The descent of the child

This is a new look at human evolution, from the perspective of the child.

Children have long been seen, from an evolutionary standpoint, as a developmental stage in the route to adulthood, and their behaviour only as preparation for adult life.

The book argues that both the foetus and the young child have their own evolutionary interests, often competing with their parents, and manipulating them for their own interests to great effect.Following the development of a newborn child from zygote to birth and after, the book is a look at how children have evolved from ape to human.

It throws new light on our origins and offers a biological critique of urgent contemporary issues, such as family structure, abortion, infertility, over-population and feminism.