Understanding Human Evolution (Understanding Life)

My Husband loves the book

Covers a complex area in a thoughtful and informative way. Plenty of detail which focuses on the excitement of the subject.

Full of up to date information, but perhaps too much for a book of this size.

Tattersall is commendable in his approach, clarifying the controversies and avoiding the dogmatism that has often characterized this field. He presents the available evidence, scant as it is, in an accessible and understandable way leading us to the current thesis of why homo sapiens survived and flourished while all our hominin relatives went extinct. For those interested in paleoanthropology, this is a fine place to begin your journey.

It would be easy to write a relatively dull book about human evolution. This book is simply fascinating. The author readily admits where the fossil record is lacking and acknowledges the questions that yet to have good answers. His coverage of the history of paleontology is excellent and provides the reader with insights into both the various personalities involved as well as the sources for current controversy in the field. His coverage of the Neanderthals, their fall, and the concurrent rise of Homo Sapiens is top notch. His included commentary about who “we” are in the truly grand scale of things provides food for deep thought. I’d enthusiastically recommend this book for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject matter.

Being myself a scientist in the geo field I found this little book well-written. It provides a flavor on the topic.

Concise, very up-to-date information in a readable easy-to-understand format. Highly recommended.

The book itself may be very good, as the author apparently is a scientist who is both knowledgeable and accurate in conveying his field. The publisher however, failed both the author and the possible reader in printing a book which obviously has print way too small to read with ease. Why on earth did they choose to do this? They must have been aware of it. One of the early charts (the one opposite the contents page) almost needs a magnifying glass. I hope the publishers will reprint this book with readable size print. That's why one star subtracted.