One Hand Clapping:
Unraveling the Mystery of the Human Mind
Upcoming October 7, 2025
Prometheus Books (US)
Swift Press (UK and worldwide)
Preorder now:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Bookshop.org | ThriftBooks
“Brilliant, bold, and beautifully articulated, One Hand Clapping is the best of biological thought. Starting with the origins of life, Kukushkin deftly solves the chicken-and-egg problem, moves gracefully to the notion of emergence, and concludes with a compelling account of ourselves as curious creatures, co-constructing our cultural niches ― and all that entails for being you and me.”
Karl J. Friston
Professor of Neuroscience,
University College London
“Dazzling and breathtaking…. Be prepared to abandon your pre-conceptions as Kukushkin takes readers on an audacious journey across the eons of life on Earth to arrive at one of the most thorough and yet provocative accounts for what makes humans the species we are. One Hand Clapping takes the scientific concepts of function, emergence, and recursion to new levels, freeing them from the tedium of simply technical explanations into jaw-dropping moments of insight that will leave you shaking with revelation. Do your brain a favor and read this masterpiece.”
Bruce Hood
Author of “The Self Illusion”
and “The Science of Happiness”
“One Hand Clapping resembles Kurt Vonnegut’s novels… Trying to retell it is like trying to whistle Mozart’s Requiem.”
Elementy.ru
“Kukushkin has a superhuman ability to hold massive amounts of knowledge, make surprising connections, and explain everything in simple terms.”
Asya Kazantseva
Author of “Who Would Have Thought”
“A brave attempt to embrace an immensity.”
Alexander Markov
Professor of Evolutionary Biology,
Moscow State University
“Probably the best nonfiction in the Russian language.”
Goodreads