Hands

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"Why do zombies walk with their arms outstretched? How can newborn babies grip an adult finger tightly enough to dangle unsupported from it? And why is everyone constantly texting, tapping and scrolling? For anyone curious about how human beings work, the answers are hidden in plain sight: in our hands. Rather than seeing the history of civilisation in terms of technological breakthroughs, it can be seen as a history of how we have kept our hands busy. From early tools to machinery, from fists to knives to guns, from papyrus to QWERTY to a glowingly swipeable screen, the hands have always been kept occupied. But why this incessant activity? Why can't we keep our hands still? And what might this reveal about our innermost selves? Drawing examples from popular culture, art history, psychoanalysis, modern technology and child development, Handspresents a unique and fascinating odyssey through the history of what human beings do with their hands, and why."