"Alex Bezzerides...is fascinated with the imperfect system that is the human body, and he explores and explains it adroitly in his fascinating, funny new book." --Salon

The flaws in our anatomy raise more than a few questions. Why is it that human mothers risk their lives giving birth? Why are there medical specialties for teeth and feet? And why is it that human babies can't hold their heads up, but horses trot around minutes after they're born? This detailed foray into the twists and turns of our ancestral past includes no shortage of curiosity and humor to find answers.

In this funny, wide-ranging and often surprising book, biologist Alex Bezzerides tells us just where we inherited our adaptable, achy, brilliant bodies in the process of evolution.