{"product_id":"the-seeds-of-life-from-aristotle-to-da-vinci-from-sharks-teeth-to-frogs-pants-the-long-and-strange-quest-to-discover-where-babies-co-9780465082957","title":"The Seeds of Life: From Aristotle to Da Vinci, from Sharks' Teeth to Frogs' Pants, the Long and Strange Quest to Discover Where Babies Co","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhy cracking the code of human conception took centuries of wild theories, misogynist blunders, and ludicrous mistakes\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Throughout most of human history, babies were surprises. People knew the basics: men and women had sex, and sometimes babies followed. But beyond that the origins of life were a colossal mystery. \u003ci\u003eThe Seeds of Life\u003c\/i\u003e is the remarkable and rollicking story of how a series of blundering geniuses and brilliant amateurs struggled for two centuries to discover where, exactly, babies come from. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Taking a page from investigative thrillers, acclaimed science writer Edward Dolnick looks to these early scientists as if they were detectives hot on the trail of a bedeviling and urgent mystery. These strange searchers included an Italian surgeon using shark teeth to prove that female reproductive organs were not 'failed' male genitalia, and a Catholic priest who designed ingenious miniature pants to prove that frogs required semen to fertilize their eggs. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A witty and rousing history of science, \u003ci\u003eThe Seeds of Life\u003c\/i\u003e presents our greatest scientists struggling-against their perceptions, their religious beliefs, and their deep-seated prejudices-to uncover how and where we come from.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdward Dolnick\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Forger's Spell, Down the Great Unknown\u003c\/i\u003e and the Edgar Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Rescue Artist\u003c\/i\u003e. A former chief science writer at the \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, he has written for the \u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other publications. There are over 130,000 copies of his books in print. He lives with his wife near Washington, D.C.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50324736082194,"sku":"9780465082957","price":41.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bfaaae25-4696-43bd-8678-07152d37e579.jpg?v=1727671795","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-seeds-of-life-from-aristotle-to-da-vinci-from-sharks-teeth-to-frogs-pants-the-long-and-strange-quest-to-discover-where-babies-co-9780465082957","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}