Man's Place in Nature, and Other Essays

"Man's Place in Nature, and Other Essays" by Thomas Henry Huxley is a compilation of scientific writings from the 1800s that considers the link of people to animals by highlighting the similarities with apes. In this book, readers discover information regarding how humans originated and how their surroundings influenced them, shining a light on the quest to figure out our role in nature. Early on, the book looks at old stories of apes that look like humans, mentioning what explorers noticed about these creatures in the wild. Huxley talks about things people used to think about these animals and what they were like. Woven throughout is an emphasis on the importance of scientific research for gaining an understanding about evolution and the family relationships humans have with animals. This approach helps create a foundation for conversations about the natural world, bodies, and ideas about how all living things change over time in the rest of the book.