"Your Inner Fish": A book review

In Your Inner Fish, A Journey Into the 3.5 - Billion - Year History of the Human Body, Dr. Neil Shubin details how evolutionary adaptations in the early history of life on earth helped to shape, and left their stamp on the human form.

Professor Shubin begins the book with a chapter detailing his discovery of Tiktaalik roseae, an important transitional fish species, fossilized in a remote region of northern Canada. He then proceeds to show how important aspects of human anatomy can be traced back to the limbs of this primitive fish, how discoveries about stages of embryo development can shine a light on how genes work to build our bodies, and how our current body structures evolved from our more primitive ancestors, all the way, comparing parts of human anatomy with earlier, more primitive forms in other animals, from fish to jellyfish, to anemones to bacteria.

Shubin may well be one of the best writers of popular science today. I recommend this book heartily to anyone who wants to learn a lot more about themselves and the natural world.