The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being Evolution and the Making of us, to give it its full title by Professor Alice Roberts, to give her, her full title, is quite simply the best book I have ever read in the last 30 odd years! (Perhaps the only book that beats it of all my books of all time is The Chrysalids By John Wyndham which I have loved since I was a child. Actually there was a cross over between the two books in the very last chapter of Professor Robert's book, which I won't spoil, but made me want to re-read The Chrysalids again with different eyes, knowing what he wrote 66 years ago is entirely possible to happen as part of our incredible stages of evolution.)
Okay so that is the introduction to my review. In honesty I got the book, because it was by Alice and I was intrigued by the title. What on earth did she mean by this and what wonderful journey lay within its covers? So I ordered it, as I always do from Bridge Book Shop which is where I get all my books from. A few days later, thanks to lockdown it was delivered via the postie and I opened up the parcel to the most wonderful smell that only new books have ( the smell of brain nectar) and I saw this wonderful colour feast of the cover and I was hooked.
This is not a book that you read, it is an orgasm of the mind, were you find something new 0n every page to go wow or hoo, whatever sound comes out when you express shear pleasure. You will find your self doing the things that Alice is telling you to do, even when you don't really realise you are doing and that is part, just part of the many joys of this book.
Alice doesn't talk above you, more shares and explains, words and ideas, that otherwise would be hard to understand. For this book works on the levels where those who know things and most of us who don't know much, both types will go along and enjoy the experience. This is done without endless footnotes which I personally find off putting, it is done in the text body so you don't have to pause in your reading!
As you read along, you learn how wonderful things are the whole life with its interconnections and more being found and how we are all just one big family not a simple act of one creation, but of creations, mistakes oh and let's start again. You also fully understand why the title is as it is.
By the time I had read the last page I wanted to stand up and applaud the author/tutor for their marvellous work. While many will only know Professor Roberts through her television work, this is what, I personally think she does best, educate and her love of doing so is the brightest light of the book.
It is not lightly that I state this is the best book I have read, because I have read hundreds, possibly thousands and this certainly of my non-fiction books it really leaps to head of them all.
THIS REALLY IS A MUST HAVE BOOK AND THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO SAY OTHER THAN THANK YOU ALICE BECAUSE EVEN AS I AM TYPING THIS I AM THINKING HOW WONDERFUL IT IS THAT I CAN DO SO AND I WILL NEVER LOOK AT ANOTHER LIVING BEING AGAIN WITHOUT THAT EXTRA INSIGHT INTO HOW INCREDIBLE IT IS.
