Catching Fire
Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book explores the question of how cooking impacted the evolution of the human race. At its core the claim is that by cooking food we reduce the energy expended to consume calories. As a result the shape of the human head, our intestines, and social structure evolved to capitalize on this external energy introduced into the eating process. While the core theory is explained and reasoned well, the author then makes many other claims using what feels like selective evidence and without addressing other obvious food sources, child rearing dynamics, or food consumption trends. The first half is a must read while the second half should be read with a critical eye.
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