Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors PDF

Rating: Author: Carl Sagan ISBN : Product Detai New from Format: PDF

Free download PRETITLE Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors [Kindle Edition] POSTTITLE from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link "Dazzling...A feast. Absorbing and elegantly written, it tells of theorigins of life on earth, describes its variety and charaacter, and culminates in a discussion of human nature and teh complex traces ofhumankind's evolutionary past...It is an amazing story masterfully told."
FINANCIAL TIMES (LONDON)
World renowned scientist Carl Sagan and acclaimed author Ann Druyan have written a ROOTS for the human species, a lucid and riveting account of how humans got to be the way we are. It shows with humor and drama that many of our key traits--self-awareness, technology, family ties, submission to authority, hatred for those a little different from ourselves, reason, and ethics--are rooted in the deep past, and illuminated by our kinship with other animals. Astonishing in its scope, brilliant in its insights, and an absolutely compelling read, SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS is a triumph of popular science.


From the Trade Paperback edition.Direct download links available for PRETITLE Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors POSTTITLE

• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• File Size: 1513 KB
• Print Length: 528 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 6, 2011)
• Sold by: Random House LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004W0HZOS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,850 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #41 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Genetics
  • #67 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Evolution > Organic
  • #86 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Biological Sciences > Anatomy
• #41 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Genetics
• #67 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Evolution > Organic
• #86 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Biological Sciences > Anatomy

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors PDF

Who will ever replace him? Carl Sagan's writings range from excellent to outstanding, and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors ranks at the zenith of his efforts. Taking us along the history of life, he vividly explains how close we are to the other animals inhabiting this planet. The theme rests on the continuity of life, from the simplest cells through the complex creatures. Since zoology for so long focused on the 'special place' of humanity in nature, Sagan builds an exceptional case for returning us to our true origins. With the prejudices we've inherited from our various cultures, the task is daunting, but he manages it with irrefutable logic. His prose brings our associates in the animal kingdom into distinct focus, overcoming human penchants for uniqueness with clarity and wit. Copernicus removed us from the centre of the universe. Darwin showed life as an evolutionary process. Sagan removes the final veil of our self aggrandizement.

After a description of DNA's development over the ages, he brings us to our nearest genetic neighbours, the primates. His section titled 'Some Sketches from Life' points up numerous behaviour patterns shared among us all. Communication, grief, vulnerability to illnesses, raising young - the list seems almost endless. The result is the replacement of our 'special status' by a clearer identity as a community of primates. Tell your friends that only 0.4% of our working genes and that of chimpanzees are different. If they dispute you, buy them a copy of this book and sit them down to read it. From the first page they will encounter mind opening ideas.

Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan state that this book began as "a study of the political and emotional roots of the nuclear arms race." While tracing back those aspects of human nature that nearly brought civilization to the brink of destruction, they found themselves delving deep into the origins of man and into the evolutionary heritage of life itself. Apparently the book's scope grew in the telling, yet the authors still manage to address the primary issue and support their case with an abundance of examples, analogies, and anecdotes.

The book has the following basic structure:

First the authors attempt to demonstrate the intrinsic relationship of all life forms. They explain the basic mechanisms of evolution and genetics, along with the pros and cons of sexual reproduction. The authors also spend a decent amount of time on the idea of group (kin) selection, especially in relation to altruism and overcrowding.

After the basics, Sagan and Druyan spend a number of chapters examining the social behaviors of our closest relatives: the non-human primates. They focus primarily on the sexual oppression, dominance hierarchies, xenophobia, and incest taboos which are found in many non-human primates; however, the authors also include a few examples that most people would find commendable.

Finally, the authors consider what it means to be human and attempt to support the claim that humans differ from other animals more in the degree of our particular aptitudes, rather than by possessing a truly unique set of abilities. In the process they refute a wide variety of objections held by critics of this notion.