Evolved: Chronicles of the Pleistocene Mind

“Werner’s prose is compelling, his natural history is thoroughly engaging, and his line of curious inquiry is an admirable attempt to better understand humanity and its changing relationship with the external world.”

—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Werner makes evolutionary theory accessible through case studies of both human and nonhuman subjects, teaching us how immersed all living creatures still are in the things that made the difference between life and death hundreds of generations ago.”

—SALT LAKE CITY WEEKLY

“This book provides an entry into the great epic of evolution in a way that makes it both accessible and inspiring. This is no small accomplishment, and we are all indebted to Maximilian Werner.”

–MARY EVELYN TUCKER, co-author of Journey of the Universe

“Join this sensitive and perceptive naturalist as he explores his yard and nearby caves and mountains, carefully observing the activities of myriad life forms, and then reflecting insightfully on the evolutionary story we share with them. Learn from him how to feel completely at home in the world.”

–LOYAL RUE, author of Religion is Not about God

“Werner’s book, thought-provoking and emotionally satisfying, takes us on a journey, a journey that ultimately urges each one of us to get up, go outside and hunt around the edges of our homes for the mysteries that await.”

–SYLVIA TORTI, author of The Scorpion’s Tail

MAXIMILIAN WERNER is the author of Crooked Creek, Gravity Hill and Black River Dreams, a collection of literary fly fishing essays that won the 2008 Utah Arts Council’s Original Writing Competition for Nonfiction. Mr. Werner’s poems, fiction, creative nonfiction, and essays have appeared in numerous journals and magazines, including Matter Journal: Edward Abbey Edition, Bright Lights Film Journal, The North American Review, ISLE, Weber Studies, Fly Rod and Reel, and Columbia. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and two children and teaches writing at the University of Utah.