Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human [Hardcover]

Chip Walter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

The fascinating evolutionary links between six seemingly unremarkable traits that make us the very remarkable creatures we are.
 
Countless behaviors separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom, but all of them can be traced one way or another to six traits that are unique to the human race--our big toe, our opposable thumb, our oddly shaped pharynx, and our ability to laugh, kiss, and cry. At first glance these may not seem to be connected but they are.  Each marks a fork in the evolutionary road where we went one way and the rest of the animal kingdom went another. Each opens small passageways on the peculiar geography of the human heart and mind.
 
Walter weaves together fascinating insights from complexity theory, the latest brain scanning techniques, anthropology, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and robotics to explore how the smallest of changes over the past six million years - all shaped by the forces of evolution -- have enabled a primate once on the brink of extinction to evolve into a creature that would one day create all of the grand and exuberant edifices of human culture.
 
As the story of each trait unfolds, Walter explains why our brains grew so large and complex, why we find one another sexually attractive, how toolmaking laid the mental groundwork for language, why we care about what others think, and how we became the creature that laughs and cries and falls in love.  Thumbs, Toes and Tears is original, informative, and delightfully thought-provoking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Humans are the only creatures that cry for both grief and happiness, although many animals shed tears that help protect their eyes. As science journalist and former CNN bureau chief Walter tells readers in this fascinating and superbly written book, there are a handful of characteristics (like crying) that distinguish us from the rest of the animal kingdom and can be explained in evolutionary terms as having been advantageous for our distant ancestors. Laughter is one: dogs may bark happily when they get to go for a ride or play with their canine neighbors, but only humans break into chortles and guffaws. Walter (who coauthored I'm Working on That with William Shatner) says that laughter helps us bond with our friends and co-workers. He points out that we give our big toe little thought until we stub it, but its evolution allowed Homo erectus to stand upright millions of years ago and led to other helpful evolutionary features, like the pharynx—which in turn made speech possible. Readers also learn why we tousle our children's hair, why kissing is so much fun and what may lie ahead as we near the end of our current evolutionary reel. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A science journalist tours a suite of characteristics, both anatomical and behavioral, that typify human beings. Such excursions often concentrate on a single trait (e.g., Craig Stanford's Upright, 2003), so Walter is gathering many topics under one roof. Two of them his readers can consult directly: the big toe and the thumb. His discussion covers their functions, considered against the evolutionary advantages they might have conferred on the African savanna. In that vein, Walter presents paleoanthropology and famous fossils such as Lucy. He also directs attention to the applicability of genetics and neurobiology to unique human qualities, especially brain size. Its increase through the series of hominid species guides Walter's exploration of the ramifications of humans' large brain, such as self-awareness, language, and emotion. For those who wonder if talking and crying have evolutionary origins and survival benefits, Walter points to scientists active in researching such questions. A fluid introduction to the development of the human species. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company; 1ST edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802715273
• ISBN-13: 978-0802715272
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for every human, November 6, 2006

By 

R. Wertheimer "curious reader" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human (Hardcover)

Anybody with any interest in what it is that makes us human must read this book. Not only is it fascinating and important, but it's also a pleasure to read. It is intellectual, yet accessible; vastly informative, yet ultimately readable. The diversity of the subject matter and the direct relevance to each of us is compelling. The book derives its content by weaving culture, behavior, evolution, biology, anecdote, history and everyday experience. If you are interested in human nature and how it evolved, read this book. It's going to be a big part of my Christmas list.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A colorful synthesis!, November 26, 2006

By 

Thomas Petzinger Jr. (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human (Hardcover)

Walter has taken the latest work from the great evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists and made it accessible to the rest of us. This is a thrilling account of the science behind the mystery of what makes us human.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorites, November 23, 2006

By 

Melody Englund "songbird" (Rainier, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human (Hardcover)

I love this book! Chip Walter has made our evolution from apes to humans incredibly fascinating and readable. I particularly enjoyed learning about the development of our brains--a very piecemeal process that is explained very clearly.

My favorite little tidbit is the news that humans are born one year premature! Most mammals are able to do a lot more at birth than we can and all the reasons why we're not walking around pregnant for 21 months are given in the book.

I highly recommend this book.