This is a non-fiction book written in 11 chapters about biology and human genetics.
Chapter One
Shubin begins by teaching about the similarities between human DNA and other forms of life on the planet. He discusses some zoo animals, including fish, like the title suggests. Even among animals that don't seem to have much in common, there is surprising similarity in the DNA.
Chapter Two
This chapter deals with limb evolution, specifically addressing the divergence in evolution that led some animals to have fins, some to have wings, and some to have arms, like we do.
Chapter Three
DNA comes under the microscope. Shubin teaches about human DNA and the human genome, looking at the effects of in-utero development.
Chapter Four
Now, Shubin compares and contrasts teeth, including different teeth types, adapted for different diets (herbivore, omnivore, and carnivores). He also looks at dinosaur teeth, many of which were fossilized nearly perfectly.
Chapter Five
This chapter deals with the human skull, compared to other skulls in the animal kingdom. He looks at the different component parts of a skull, the various plates and rods and such that construct one "skull." This discussion is shaped by the animal's respective anatomy, as he explains the various neural and biological reasons for some variations in skull shape.
Chapter Six
Sea anemones do not have much in common with humans, but still, Shubin finds astonishing similiarities between their biologies. Human embryos actually have much in common with such primal creatures.
Chapter Seven
In a similar vein, Shubin looks at sea sponges, one of the oldest lifeforms on the planet. Even they have biological functions in common with humans.
Chapter Eight
This short chapter deals with human eyes, detailing their characteristics and providing commentary on their evolution.
Chapter Nine
Another short chapter, this time dealing with human nostrils and nasal cavities. It turns out that most animals have similar nostrils, from a genetic, biological point of view.
Chapter Ten
This chapter deals with the human ear, addressing the astonishing complexity and nuance of human hearing. Although it is complex, though, it is actually not evolutionarily recent—we share our hearing senses with extremely old species of animals.
Chapter Eleven
A final look at evolutionary biology, explaining how evolution pulls all these variations into a kind of harmony.
