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El primer viaje de nuestra vida

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

When English-speaking writers refer to the passage of the foetus down the birth canal, they use the word ‘travel’, and this is what the title of this book refers to: an especially difficult journey in our species, which culminates with the arrival of a new person in the world. This astonishing journey allows us to surmount many of the difficulties of the human species because the strange way in which we are born is not an anecdote but rather is intimately linked to our nature.

Why is birth painful? How did our ancestors give birth? Why are new-born babies so defenceless? Like a guide to a great exhibition, Juan Luis Arsuaga accompanies us in El primer viaje de nuestra vida through the fascinating human evolution adventure by way of a history of birth, and gives us a brilliant anatomy lesson along the way. And while he provides answers to these and other questions, he also asks others that are still unknown. There is still much to learn about the most important journey of our lives.

PRESS

«Nothing is more common than being born, and nothing more extraordinary: Juan Luis Arsuaga has narrated this incredible first journey of human life with all the power of the great tales of travel and discovery, with his dual talent as storyteller and scientist.» Antonio Muñoz Molina

El primer viaje de nuestra vida

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

When English-speaking writers refer to the passage of the foetus down the birth canal, they use the word ‘travel’, and this is what the title of this book refers to: an especially difficult journey in our species, which culminates with the arrival of a new person in the world. This astonishing journey allows us to surmount many of the difficulties of the human species because the strange way in which we are born is not an anecdote but rather is intimately linked to our nature.

Why is birth painful? How did our ancestors give birth? Why are new-born babies so defenceless? Like a guide to a great exhibition, Juan Luis Arsuaga accompanies us in El primer viaje de nuestra vida through the fascinating human evolution adventure by way of a history of birth, and gives us a brilliant anatomy lesson along the way. And while he provides answers to these and other questions, he also asks others that are still unknown. There is still much to learn about the most important journey of our lives.

PRESS

«Nothing is more common than being born, and nothing more extraordinary: Juan Luis Arsuaga has narrated this incredible first journey of human life with all the power of the great tales of travel and discovery, with his dual talent as storyteller and scientist.» Antonio Muñoz Molina

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Al otro lado de la niebla

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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

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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

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

El enigma de la esfinge

The Sphinx Enigma | Plaza & Janés/PRH, 2001