Cosmosapiens, John Hands
Cosmosapiens, John Hands
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Cosmosapiens
Human Evolution from the Origin of the Universe

Author: John Hands

Narrator: Gildart Jackson

Unabridged: 31 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/16/2016

Synopsis

The book that transforms our understanding of what we are and where we came from.Specialist scientific fields are developing at incredibly swift speeds, but what can they really tell us about how the universe began and how we humans evolved to play such a dominant role on Earth?John Hands’ extraordinarily ambitious quest is to bring together this scientific knowledge and evaluate without bias or preconception all the theories and evidence about the origin and evolution of matter, life, consciousness, and humankind.This astonishing book provides the most comprehensive account yet of current ideas such as cosmic inflation, dark energy, the selfish gene, and neurogenetic determinism. In the clearest possible prose it differentiates the firmly established from the speculative and examines the claims of various fields such as string theory to approach a unified theory of everything. In doing so it challenges the orthodox consensus in those branches of cosmology, biology, and neuroscience that have ossified into dogma.Its striking analysis reveals underlying patterns of cooperation, complexification, and convergence that lead to the unique emergence in humans of a self-reflective consciousness that enables us to determine our future evolution.This groundbreaking book is destined to become a classic of scientific thinking.

About John Hands

John Hands was trained in science and taught physics for Britain’s Open University before writing the award-winning Cosmosapiens, with translation rights sold to Germany, China, Korea, Spain, and Romania. He is also the author of Housing Co-operatives and several novels, including Perestroika Christi, Darkness at Dawn, and Brutal Fantasies.

About Gildart Jackson

Gildart Jackson’s acting credits span the stage and screen. He is most often recognized for his roles as Gideon on Charmed and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital. He has also starred in numerous television shows, including CSI and Vegas, and he played the lead in the highly acclaimed independent feature film You, directed by his wife, Melora Hardin.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on December 25, 2016

This is an amazingly ambitious book. It covers such a wide range of topics--I have never seen such a comprehensive non-fiction book. It starts out with a detailed description of theories of the origins of the universe. Here, John Hands is at his best, as he sorts out the various theories. He reasons......more

Goodreads review by Jon on August 31, 2020

I’m not surprised that reviewers have rated it as Book of the Year in The Times Literary Supplement, that The Telegraph (UK) rated it as one of the best science books of 2015, and that 12 leading philosophers, scientists, and sociologists have praised it, not least for its astounding scope and lucid......more

Goodreads review by Rusty on October 03, 2016

Holy Shitballs! I know I can be rambly sometimes – I’ve had to edit out a third if its length to make it fit. Sheesh. Here is (No joke) my abbreviated review. Recently---deleted awesome story about Harry Potter due to length---but not right now. This monster of a book was something I was anxious to......more

Goodreads review by Mehtap on April 21, 2021

John Hands unternimmt eine kleine Zeitreise mit dem Leser. Beginnend mit der Entstehungsgeschichte des Universums und welche offenen Fragen wir noch haben und welche Theorien es dazu gibt. Von Big Bang bis zur Evolutionstheorie von Darwin wird alles detailliert in über 790 Seiten zusammengefasst! Ic......more

Goodreads review by Jim on May 01, 2016

A few months ago, reviewing Noam Chomsky's What Kind of Creatures Are We?, I mentioned I was intrigued by his lecture on "mysterianism" - the scientific quest to compass the limits of what we can know scientifically. John Hands has published a massive set of notes on exactly this topic. It's quite a......more

Quotes

“A major accomplishment.” James Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author

“[A] book of astonishing ambition and scope.” Times Literary Supplement (London)

“In this audacious, ambitious, and philosophically completist study, Hands leads an interdisciplinary search through all the current human knowledge that may help answer two burning questions: What are we, and where do we come from?…Hands grounds his musings in logic and scientific fact to produce a thoughtful treatise for the eternally curious.” Publishers Weekly

“A thoughtful, well-written volume.” Library Journal

“Written with an outsider-like, philosophy-of-science attitude, Hands’ encyclopedic work will most likely appeal to readers interested in how scientists truly know what they claim to know.” Booklist

“A compendious work that will intrigue serious readers.” Kirkus Reviews

“Author John Hands’…theories, which vary in complexity, are presented in short snippets by the British-accented Jackson.” AudioFile

“Hands’ book is a game-changer…This lucidly written, penetrating analysis challenges us to rethink many things we take for granted about ourselves, our society, and our universe. It will become a classic.” Peter Dreier, professor of politics, Occidental College

“This is a truly exceptional piece of work.” Tim Crane, Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge

“An audacious and admirable book written with engaging style, and the strongest scientific ideas across a swathe of fields in physics and biology are presented lucidly.” Larry Steinman, professor of neurological science, Stanford University

Awards

  • Times Literary Supplement Best Book
  • Amazon Best Book of the Month
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