Evolutions: Fifteen Myths That Explain Our World

by Oren Harman

A brilliant lyrical exploration of how modern science illuminates what it means to be human, from the award-winning author of The Price of Altruism

We no longer think, like the ancient Chinese did, that the world was hatched from an egg, or, like the Maori, that it came from the tearing-apart of a love embrace. The Greeks told of a tempestuous Hera and a cunning Zeus, but we now use genes and natural selection to explain fear and desire, and physics to demystify the workings of the universe.

Science is an astounding achievement, but are we really any wiser than the ancients? Has science revealed the secrets of fate and immortality? Has it provided protection from jealousy or love? There are those who believe that science has replaced faith, but must it also be a death knell for mythology?

Evolutions brings to life the latest scientific thinking on the birth of the universe and the solar system, the journey from a single cell all the way to our human minds. Reawakening our sense of wonder and terror at the world around us and within us, Oren Harman uses modern science to create new and original mythologies. Here are the earth and the moon presenting a cosmological view of motherhood, a panicking mitochondrion introducing sex and death to the world, the loneliness of consciousness emerging from the memory of an octopus, and the birth of language in evolution summoning humankind's struggle with truth. Science may not solve our existential puzzles, but like the age-old legends, its magical discoveries can help us continue the never-ending search.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature, Evolution, Mythology, Poetry, History

243 pages, Hardcover

First published June 12, 2018

About the author

Oren Harman, who has a doctorate from Oxford University, is the Chair of the Graduate Program in Science Technology and Society at Bar Ilan University and a professor of the history of science. He is the author of The Man Who Invented the Chromosome, a documentary film maker, and a frequent contributor to The New Republic. He lives in Tel Aviv and New York.

Reviews

[Sergiy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was extremely disappointed by this book.

When I first received the arc from the publisher I was very excited for this. I am an avid reader of mythology. As you can see from my goodreads reviews, myths and legends from around the world comprise over 50% of my reading these days. I am also a physicists and read a lot of cosmology, astrophysics, and planetary astronomy scientific literature. I'm also a huge fan of all sciences, and read whatever I can get my hands on in terms of biology and other sciences as well. Basically I would be the target audience for this book, I agree with the author that the concept of the book is a great idea.

in spite of a rather wordy and flowery introduction the book got off to a decent start. The big bang, formation of the stars, the sun, and the Earth and Moon go off without a hitch. Early life is fine too. An early highlight for me was "Life straightens the will of the defiant" Which I believe came from the start of multicellular life. I have no idea what the author means here, but it sounds nice and made me think for a while. Another gem was "ever since, fear and faith have been companions, like grotesque parasitic twins", however the book is already starting to unravel here. History fo science references begin to creep in unnecessarily. And it only gets worse from here.

In "ON TO LAND" We have what is the greatest missed opportunity of the entire book. You'd think that in a book titled evolutions we'd get myths that really drive home the concept of natural selection. The slime mold myth perhaps comes the closest by touching on the competition of individualism and greed vs. the survival of the whole. But what better place to bring in natural selection than that central point of the Darwinian mythos, the evolution of land-based vertebrade life. The fish that crawls onto land. the Darwin fish is a symbol of free thinkers and scientists everywhere. In Oren's rendering of this pivotal moment in natural history "the bones began elongating" and "heads falttened" and so forth. Nice one, this is Lamarckian evolution at it's worst.

Perhaps I was already thrown off by the first sections of this "myth" which dissolves instantly from section 1 into a discussion of the history of the study of embryos in the 1800s. I found this boring and unnecessary, why not save it for the large appendices which take up the entire second half of the book?

Unfortunately this book just doesn't deliver for me. I feel like the work was far too personal for the author, I noticed in the autobiographical blurb just now that he studies history of science. Well that would explain why so much history of science got jammed into what should be myths and legends about the long ago, not Victorian era science.

In XV Tricks of the mind, the author writes a nice little autobiographical essay, which is fine. However by this point I'm so tired of the book the every little thing jumps out at me. For instance when in section 5 of this 'myth' (And who splits myths into sections?) the age of the universe is given as 13.799 +/- 0.021 years old (thats right years, not billions of years, not Gya. Years.) I realize it's just a typo, but in a book like this? Geez. but it makes sense, even the author was beginning to get tired of his own book, and the errors crept in. I've seen this happen many times in a work of literature where the author bites off more than they can chew. They struggle at the end when there's nothing but a ball of gristle in their mouth and they just want to spit it out and be done with it. Excuse me Oren if I didn't enjoy your rolled up cud in a napkin of a final chapter. Focus on the myths, move the extra stuff to the appendices. Or better yet write a history of science book, and get it out of your system.

I give it two stars only because I like the concept and I hope one day someone else gives this a shot or the author issues a revised edition.

Thanks.

[Farhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning was promising ; the concept intriguing, but after 30 pages or so the author became so confused that there was neither myth nor science, let alone the connection ; only some verbose expressions to cover the failure.

[Elentarri · Rating 2 out of 5]

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of the book.

This book is exactly what it states on the cover - 15 myths that explain our world - but it is not a comparative mythology text or a book that refutes misconceptions of evolution. In this book, Oren Harman takes some of the current scientific knowledge (about the formation of the universe, Earth, and evolution of various organisms) and formulates it into 15 mythological "stories", usually from someone's perspective (e.g. Mother Earth, a trilobite). The writing style is fanciful and lyrical, occassionally overly verbose.

I'm really not sure who the target audience of this book is supposed to be. If you have knowledge of the topics the author covers, you might find this book amusing, though you won't find any new information. If your scientific knowledge is limited, then most of these 15 myths will probably be confusing to you. Personally I found the Chapter "Illuminations", which provides references and explains where the author got his information, more interesting than all the fuzzy mythological stories. In my opinion, this book is either very clever or very silly, depending on the readers mood and inclination for expecting something more substantial than wierd stories touted as myths. I really was hoping for more meat and less fluffiness.

[Ben Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got through it quickly because:
1) There's a global pandemic on so I can't go outside and
2) I ended up wanting to get it out of the way so I could move on.

I'm afraid I have to side with all the previous reviews by people who love both science and mythology and say that I was very disappointed with this book. Such potential as a concept. But it just reads like a GCSE creative writing exercise, replete with forced metaphors and the assumption that anthropomorphising a bacterium somehow makes the story 'deep' or have some bearing on Love or Fate.

Abundant asides about 'what the Scientists thought' - other than being another half-arsed attempt at storifying facts by gifting this mercurial group a capital letter - added to the feeling of being written by a schoolchild. It just felt like a classic "Oh look teacher I know this fact about phlogiston, can I have an extra mark please" ploy.

Take out the attempts of coining deep proverbs (and all the above) and yes, I really did enjoy reading about science in a more flowery, less lecturing tone. And a book like that would be very welcome. But. Come on Oren. Dial it down a tad.

EDIT: I think I was a bit harsh in writing this. Perhaps 02:30am isn't the best time to be level-headed in a book review. I think I was just disappointed that it doesn't feel much like myth at all. It is really interesting subject matter, and he writes very eloquently on something that he is clearly passionate about. But I don't think the attempt at tying these little stories in with myth or Fate, Love etc really worked. Just keep it to stories and I think I would have enjoyed it much more

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an entertaining read. There isn't too much I can say about it that other reviewers haven't already mentioned (and quite eloquently, I might add), but I definitely enjoyed it. It was a nice change of pace from my usual fantasy genre and exceptionally well-written. I would not hesitate to read Oren Harman's works in the future (I especially enjoyed his writing style- descriptive without going over-the-top).
My copy of this book was obtained from the Goodreads website. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it. I would rate this book a solid 4.8

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking. Truly delightful at times. My favorite myth was Sacrifice about the terrestrial ancient ancestors of whales.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For there are many worthy mysteries that are not on a path to resolution.” (pg. 14)

First, to clear up some confusion: Evolutions does not present existing myths from different cultures about how the world came to be; Evolutions presents 15 entirely new myths, crafted by the author, Oren Harman, to present current scientific understanding about the evolution of life in an experimental ‘myth-like’ format. Fish crawl onto land in the myth titled “Curiosity,” whales return to the sea in “Sacrifice,” trilobites evolve eyes in “Jealousy,” and so on. However, the myths don’t always feel quite like myths, in the sense that there’s not always a clear story, and the writing style is more experimental than you would find in many myth anthologies.

Despite some minor qualms I had with the text, this book changed the way that I think about the world, and the way I think about science.

“I would feel the warm wind on my ears, the sun caressing me as it prepared to set. But there was a storm raging inside me. Had it not been established that on scales very large and very small our intuitions trick us, about space and matter and time and causality? That the discrepancy between the laws of probability and the workings of cognition helps explain our suspicion of coincidence, why we put faith in omens and curses, retribution and prayers? Had we not learned that we are not rational, despite it all, and depart from rationality in ways that are predictable? That rationality is in any case just one of many ways to score experience? That we can only know the world through the senses that evolution has passed down to us; that reality is therefore forever opaque to us, our relationship to truth an asymptote, like unrequited love?” (pg. 189-190, in Hope)

Additional Quotes:

“Myths are stories about a distant past or an imagined future, shadowing our existence like intimate, mysterious companions. They orient us in the universe and provide a kind of comfort. But myths also summon truths beyond our jurisdiction: about the nature of matter, and time, and the forces. About how we came to be, and why we can or cannot hope, and where we might be headed.” (pg. 3-4, Introduction)

“myths are expressions of existential conundrums, creatures of our lonely, searching minds. And since our minds have always both imagined infinity and lived, uneasily, with the surety and sadness of death, throughout the ages the themes of myth have remained strikingly unchanging.” (pg. 4-5, Introduction)

“If beasts would one day roam these lands, as they would the waters, there was no one to whisper the news to me within Earth’s barren, despairing tracks.” (pg. 103, in Pride)

“This is how I learned of the continents’ stirrings, a world coming apart at its seams.” (pg. 113, in Jealousy)

“Thus, the white lie, the exaggeration, the half-truth, the fib, the perjury, the promise, the myth were all invented—and the brains that would willingly or unwillingly be deceived. On the wings of imagination, fiction was born, in all its duplicitous splendor. And with it the contemplation of all possible things.” (pg. 178, in Truth)

“How could this be? I puzzled and I pondered. And when I thought I knew the answer for fleeting moments of blessed clarity, the insight slipped between my fingers, like fleeing grains of sand.” (pg. 184, in Hope)

“When I walked through the halls, the entire world faded away behind me, the echoes from the vaults becoming muted as if we were underwater, just me and the fossils communing.” (pg. 186, in Hope)

“Onto land life crawled from the seacoast; then some creatures vaulted to the heavens, and others dove back into the waters, like returning ghosts.” (pg. 187, in Hope)

[Tracy Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so completely enchanted by this book at the beginning that there were times when I found myself holding my breath, tears rising in my eyes. That's how beautiful it was.  And then suddenly, Harman finished his myth-making and appeared to be giving us a bibliography.  Disappointed, I pushed the book away for a couple of weeks.

But I wanted to finish and I'm glad I did because the second half of the book wasn't so much a bibliography (the citations are thick, though) as an examination of the truth behind his mythologies of evolution.  And I think that's where the problem lies; the gear shift is so dramatic that I got intellectual whiplash from it.  Had the structure of the book been more integrated between the myth and the science, it might well have been a little less magical, but it probably would have kept me reading straight through.

So I don't like the structure, but boy I love Harman's myths, and I enjoy his science writing as well.  And I'm warning potential readers about this because I really do think you should read it. I just think you should be prepared.

[Haley]

I don't want to rate a science book. If I like it, I'll finish it.

This wasn't my first science book.. I think I read an autobiography of a deep sea bioluminescence scientist over a year ago (wow). And this was completely different.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by what this book discussed. It's title included "fifteen myths that explain our world" and in the beginning, it does just that by introducing different myths that attempt to explain natural phenomena like the creation of the Sun, Moon, Earth, and us. Through this, explaining scientific discoveries as their own myths. Very interesting and entertaining. And then other subjects are simply stories of science.. because.. no myths I know of attempt to explain symbiosis or the formation of eyes.

I would recommend this to any of my science friends who want to indulge their creative and curious sides. Especially my biologists. Not only is there almost beautiful poetry to the storytelling, allowing you to walk away with ideas of the concepts, there are also more direct science-y explanations in the back! With citations! I may have already downloaded all of the ones from the symbiosis and multicellularity sections...

So yes, pick this up with a curious mind and you won't be disappointed.

[Mishehu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evolutions is a beautiful book. Though it only teaches the reader so much science, it wholly immerses them in science's mystery/magic/wonder. Harman is a terrific stylist. What he attempts in this slim inspiring book -- to present a 'mythology of science' -- he executes brilliantly. Evolutions is a book for anyone: scientists and lay readers alike. The book is divided into chapters that creatively chronicle the ascent of biological evolution, each paired with a short and fascinating bibliographical essay.

I loved this book.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love mythology and believe it is just as important as Science, and I love that Harman believes that too. I liked reading the history and evolution of the world through the stories of Science as our current mythology, and how he also included actual mythology along with current Scientific theory.

[Paola Rubiano Buitrago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fell in love with this book! Science and poetry in one amazing experience

[Michael Nalbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nerd in me loved it, the guy that enjoys Myths and Fantasies loved it. An excellent blending of explaining reality and how it is perceived by many different cultures.

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the concept for this book very exciting but the content a bit disappointing. The need for a new mythology and story to ground us in a sense of reality and purpose has been demonstrated by multiple authors, and this reasoning is brilliantly explained in the first chapter. However, beyond this, the author provides a reductionist, progress-oriented, dualistic account of the universe and life which makes one feel less like they are being told a story and more like they are being read a code. The myth of the universe becomes more of an attempt to link human experience to specific genes, entire species, and other perceived entities within the process of life. With no eschatology or possible futures, the myths presented also don't do a great job of placing the present within a story rather than as free to do whatever we want. I do hope that something like this continues to be attempted.

[Benedict Furness · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a classic example of style over substance. Harman clearly has a firm grasp of the scientific concepts presented in his book. He has most likely been synthesizing stories and metaphors for many years which may have helped him in consolidating this knowledge. However, what is inside Harman's mind is not translated well in this book. There is something to be gained from the use of alternative narratives in explaining complex systems and theories, but nothing constructive is demonstrated here. In fact, it seems that Harman assumes a certain level of biological and scientific literary in his readers, with his less-than-sporadic use of academic nomenclature, that his very notion of communicating complicated ideas in a simpler, more accessible way, is made absurdly redundant. What may have helped him better understand the world, and his place in it, will most likely not be useful for everyone.

[Judi · Rating 1 out of 5]

As an audiobook, this is an utterly overwhelming disappointment. I was intrigued by the concept and had high hopes - but they were dashed to smithereens repeatedly.
Overly verbose, it suffers from overly flowery and fluffy language. To add to that distraction, it’s riddled with cliches and a seemingly unnecessary usage of first person. And many odd pronunciations absolutely did not help - for example, es-CRAP-ment vice e-scarp-ment... truly hope it was a typo in the printed version. The last third of the book is apparently appendices, but as a listener, that was not made clear - just droning on and on about other authors to search out or YouTube to view. UGH

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poetic ode to evolution's greatest hits, Evolutions is unusual and bold, turning the concept of the pop-science book on its head. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2019...

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the bedtime story parents should read to their kids.

Perhaps the title of the book is a bit misleading. Harman did not write fifteen *separate* mythologies to explain fifteen different phenomenal, but rather, it's a one long narrative split into fifteen chapters.

No, this book is not about mythologies. It is not about sciences either. Rather, this book is a chronicle of biological/evolutionary/natural history narrated in the voices of its subjects, beginning with the genesis of the Universe to the creation of men. But what is different about this book - what truly sets this book apart (from the multitude of natural history non-fiction out there) - is that it's written ENTIRELY in the literary style of traditional mythologies.

Forget concise scientific writing. Forget its stringent ban on adjectives, descriptors, superfluous details. Forget science's vilification of emotive language and "subjectivity". This book tosses all that in the trash. 'This is the story of our origin,' it says to you, l'et me guide you through our past together.' Except it doesn't try to create fabled tales, only the scientific proofs of our beginnings. The big bang, the expansion of universe, gravity and angular momentum, creation of the solar system. Then on Earth, the machine for life churns through ribozyme, then genetic diversity; chlorophyll populating noxious earth with oxygen, mitochondria powering the force of life. Then evolution, the morphing of anatomy, the polishing of physiological finesse, the drive for survival, the need for reproduction. Why do we have vision? limbs? language? This is the mythology that sets out to explain myths, our humanly desire to know, to question our existence. And it concludes that we still do not have an answer -- that science, despite all its boasted "objectivity", still cannot provide us with the truth.

--
Some lines from the preface I really liked:

"Science pretends to be a replacement for mythology, but in reality it is driven by the same hunger for understanding that brought us the gods and the afterlife, souls and creation, and it too is shaped by tales. Science is a form of competitive storytelling: it gives names to many things, and produces narratives based on a method that has undergone impressive refinement."

"Science today is our safest path to knowledge, and wedded to technology it continues to amaze. And yet, too frequently control is confused with understanding, by scientists and the rest of us. Too often what is natural is taken for what is right, complexity simplified into grotesque caricatures, and modesty thrown to the side. Most disconcerting is something fundamental: we champion atheist horseman, making heroes of those who tell us that the only mystery is worth reviewing what’s the come one day to our increase. This is a grave misjudgment. For there are many worthy mysteries that are not on the path to resolution. Science gives us knowledge but will not alone deliver wisdom."

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had the greatest introduction I've ever read, and by and large it lived up to its promise: "myths" to explain our world and its vagaries, but told through the lens of science. It's a brilliant concept and most chapters execute it well.

However.

Not every "myth" works as well as Harman hopes--sometimes a grand abstract concept just will not be wedded to the moment in biological history he has chosen for it--but that's to be expected. The real problem is that in two particular chapters ("Death" and "Jealousy"), Harman tries to handle subject matter that is both beyond the scope and above his pay grade. By this I mean he gets into issues that aren't necessary to the stories he's trying to tell, and that he doesn't fully appreciate himself.

Let me break down my issues with those chapters:

In "Death," he tackles sex, not just in the sense of sexual reproduction but also sex and gender. Unfortunately, he is only vaguely aware of the difference between sex and gender, and never bothers to distinguish between the two. He also sticks to a strict gender binary, making only dismissive references to genders other than male/female. He assigns a gender to organisms that reproduce asexually, even after noting that doing so doesn't make sense. The whole thing is really cisgender and cissexist, but even if you're a reader who doesn't care about those things, it's written inconsistently and in confusingly. There IS good stuff in this chapter, but about two-thirds of it is a mess, and he needed a good editor to step in here.

In "Jealousy," I don't know how to say this other than to be blunt: trilobite rape. Yes. Is there a reason this book needs a rape scene? No. Also, let me just point this out again, they're TRILOBITES. Since no editor sat him down to say "what the hell, man?" I can only say that this chapter alone is why we need sensitivity readers. It's also the weakest chapter by far: as with "Death," I learned some neat things, but at least two-thirds of this chapter is execrable. (Note to haters: Yes, I picked up on the mythological references here. It's still crap.)

Okay, all that said? The rest of this book is still very good.

tl;dr Two chapters are full of fail, but overall, this book is very, very good. You could skip "Death" and "Jealousy" and still have a good read. If you want a book that tells stories about the universe based on what we know about it from ~Science~, pick this one up.

[Hadiqa · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading more than half of the book I came to this conclusion that of I'm lost in the first half of the book, then I damn will be triple lost in the remaining because I had no idea what's happening with the writing or the author was high on cocaine when he wrote it.

Firs, beautiful cover and "Evolution" got my attention. I was excited to see how he would correlate the the myths of the creation of this world with science and stuff but unfortunately this is just too dry and boring and doesn't deliver what it says it'll.

The starting was good so I kept reading it but I got into a slump because it started to become real fuzzy. At one point I don't even know what I'm reading and why I'm reading it. Either he was super high or too excited writing about mitochondria or algae.

Suddenly he's talking about something and there will be a big leap and next sentence will be something totally unrelated. Most of the book is like that. And there are these section in every chapter that are unnecessary because either he's talking about the same subject or starting a new sentence with a different thought.

Idk how would I summarize this book if I ever get a chance at that. The illumination makes a little bit more sense then everything else in this book. This book could've been a hit or a miss and it's a miss for me.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thoroughly enlightened by this book!

With a history in anthropology and an interest in mythology, I found this book to be wildly attractive when I first discovered it. Once I started reading through it, I realized the main theme is that myth and science are not so far apart. Each chapter personified science into a mythic version of what we currently understand to be truth. Turns out that this approach actually helped me understand scientific concepts more easily. I became extremely interested in learning more about each chapter in the illuminations section and will probably explore the reading recommendations provided in that section for even more insight!

This is a book I got through the library, and will 100% purchase. It is a nonfiction account that is timeless with which I can revert back to whenever I feel the urge. This comes HIGHLY recommended by me if you have an interest in evolutionary history, anthropology, mythology, and/or philosophy. If you choose to embark on this journey, be prepared to be swept away from what you think you understand and feel your mind open to new possibilities.

Remember, "these things are never, and are always."

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of disappointed in this book. As someone who loves reading about myth and has started to read the great science authors, I was so excited when I read the blurb and the first page. But after the first section or so, the book really disconnects from any idea of mythology and becomes neither myth nor science.

I don’t see how this book could be enjoyable if you don’t already deeply understand not only evolution dating back to the very beginnings of the planet, but also understood the history of the science. I’m not familiar with either, so the highly lyrical language obscured any understanding of the underlying subjects.

Also myth doesn’t equal poetry. Myths are metaphors, but they don’t have to be communicated with flowery language. This author seems to love his own prose a lot, because it’s not reigned in at all.

I wish I’d randomly read from more sections of this book before buying. Out of context, some sections of the book just sound absurd. In context, they are strange jumbles of half-science, half-poetry that communicate neither science nor feeling.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars for me, I think. It was a very interesting journey to go through the evolution of life through the lense of myth. In the end, however, I don't think it quite worked for me.

Don't get me wrong, there were moments where the language soared into beautiful images and my breath was taken away. For the most part, however, I had a niggling doubt at the back of my mind. To take these myths and translate them through biology just seems, well, wrong. I suppose I simply feel that myth represents so much more than simple virtues or deceits, that, for me, myth represents something spiritual. Perhaps I just the wrong person to love this book. At the end, I felt more that the myths had been reduced, simplified, explained, and that somehow made them less, not more.

It's worth a read, being quite quick, and there were some great moments, some great thoughts, and a very interesting perspective on what it means to be alive. Still, 3 1/2 stars for me.

[Heather-Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting, although not at all what I expected.

Not comparative mythologies from around the world, instead various theories of the origins of the universe and origins of life, told in mythical language. Often beautiful, and poetic, they capture the imagination. I wish the organization had been stronger.

I highly recommend reading this with its thematic siblings:
~ Astrophysics For People in a Hurry by Neil Degrass Tyson,
~ A World Beyond Physics by Stuart A Kaufman.

In my opinion, Evolutions is the weakest of the three but still worthwhile. All three are novella length; all three are excellent in audio format as well.


And good bonus fun, I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong, which I listened to twice back to back.

[Alex Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evolutions is a poetic account of natural history and the scientists who wrote it. The book describes the geological origins of life and biology and how life left the oceans and learned to fly and how evolution works and how language developed and lead to truth and lies.

Harman presents apposing scientific theories and origin myths without arguing a side. This book was a great compliment to the natural history books I am reading, but I wonder if any of it means anything to readers who don't already know the stories. I do wish he'd leaned into the poetry and story telling a bit more than talking about the scientists.

[Alina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept but lacked a little bit on the execution. The topics were interesting, but unfortunately, the “myths” just didn’t read as, well, myths. All while reading I tried to figure out what felt wrong about them, and I think the issue I had was that the texts didn’t follow basic myth structure, where there must be a set-up, a hero, and adventures with rising action and a denouement. The myths themselves also weren’t, I found, at all informative, and I actually ended up preferring the bibliographical essays at the end of the book. I’ll definitely check out some of the sources mentioned by the author.

All in all, just very underwhelming.

[Kyle Dinges · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This is a new approach at looking at some of the universe and nature's origins. Rather than straight fact presentation, Harman uses a more romantic prose to tell the stories, lending the subjects agency where generally that's a no no in scientific writing. The stories are largely successful but I found that they sometimes fail to be both fully entertaining and informative due to the format. I'd recommend for those who enjoy non-fiction as a brief and unique change of from typical works in the genre.

[Lyz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this one more effort than it was worth. I had such high hopes, expecting a discussion of world mythology and natural history. Nope...what I got was a history of science written in verse. That still sounds like it would interest me but also nope. The prose is overwrought and contrived to be flowery and flowing. I'm normally a fan of unconventional layout to give depth to writing but this set up was just...bad. None of it made sense and it bored me. On a positive note, this book was an excellent sleep aid.

[Jenny Webb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought people must not be giving this a fair chance when I skimmed the reviews before reading. And there are some bits of wordplay and insight towards the beginning that gave me hope. Unfortunately, this thing all comes crashing down into a messy conglomerate that fails to commit in any way to its original promise. Blerg.

If you want to read a fantastic book that demonstrates how to take up mythology as form considering the history of the universe informed by science, read Italo Calvino’s Cosmicomics.

[Tony Senanayake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book investigates human history and scientific understanding through the personification of various emotions / traits. The book is written in such a way that a reasonably high level of literacy in scientific concepts and consequently, much of the text flew over my head. When I did understand some of the concepts, I found the book to be a light-heartedly, but then deeply revelatory analysis of what we think we know and what that may look like in context from a larger human understanding perspective.