{"title":"Henry Gee","description":"\u003cp\u003eHenry Gee's works explore the fascinating intersections of science, history, and the natural world. With a keen eye for detail and a compelling narrative style, his books delve into evolutionary biology, the ancient past, and the remarkable stories behind life on Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect thought-provoking insights that illuminate complex scientific ideas with clarity and imagination. Whether addressing adult readers or young minds, Henry Gee’s writing captures the wonder and challenges of understanding our place in the natural order.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-accidental-species-by-henry-gee-9780226284880","title":"The Accidental Species","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea of a missing link between humanity and our animal ancestors predates evolution and popular science and actually has religious roots in the deist concept of the Great Chain of Being. Yet, the metaphor has lodged itself in the contemporary imagination, and new fossil discoveries are often hailed in headlines as revealing the elusive transitional step, the moment when we stopped being “animal” and started being “human.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Accidental Species\u003c\/i\u003e, Henry Gee, longtime paleontology editor at \u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e, takes aim at this misleading notion, arguing that it reflects a profound misunderstanding of how evolution works and, when applied to the evolution of our own species, supports mistaken ideas about our own place in the universe. Gee presents a robust and stark challenge to our tendency to see ourselves as the acme of creation. Far from being a quirk of religious fundamentalism, human exceptionalism, Gee argues, is an error that also infects scientific thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTouring the many features of human beings that have recurrently been used to distinguish us from the rest of the animal world, Gee shows that our evolutionary outcome is one possibility among many, one that owes more to chance than to an organized progression to supremacy. He starts with bipedality, which he shows could have arisen entirely by accident, as a by-product of sexual selection, moves on to technology, large brain size, intelligence, language, and, finally, sentience. He reveals each of these attributes to be alive and well throughout the animal world—they are not, indeed, unique to our species.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Accidental Species\u003c\/i\u003e combines Gee’s firsthand experience on the editorial side of many incredible paleontological findings with healthy skepticism and humour to create a book that aims to overturn popular thinking on human evolution—the key is not what’s missing, but how we’re linked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46854893633772,"sku":"9780226284880","price":52.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/bd9e3efc5a6f66f0be635f4c97e7d961.jpg?v=1759263511"},{"product_id":"the-decline-and-fall-of-the-human-empire-by-henry-gee-9781035032242","title":"The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire","description":"A marvellously engaging writer' - The Times\n\nFrom the winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize, a thrilling and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of humankind.\n\nFor the first time in over ten millennia, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. The global population is forecast to begin declining in the second half of this century, and in 10,000 years' time, our species will likely be extinct.\n\nIn The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, Henry Gee shows how we arrived at this crucial moment in our history, beginning his story deep in the palaeolithic past and charting our dramatic rise from one species of human among many - teetering on the edge of extinction for more than a hundred millennia - to the most dominant animal to ever live on Earth.\n\nBut rapid climate change, a stagnating global economy, falling birth rates and an unexplainable decline in average human sperm count are combining to make our chances for longevity increasingly slim. There could be a way forward, but the launch window is narrow.\n\nGee argues that unless Homo sapiens establishes successful colonies in space within the next two centuries, our species is likely to stay earthbound and will have vanished entirely within another 10,000 years, bringing the seven-million-year story of the human lineage to an end.\n\nDrawing on a dazzling array of the latest scientific research, Gee tells the extraordinary story of humanity with characteristic warmth and wit, and suggests how our exceptional species might avoid its tragic fate.","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288876269804,"sku":"9781035032242","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/edd50abbb04709871030e10be471e208.jpg?v=1770603625"},{"product_id":"the-wonder-of-life-on-earth-by-henry-gee-9781035024247","title":"The Wonder of Life on Earth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDiscover the story of life on our planet as you have never seen it before! The perfect gift for the curious of any age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the first tiny bubbles of life in the ocean to the arrival of endlessly adaptable apes, this is the ultimate survival story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 30 bite-size chapters, \u003cem\u003eNature\u003c\/em\u003e editor and author of the award-winning \u003cem\u003eA (Very) Short History of Life on Earth\u003c\/em\u003e, Henry Gee tells the incredible, unlikely story of life on our planet, with vibrant colour illustrations from Raxenne Maniquiz.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Wonder of Life on Earth\u003c\/em\u003e packs billions of years of evolution into one amazing 80-page book, journeying through disasters, evolutionary oddities, and a planet shaped by supervolcanoes, toxic air, and asteroids—always focusing on the most pivotal, important moments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTalented botanical illustrator Raxenne Maniquiz brings to life a parade of strange and marvellous creatures. Travel back in time to look inside bacteria and the first cells, to the planet's first trees and plants, to the weird rangeomorphs, and on to armoured fishes, dinosaurs, nimble mammals, and resourceful apes and primates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHenry's gripping narrative makes it easy to understand the carbon cycle, natural selection, fossilisation and the galactic fluctuations that have shaped our planet and the life on its surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eComplete with a glossary, a timeline and a view into the future, this astonishing and readable natural history is perfect for younger readers and anyone looking for an accessible introduction to the biggest topic around: LIFE.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47350565142764,"sku":"9781035024247","price":49.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/47d88d58862f1044969f030a54f853bc.jpg?v=1772538183"},{"product_id":"the-decline-and-fall-of-the-human-empire-by-henry-gee-9781035032259","title":"The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBrilliant\u003c\/em\u003e - The Times\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHugely informative and entertaining\u003c\/em\u003e - New Scientist\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePut this at the head of your reading lists immediately\u003c\/em\u003e - Eric Idle\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize, a thrilling and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of humankind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor the first time in over ten millennia, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. The global population is forecast to begin declining in the second half of this century, and in 10,000 years' time our species will likely be extinct.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Decline and Fall of the Human Empire\u003c\/em\u003e, Henry Gee shows how we arrived at this crucial moment in history, beginning his story deep in the palaeolithic past and charting our dramatic rise from one species of human among many to the most dominant animal ever to live on Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut rapid climate change, a stagnating global economy, falling birth rates, and an unexplainable decline in average human sperm count are combining to make our chances for longevity increasingly slim. There could be a way forward, but the launch window is narrow ...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on a dazzling array of the latest scientific research, Gee tells the extraordinary story of humanity with characteristic warmth and wit, and suggests how our exceptional species might avoid its tragic fate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLike Jared Diamond meets Arthur C. Clarke with a dash of Douglas Adams\u003c\/em\u003e - Philip Ball, author of \u003cem\u003eHow Life Works\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47550360355052,"sku":"9781035032259","price":28.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781035032259-the-decline-and-fall-of-the-human-empire.jpg?v=1776802564"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/henry-gee.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}