The Handshake: A Gripping History

A quirky and engaging history reveals the secrets of one of our most ancient social gestures. ''It''s a little book of wonder, it''s fantastic'' Chris Evans''A fabulously sparky, wide-ranging and horizon-broadening little study ... joyously unboring'' Sunday TimesFriends do it, strangers do it and so do chimpanzees - and it''s not just deeply embedded in our history and culture, it may even be written in our DNA. The humble handshake, it turns out, has a rich and surprising history.So let''s join palaeoanthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi as she embarks on a funny and fascinating voyage of discovery - from the handshake''s origins (at least seven million years ago) all the way to its sudden disappearance in March 2020. Drawing on new research, anthropological insights and first-hand experience, she''ll reveal how this most friendly of gestures has played a role in everything from meetings with uncontacted tribes to political assassinations - and what it tells us about the enduring power of human contact.Because the story of the handshake ... is far from over.

• | Author: Ella Al-Shamahi
• | Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
• | Publication Date: Sep 02, 2021
• | Number of Pages:
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• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781788167819
• | ISBN-10: 1788167813