Humans: The Evolution of a Species – DK, Introduction by Professor Alice Roberts

Published By: DK
Pages: 320
Released On: 04/06/2026

Physically, Homo sapiens is unremarkable in the animal world – a hairless ape. But somehow, in combination, our characteristics make us remarkable. With our dexterity and brain power, we discovered ways of finding food and beating the elements not only in our home on the African savanna, but in every habitat from jungle to Arctic waste. Humans tells the story of our evolution with beautiful illustrations of our seemingly ordinary anatomy alongside colourful, mind-expanding graphics of what we have achieved with it.

This thought-provoking book presents the latest advances in understanding human evolution, challenging old myths and baked-in misconceptions – all through the lens of the human body. Each chapter tackles a different body part, showing how it has evolved and the role it has played. The story of hands, for instance, begins with the first animals with limbs, which clambered onto land 375 million years ago, but goes on to show how humans use the unique precision and power in their grasping digits – and their ability to teach one another skills – to create ever-more sophisticated technology.

Humans asks intriguing universal questions about our origins and nature. When did we invent clothes? Did we always form pair bonds? How did prehistoric people cross the ocean? Are we the only animals to become self-aware?

Find out who we are, where we come from, and perhaps – where we’re going.

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and DK for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I thought this was written by Alice Roberts but it’s actually written by the DK team with Alice providing an introduction. So, I admit I only requested to read the book because of her, and so I did worry that maybe it wouldn’t be what I wanted it to be.

My digital copy didn’t have very clear formatting on the images and illustrations so I can’t comment fully on those. But from the bits I could see, I think they’ll definitely add an extra layer of depth to the topic.

There was actually quite a few formatting issues on my digital arc, which meant I had to search when paragraphs would be cut off mid way, or when an image caption appeared halfway through an unrelated sentence. So again, I can’t give it a completely thorough review because I haven’t got the full picture, but I will comment on what I could read and the book as a whole.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this but it felt like it was missing something. It’s build as the story of humans, where we came from, evolution etc. and that’s exactly what we get, so I can’t say it didn’t deliver. But, I don’t know, maybe because I thought it was Alice’s book, so maybe I was expecting to read it in her voice. But it felt more like a 300-page spewing of facts but with less concern on how it flowed together as one story.

I don’t know how much new the information is. For someone within the science world they might not find it that interesting. But for someone who only has a passion knowledge of human evolution then it is interesting.

After everything I’ve said, I would recommend it, to those who are interested in science and those who may not clarify themselves as such. But I recommend you read it as a finished physical copy. I don’t know what the finished digital copy will be like, but my advanced one was so haphazard that it got in the7 way of reading it and I don’t want you to risk that.