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El enigma de la esfinge

The Sphinx Enigma | Plaza & Janés/PRH, 2001

“Enigma” is the riddle Oedipus had to solve in order to free Thebes from the sphinx that daily devoured its citizens. Arsuaga uses this title as a metaphor for evolution. The mechanisms of the evolution of species are an enigma, and the scientist who best solved this puzzle was Darwin. But did he solve it completely? Although much research has confirmed Darwin’s findings, many doubts still remain. Is there intention in the evolution of species? Or is it all a game of chance and inevitability?

From his vantage point as a paleontologist, the author explains step by step the history of evolution as a compelling tale, without ever sacrificing scientific rigor. Only a person with immense narrative skill could create a book so fascinating, which manages to illuminate the lay audience without ever underestimating it.

TRANSLATIONS

Italy: Feltrinelli

El enigma de la esfinge

The Sphinx Enigma | Plaza & Janés/PRH, 2001

“Enigma” is the riddle Oedipus had to solve in order to free Thebes from the sphinx that daily devoured its citizens. Arsuaga uses this title as a metaphor for evolution. The mechanisms of the evolution of species are an enigma, and the scientist who best solved this puzzle was Darwin. But did he solve it completely? Although much research has confirmed Darwin’s findings, many doubts still remain. Is there intention in the evolution of species? Or is it all a game of chance and inevitability?

From his vantage point as a paleontologist, the author explains step by step the history of evolution as a compelling tale, without ever sacrificing scientific rigor. Only a person with immense narrative skill could create a book so fascinating, which manages to illuminate the lay audience without ever underestimating it.

TRANSLATIONS

Italy: Feltrinelli

La conciencia contada por un sapiens a un neandertal

Consciousness Told From A Sapiens To A Neanderthal | Alfaguara, 2024

Al otro lado de la niebla

On the Other Side of the Fog | Destino/Planeta, 2024; Suma/PRH, 2005

Nuestro cuerpo: siete millones de años de evolución

Our Body: Seven Million Years of Evolution | Destino/Planeta, 2023

La muerte contada por un sapiens a un neandertal

Death Told By A Sapiens To A Neanderthal | Alfaguara/PRH, 2022

La vida contada por un sapiens a un neandertal

Life Told By A Sapiens To A Neanderthal | Alfaguara/PRH, 2020

Vida, la gran historia

Life, the Great Story | Destino/Planeta, 2019

El collar del neandertal

The Neanderthal’s Necklace | Destino, 2019 / Temas de Hoy, 1999

Amalur

Amalur. The Atom in the Mind | Destino/Planeta, 2019

La especie elegida

The Chosen Species | Destino, 2019 / Temas de Hoy, 1997

El sello indeleble. Pasado, presente y futuro del ser humano

The Human Signature | Debate/Planeta, 2013

El primer viaje de nuestra vida

The First Journey of Our Life | Temas de Hoy/Planeta, 2012

Breve historia de la Tierra (con nosotros dentro)

A Brief History of Earth | Temas de hoy, 2010

El reloj de Mr. Darwin

Mr. Darwin's Clock | Temas de Hoy/Planeta, 2009

Mi primer libro de la Prehistoria. Cuando el mundo era niño

My First Prehistory Book. When the World Was Just a Child | Espasa, 2008

La saga humana

The Human Saga | Edaf, 2007

Al otro lado de la niebla

On the Other Side of the Fog | Suma/PRH, 2005

El mundo de Atapuerca

The World of Atapuerca | Plaza & Janés/PRH, 2004

Los aborígenes

The Aborigines. Feeding and Human Evolution | RBA, 2002