Handshake, Ella Al-Shamahi

'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.