Adaptable

The Surprising Science of Human Diversity

Herman Pontzer

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Allen Lane
24 June 2025

Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies; Mathematics & Sciences; Popular science; Evolution; Early man

A groundbreaking tour of the overlooked science of human diversity

Real diversity isn't skin deep. Over the past 100,000 years, as humans expanded into every biome on the planet, our bodies and our cultures have been fine-tuned to our local environments. Our ability to adapt is at the heart of being human and the engine of our diversity.

As an evolutionary anthropologist working with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has conducted research that reveals the wonder of our biological diversity, documenting the connections between lifestyle, landscape, local adaptations and health. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways in which it survives in an uncertain world- from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens.

With so much variation that can be handed down genetically, for better or worse, the way we understand our biology and its interplay with our cultural environments holds huge importance for how we understand our world and one another, including the biggest questions of our day, such as the health impact of social inequality. Eye-opening and profound, Adaptable is a revolutionary reappraisal of an overlooked science.

By: Herman Pontzer
Imprint: Allen Lane
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 159mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 558g
ISBN: 9780241561614
ISBN 10: 0241561612
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 24 June 2025
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Herman Pontzer is a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University. He is an internationally recognized researcher in human energetics and evolution. He is the author of Burn.

Reviews for Adaptable: The Surprising Science of Human Diversity

Adaptable is ambitious, wide-ranging, and fun to read. Pontzer has a gift for explaining complicated and nuanced topics in fresh ways, and he tackles all the big questions about how our bodies work with a delicate—and entertaining—touch -- Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure Pontzer has written a dazzling guide to the human body, in all its weird and wonderful glory. This is the fascinating story of how our bodies—products of evolutionary history and genes, environment and culture—work and why they differ. Brimming with wit and wisdom, Adaptable is essential reading for anyone interested in how we humans came to be the way we are -- Kate Wong, senior editor at Scientific American Adaptable is the book I've been waiting for. It answers questions that nag us today about the human condition and describes how we got here. It’s an engaging and down-to earth read that bristles with up-to-date and thoughtfully provocative scholarship -- Nina G. Jablonski, author of It's Just Skin, Silly! Praise for Burn * - * Herman Pontzer is one of the most gifted science writers of our time -- Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of The Joy of Movement Ground-breaking, fascinating, important . . . we were astounded -- Deliciously Ella, Delicious Ways to Feel Better