盛装猿

这本书最独特的地方，在于它彻底放下了人类中心主义的傲慢：作者把人类当作众多动物中的一种来观察，坦然承认我们在嗅觉、视觉等感官上远逊于许多同类，一个生存优势如此微弱的物种能够繁衍至今，本身就是一个奇迹。正是这种"不体面"的自我剖析，构成了全书的张力——它既承认我们是动物，受制于贪婪、放纵、领地意识等本能，又追问是什么让我们得以制造工具、改造环境。读者记住的，往往不是零散的百科知识，而是那种"把人类当成动物的一种"的冷峻视角。不过需要提醒：部分读者反映译文略显生硬、结构稍显松散，更适合愿意慢读、对进化与人类学有真实兴趣的人，而非寻求轻松科普的读者。

Hannah Holmes (born 1963) is an American writer, journalist, essayist, and science commentator for Science Live (Discovery Channel) and radio shows such as Maine Things Considered. She has published four books, most recently Quirk: Brain Science Makes Sense of Your Peculiar Personality (Random House, 2011). She has published articles online and in magazines including Sierra, New York Times Magazine, L.A.Times Magazine, Outside, Islands, and Escape. She earned a B.A. from University of Southern Maine in 1988, and lives with her husband in Portland, Maine. www.hannahholmes.net/