Seven Decades
How We Evolved to Live Longer
$67.64
- Hardcover
536 pages
- Release Date
31 December 2025
Summary
An anthropologist uncovers new evidence for the evolutionary origins of human longevity and explains why growing old is an opportunity, not a burden.
Our ability to live for decades may seem like a modern luxury made possible by clean water and advances in medicine. In fact, human longevity is a legacy of our unique evolutionary path as a species. Seven Decades challenges the belief that life in the past was ‘nasty, brutish, and short’, tracing how our capaci…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691231990 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0691231990 |
| Author: | Michael D. Gurven |
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Imprint: | Princeton University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 536 |
| Release Date: | 31 December 2025 |
| Weight: | 896g |
| Dimensions: | 47mm x 169mm x 245mm |
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Critics Review
”[An] insightful excursion into the biology, economics, anthropology, and sociology of aging. The book examines a topic of ever-greater import to our society and is a worthy read for scientists and those entering their later decades.”—Michael A. Goldman, Science
“Building off his and others’ work with today’s subsistence communities, Gurven makes the compelling case that while the typical lifespan of the average person today has greatly expanded and our health has generally improved, there’s nothing particularly new about human longevity itself.”—Ed Cara, Gizmodo
“Why did we evolve to live so long? This is where Gurven’s rich and readable book really hits its stride.”—Stephen Cave, Financial Times
“Good anthropological research can require deep knowledge of many subjects, and this breadth is on full display in Michael D. Gurven’s new book.”—Alan A. Cohen, The Quarterly Review of Biology
“This wide-ranging and detailed work looks at the experience of ageing from prehistory to the present, with a particular interest in the role of elders in traditional societies and how, as JFK put it, we might “add life to years, not just years to life”.”—Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald
“A must-read volume for anyone interested in human aging… . Essential.” * Choice *
Michael D. Gurven
Michael D. Gurven is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His work has been featured in the New York Times and on NPR and the BBC.
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