiring account, the journey of man leads ever upward, from flint tools to the double helix. This is not simply a ?history of science?, for the sculptures of Henry Moore and the calculations of Newton belong to the same human instinct. The result is a unique, enthralling history of what Bronowski calls ?the whole adventure of man?.

This is a journey through millennia, from cave paintings to the model of DNA, each chapter addressing a different aspect of human endeavour. In ?The Hidden Structure?, we follow ?the firewalker?s path? from the earliest uses of precious metals, through alchemical theories to the isolation of oxygen and the discovery of the atom. The final chapter, ?The Long Childhood?, opens at the oldest seat of democracy in Northern Europe: a natural ampitheatre where the Althing of Iceland once met. A sense of justice is, astonishingly enough, part of our unique biological equipment, alongside speech, learning and even opposable thumbs.