ORIGINS BOOK REVIEW | JUNE 2019
I went in to reading this book purely for the hope that it would be like Yuval Noah Harari's books, Sapiens. It has its similarities and differences, more the latter though. This book is introduced by discussing the evolution of our species; from apes to homo sapiens. But what I found from reading further through the chapters is that Dartnell discusses more geographical implications to our evolution such as tectonic plates, the positioning of Pangea and specific islands on Earth. My disappointment with this soon flipped because I found the book giving me a new perspective on living and how are society is today.
Specific chapters discuss how Homo sapiens became the most dominant species of the world. I'm still baffled how we actually are, because of the more powerful species of the Neanderthal being more likely to adapt to the world. But anyway, Dartnell discusses the movement of the lands, the creation of volcanic landmasses etc to explain how the Earth made us. There is often a contradiction in people's discourse about the Earth and our society. People often suggest that we made the Earth the way it is, but with Dartnell's expression and detail in specifc areas of the 'Geography of the Seas' and 'What we Build with'; it creates the sense that in fact the Earth made us. The Earth will go on to carve out our lives for us, not the other way round.
However, there is also an exploration in to the Silk Road and how that carved the lives of the Steppe people. It was more than interesting to read about how the geographical make up of Earth has carved the lives for many groups of people, and for us today. There was a specific part of the novel that focused on the US Presidential vote in 2016 that was particularly interesting. The novel suggests that as overall the south of the United States voted Republican. However, Dartnell suggests that the cretaceous rocks around the Mississippi River, through Minnesota, New Mexico and Illinois and its inhabitants have influenced the voting results. This specific piece of land is very fertile, and was once full of plantations in the until 1865 when slavery was abolished after the American Civil War. This region was coined the 'Black Belt' because of the 'dense concentration of African-Americans along the banks of Mississippi'. Furthermore, the conditions that black people have witnessed in the past will influence their voting decisions, and consequently they are more than likely are going to vote Democrat over Republican. I found this so interesting, how the geological factors of an area has influenced presidential votes, therefore the social environment is influenced by how earth has made us.
If you're looking for a book that tells you how we have been influenced and carved by the Earth and its raw materials, then this is the one for you. Dartnell explores how the raw materials such as iron and wood has made our species create the civilisation we know today. How the materials have influenced the turning point of the Industrial Revolution, definitely pick this one up. However, this book doesn't include as many social aspects of our evolution as I would liked, but reading this has made me realise that you need those geographical and geological aspects that create our world. That is our origins.
Happy Reading!
Rose x
However, there is also an exploration in to the Silk Road and how that carved the lives of the Steppe people. It was more than interesting to read about how the geographical make up of Earth has carved the lives for many groups of people, and for us today. There was a specific part of the novel that focused on the US Presidential vote in 2016 that was particularly interesting. The novel suggests that as overall the south of the United States voted Republican. However, Dartnell suggests that the cretaceous rocks around the Mississippi River, through Minnesota, New Mexico and Illinois and its inhabitants have influenced the voting results. This specific piece of land is very fertile, and was once full of plantations in the until 1865 when slavery was abolished after the American Civil War. This region was coined the 'Black Belt' because of the 'dense concentration of African-Americans along the banks of Mississippi'. Furthermore, the conditions that black people have witnessed in the past will influence their voting decisions, and consequently they are more than likely are going to vote Democrat over Republican. I found this so interesting, how the geological factors of an area has influenced presidential votes, therefore the social environment is influenced by how earth has made us.
If you're looking for a book that tells you how we have been influenced and carved by the Earth and its raw materials, then this is the one for you. Dartnell explores how the raw materials such as iron and wood has made our species create the civilisation we know today. How the materials have influenced the turning point of the Industrial Revolution, definitely pick this one up. However, this book doesn't include as many social aspects of our evolution as I would liked, but reading this has made me realise that you need those geographical and geological aspects that create our world. That is our origins.
Happy Reading!
Rose x
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