Life as We Made It

From the very first dog to glowing fish and designer pigs – the human history of remaking nature

‘Enlightening… Big history meets big science – and it’s great entertainment.’ THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2021

Malaria-free mosquitoes, resurrected dinosaurs and woolly mammoths, designer humans – such is the power of the science of tomorrow. But the idea that humans have only recently begun to tinker with the natural world is false. We’ve been meddling with nature since the last ice age, we’re just getting a lot better at it.

Drawing on decades of research, Beth Shapiro reveals the surprisingly long history of human intervention in evolution – for good and for ill – and looks ahead to the future, casting aside scaremongering myths about the dangers of interference. New biotechnologies can present us with the chance to improve our own lives, and increase the likelihood that we will continue to live in a rich and biologically diverse world.

‘Very few people write about the insane complexities and power of biology with greater clarity, insight and levity than Beth Shapiro.’ ADAM RUTHERFORD, AUTHOR OF A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYONE WHO EVER LIVED