Death on Earth: Adventures in Evolution and Mortality
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There is nothing more life-affirming than understanding death in all its forms.
Natural selection depends on death; little would evolve without it. Every animal on Earth is shaped by its presence and fashioned by its spectre. We are all survivors of starvation, drought, volcanic eruptions, meteorites, plagues, parasites, predators, freak weather events, tussles and scraps, and our bodies are shaped by these ancient events.
Some animals live for just a few hours as adults, others prefer to kill themselves rather than live unnecessarily for longer than they are needed, and there are a number of animals that can live for centuries. There are parasites that drive their hosts to die awful deaths, and parasites that manipulate their hosts to live longer, healthier lives. There is death in life.
Amongst all of this, there is us, the upright ape; perhaps the first animal in the history of the universe fully conscious that death really is going to happen to us all in the end.
With a narrative featuring a fish with a fake eye, the oldest animal in the world, the immortal jellyfish and some of the world's top death-investigating biologists, Death on Earth explores the never-ending cycle of death and the impact death has on the living, and muses on how evolution and death affect us every single day. Why are we so weird about death? Where does this fear come from? Why are we so afraid of ageing? And how might knowledge of ageing in other animals help us live better lives, free of the diseases of old age?
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Jules Howard. (2016). Death on Earth: Adventures in Evolution and Mortality. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Jules Howard. 2016. Death On Earth: Adventures in Evolution and Mortality. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Jules Howard, Death On Earth: Adventures in Evolution and Mortality. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
MLA Citation (style guide)Jules Howard. Death On Earth: Adventures in Evolution and Mortality. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
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- bioText: Jules Howard is a zoologist, writer, blogger and broadcaster. He writes on a host of topics relating to zoology and wildlife conservation, and appears regularly in BBC Wildlife Magazine and on radio and TV, including on BBC's The One Show, Nature and The Living World as well as BBC Breakfast and Radio 4's Today programme.
Jules also runs a social enterprise that has brought almost 100,000 young people closer to the natural world. He lives in Northamptonshire with his wife and two children. His book Wonderdog won the 2022 Barker Book Prize for non-fiction. - name: Jules Howard
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There is nothing more life-affirming than understanding death in all its forms.
Natural selection depends on death; little would evolve without it. Every animal on Earth is shaped by its presence and fashioned by its spectre. We are all survivors of starvation, drought, volcanic eruptions, meteorites, plagues, parasites, predators, freak weather events, tussles and scraps, and our bodies are shaped by these ancient events.
Some animals live for just a few hours as adults, others prefer to kill themselves rather than live unnecessarily for longer than they are needed, and there are a number of animals that can live for centuries. There are parasites that drive their hosts to die awful deaths, and parasites that manipulate their hosts to live longer, healthier lives. There is death in life.
Amongst all of this, there is us, the upright ape; perhaps the first animal in the history of the universe fully conscious that death really is going to happen to us all in the end.
With a narrative featuring a fish with a fake eye, the oldest animal in the world, the immortal jellyfish and some of the world's top death-investigating biologists, Death on Earth explores the never-ending cycle of death and the impact death has on the living, and muses on how evolution and death affect us every single day. Why are we so weird about death? Where does this fear come from? Why are we so afraid of ageing? And how might knowledge of ageing in other animals help us live better lives, free of the diseases of old age? - reviews
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- content: ... funny, clever, but also chock full of science ... a book that's a genuine pleasure to read.
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- source: BBC Wildlife
- content: A fascinating read that offers incredible snippets about how life is never wasted, and provides a fresh, less gloomy outlook on our ultimate fate.
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March 14, 2016
In this frustrating account, British zoologist Howard (Sex on Earth) tackles a mélange of topics that are ostensibly, if very loosely, associated with the concept of death. Rather than probing any of these subjects in depth, Howard spends a great deal of his time reminding readers that he is writing a book about death. Had he opted to focus on the subject rather than the process, he might have produced an engaging work. Howard does address death on multiple levels—including cellular death, organismal death, and species extinction—but he rarely moves beyond the superficial. He also touches far too lightly on evolutionary questions about both death and aging. On the sociological front, he attempts to explore how people discuss death with young children, but his example of a conversation with his three-year-old daughter comes across as trite and simplistic. Some of his anecdotes—viewing the feeding of carrion to red kites in Wales; hunting for the horrid ground-weaver spider in Plymouth, England—are entertaining even though they don’t lead to a meaningful message. The closest Howard comes to a conclusion, philosophically or scientifically, is this banal statement: “Death is the process through which more life is created.”
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May 15, 2016
Zoologist Howard, who has written for the Guardian, the Independent, and BBC Wildlife, wrestles with death and its biological underpinnings. The book begins with a discussion of how to define the concept. Is a fridge that can regulate its own temperature alive? Is fire, which grows and spreads, alive? Though death is usually a somber subject, this title is filled with humorous details, such as the example of newspaper headlines in Britain that featured a "killer" spider that is actually harmless. The most gruesome chapter is Howard's visit to a research farm that consisted of decaying pigs. There's also a section on animal mourning, which the author acknowledges is largely built around anecdotes. In a segment on gerontology, Howard explains recent research on animals that successfully rejuvenate themselves and live much longer than humans. Fans of Howard's first title, Sex on Earth: A Journey Through Nature's Most Intimate Moments, will find the same wittiness, mindfulness, and clever presentation of scientifically sound ideas here. VERDICT Anyone interested in a lighthearted contemplation of a sorrowful topic will appreciate this work.--Laurie Neuerburg, Victoria Coll.-Univ. of Houston Lib.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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There is nothing more life-affirming than understanding death in all its forms.
Natural selection depends on death; little would evolve without it. Every animal on Earth is shaped by its presence and fashioned by its spectre. We are all survivors of starvation, drought, volcanic eruptions, meteorites, plagues, parasites, predators, freak weather events, tussles and scraps, and our bodies are shaped by these ancient events.
Some animals live for just a few hours as adults, others prefer to kill themselves rather than live unnecessarily for longer than they are needed, and there are a number of animals that can live for centuries. There are parasites that drive their hosts to die awful deaths, and parasites that manipulate their hosts to live longer, healthier lives. There is death in life.
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- Introduction
PART 1: THIS IS A DEAD FROG
Chapter 1: Life and Death in the Universe
Chapter 2: Senescence and What Waits for the Lucky Few
Chapter 3: Fear and Loathing in Birchwood
Chapter 4: Free Radicals and the Secrets Within
Chapter 5: This is a Dead Frog
PART 2: THE EXPERIMENTAL PIG PHASE
Chapter 6: The Circus under the Tent
Chapter 7: Sex and Death: The Contract Killer
Chapter 8: Coffee with the Widow-maker
Chapter 9: Suicide, Snowy Owls and the Executioner Insider
Chapter 10: This is Not a Sheep
Chapter 11: The Grotto Salamander and the Guano
Chapter 12: The Horrid Ground-weaver
Chapter 13: Dark Matters
PART 3: JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE SHITATITE
Chapter 14: Bring out your Dead Ants
Chapter 15: Mourning has Broken
Chapter 16: Who Wants to Live Forever?
Chapter 17: No, this is a Dead Frog
Epilogue: The Meaning of the Loa Loa
Acknowledgements
Index - bisacCodes
- code: SCI027000
- description: Science / Life Sciences / Evolution
- code: SCI070000
- description: Science / Life Sciences / Zoology / General
- code: SOC036000
- description: Social Science / Death & Dying
