A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKFull of delightful nuggets Guardian onlineEntertaining informative and philosphical ... An essential read All About HistoryExtraordinary range ... All the world and more is here Evening Standard165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm.66 million years ago came the first melody.40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument.Today music fills our lives. How we have created performed and listened to music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet it is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages from Bach to BTS and back to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines worldleading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas from global history to our everyday lives from insects to apes humans to artificial intelligence.Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible a Guns Germs and Steel for music Daniel LevitinA thrilling exploration of what music has meant and means to humankind Ian Bostridge