Alice Roberts

A spectacular collection of aerial photographs of Britain's most extraordinary prehistoric sites. This breathtaking collection of aerial images reveals ancient monuments from all around the British Isles, as they have never been seen before: Neolithic enclosures, cairns and stone circles; Bronze Age villages, farmsteads, tombs and burial mounds; and Iron Age hillforts, all photographed in spectacular bird’s-eye-view detail. Photographs taken directly above the sites, often at dawn, allow uniquely informative views, showing not only how ancient monuments fit into the surrounding landscape, but also how they define or respond to the area’s natural character. Stone cairns and circles evoke lost rituals and religious ceremonies; Iron Age ramparts hint at former strongholds; and tangible geographical clues reveal the scars of real or mythical battles. The oldest site in the collection was created nearly 6,000 years ago; the most recent originated shortly before the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. This is an inspiring way to discover the beauty and history of the British landscape, revealing the visible traces of our ancestors, from such famous monuments as Stonehenge to little-known gems that have never before been seen from the air.

From the authors of the Sunday Times bestseller The Little Book of HumanismA humanist wedding ceremony allows couples the freedom to express their love in a completely personal way - and choose what marriage means to them.In a beautiful collection of insights from humanist celebrants, plus quotes, poems and meditations from humanist writers and thinkers throughout history, The Little Book of Humanist Weddings is filled with inspiration to complement your unique celebration of love and commitment.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWe all want to lead a happy life. Traditionally, when in need of guidance, comfort or inspiration, many people turn to religion. But there has been another way to learn how to live well - the humanist way - and in today's more secular world, it is more relevant than ever.In THE LITTLE BOOK OF HUMANISM, Alice Roberts and Andrew Copson share over two thousand years of humanist wisdom through an uplifting collection of stories, quotes and meditations on how to live an ethical and fulfilling life, grounded in reason and humanity.With universal insights and beautiful original illustrations, THE LITTLE BOOK OF HUMANISM is a perfect introduction to and a timeless anthology of humanist thought from some of history and today's greatest thinkers.

Travel back in time eight million years to explore the roots of the human family tree. Interweaving latest discoveries, maps, and incredible illustrations, Evolution tells the story of our origins and helps us better understand our species, from tree-dwelling primates to modern 21st-century humans. Renowned Dutch paleoartists the Kennis brothers bring our ancestors to life with their beautiful, accurate reconstructions that visually trace each step in our evolutionary history. Combined with clear prose, this comprehensive yet accessible book provides a rich history of each stage of human evolution, from human anatomy and behaviour to the environment we live in. It also explains how Homo sapiens originated, evolved, and then migrated and colonized the entire planet. Written and authenticated by a team of experts and with a foreword by Dr Alice Roberts, Evolution is a sweeping account of humans and our place in it.

**'A masterpiece of evocative scientific storytelling.' BRIAN COX****'Will appeal to fans of Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens'. Mail on Sunday **The extraordinary story of the species that became our allies.Dogs became our companionsWheat fed a booming populationCattle gave us meat and milkMaize fuelled the growth of empiresPotatoes brought us feast and famineChickens led us to wonder about tomorrowRice promised us a golden futureHorses gave us strength and speedApples travelled with usHUMANS TAMED THEM ALLFor hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors depended on wild plants and animals to stay alive – until they began to tame them.Combining archaeology and cutting-edge genetics, Tamed tells the story of the greatest revolution in human history and reveals the fascinating origins of ten crucial domesticated species; and how they, in turn, transformed us. In a world creaking under the strain of human activity, Alice Roberts urges us to look again at our relationship with the natural world – and our huge influence upon it.AN ECONOMIST AND MAIL ON SUNDAY 'BOOK OF THE YEAR' 2017

'From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself' Richard Dawkins'A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are . . . this book really shines . . . Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory' Observer'Witty, personal and above all informed by passion and deep knowledge, this is the story of you, not just from conception onwards but from the millions of years of evolution that have shaped the way we are today' Adam Rutherford***SHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE***Alice Roberts takes you on the most incredible journey, revealing your path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person. It's a story that connects us with our distant ancestors and an extraordinary, unlikely chain of events that shaped human development and left a mark on all of us. Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embroyos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.

Alice Roberts has been travelling the world - from Ethiopian desert to Malay peninsula and from Russian steppes to Amazon basin - in order to understand the challenges that early humans faced as they tried to settle continents. On her travels she has witnessed some of the daunting and brutal challenges our ancestors had to face: mountains, deserts, oceans, changing climates, terrifying giant beasts and volcanoes. But she discovers that perhaps the most serious threat of all came from other humans. When our ancestors set out from Africa there were already two other species of human on the planet: Neanderthal in Europe and Homo erectus in Asia. Both (contrary to popular perception) were intelligent, adept at making tools and weapons and were long adapted to their environments. So, Alice asks, why did only Homo sapiens survive? Part detective story, part travelogue, and drawing on the latest genetic and archaeological discoveries, Alice examines how our ancestors evolved physically in response to these challenges, finding out how our colour, shape, size, diet, disease resistance and even athletic ability have been shaped by the range of environments that our ancestors had to survive. She also relates how astonishingly closely related we all are. As a lecturer in Anatomy at Bristol University, Alice Roberts is eminently qualified to write this book. As a talented artist, she is perfectly qualified to illustrate it, and dotted throughout this lively book are many of the sketches and photographs from her travels.