Bryson takes readers on a tour of his house, a rural English parsonage, showing how each room has figured in the evolution of private life.

"Epic and engrossing." From the #1 New York Times The story of humankind is usually told as one of technological innovation and economic influence—of arrowheads and atomic bombs, settlers and stock markets. But behind it all, there is an even more fundamental driver: Food.   In Animal, Vegetable, Junk,   Sweeping, impassioned, and ultimately full of hope, Animal, Vegetable, Junk reveals not only how food has shaped our past, but also how...

"One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one--homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this ... book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving...