Unlike the offbeat, witty, dark, Netflix fantasy series with the same name except for the added prefix, Un to the word Fortunate, giving it the opposite meaning, this is nonfiction science for non-scientists at its best. The author is a science writer with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a humanist who convincingly rejects any suggestion of Design as the explanation for anything. From the impact of an asteroid on earth 66 million years ago that wiped out 75% of species then existing, to the serial genetic mutations necessary for the development of different cancers, chance events with astronomical odds against them happening explain how the world works.
The book is divided into three logical sections with touching personal anecdotes interspersed with the sometimes difficult science explanations.
The aptly named Kentucky Pentecostal pastor Jamie Coots died of a rattlesnake bite after mauling it while conducting a service, sure that God would protect him, and then refusing treatment. He should be a candidate for a posthumous Darwin Award, although it is apparently too late to award it to him- he has a son who took over doing the same stunts with rattlesnakes in the same church and continues the practice after almost dying from a bite. He should be considered for the stupidity prize.
From the evolution of species to the genetics of different diseases, the critical role of chance seems convincing. Carroll makes the brilliant analogy of the chances of one of millions of asteroids in the universe striking the Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago to the chances of one of hundreds of millions of sperm cells impacting a particular ovum in a Fallopian tube to create a unique organism like me or him or a one-of-a-kind elephant.
Some of the explanations of the genetics of evolutionary change may be difficult for some readers, but are greatly enhanced by accompanying simple line diagrams.
A thoroughly enjoyable and educational short read.
The Passionate Reader 