Alive
The Hidden Intelligence of the Living World
$62.21
- Hardcover
352 pages
- Release Date
20 October 2026
Summary
What does it mean to be alive? The slow contortion of a plant towards light, the spear-flight of a hawk towards their quarry - these are purposeful actions. But where does that purpose come from, and what does it tell us about who we are?
In Alive, researcher and natural philosopher Melanie Challenger takes us through the latest discoveries in biology and physics to reveal a radical truth: to be alive is first and foremost a way of being a body. From Greenland sharks that can…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781805300052 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1805300059 |
| Author: | Melanie Challenger |
| Publisher: | Canongate Books |
| Imprint: | Canongate Books |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 352 |
| Release Date: | 20 October 2026 |
| Weight: | 563g |
| Dimensions: | 30mm x 159mm x 240mm |
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Critics Review
‘Praise for How to be Animal: ‘Clearly and beautifully written, compellingly argued and packed with powerful and moving stories … It reveals how much joy in life we can gain if we recognise and accept the truth about ourselves. Read and digest this book, and you will not only be wiser but also happier” - JOHN GRAY
‘A remarkable combination of biology, genetics, zoology, evolutionary psychology and philosophy’ - RICHARD POWERS
‘This is a brilliant book that, like many brilliant books, explores what it means to be human. The difference here is that the author answers this by highlighting one central human dilemma: we are an animal in denial that we are actually an animal’ - MATT HAIG
‘A huge, complex and triumphant thing: challenging, but also celebratory, courageous, mournful and apprehensive. Her language is lovely: exact and lyrical and sparklingly full of suggestion and implication. It is a hymn to generosity. I know it will be something I will return to again and again’ - ADAM NICOLSON
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Melanie Challenger
Melanie Challenger writes, researches, and broadcasts on the history of ideas, the history and philosophy of science, and the relationship between humans and the living world. She is the author of How to Be Animal: What it Means to Be Human, among other works, and host of the podcast The Psychosphere. She is also an award-winning poet and librettist for opera and oratorios, and a National Geographic Explorer. Melanie is internationally active in bioethics and Vice President of the RSPCA.
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