Dr. Geerat (Gary) Vermeij is one of the foremost evolutionary biologists of our time and has been blind since the age of four. Professionally, he is known for his ability to identify a shell and its provenance from its shape and texture. To Vermeij, scratches or chips on a shell are signs of having survived a struggle with a predator, what he calls the ancient arms race. Privileged Hands is no ordinary autobiography, it is the story of Dr. Vermeij's challenges and triumphs, how he sees, by moving his fingers across the surface of shells, gathering information unnoticed by the untrained eye, and what his insights reveal about the wonder of life on earth.