The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 560 EAN: 9781400076963 ISBN: 140007696X Label: Anchor Manufacturer: Anchor Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 336 Publication Date: 2007-04-10 Publisher: Anchor Release Date: 2007-04-10 Studio: Anchor
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Editorial Reviews: In this dynamic account, award-winning science writer Ann Gibbons chronicles an extraordinary quest to answer the most primal of questions: When and where was the dawn of humankind? Following four intensely competitive international teams of scientists in a heated race to find the “missing link”–the fossil of the earliest human ancestor–Gibbons ventures to Africa, where she encounters a fascinating array of fossil hunters: Tim White, the irreverent Californian who discovered the partial skeleton of a primate that lived 4.4 million years ago in Ethiopia; French paleontologist Michel Brunet, who uncovers a skull in Chad that could date the beginnings of humankind to seven million years ago; and two other groups–one led by zoologist Meave Leakey, the other by British geologist Martin Pickford and his French paleontologist partner, Brigitte Senut–who enter the race with landmark discoveries of their own. Through scrupulous research and vivid first-person reporting, The First Human reveals the perils and the promises of fossil hunting on a grand competitive scale.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: The dark side of science Comment: This was a well-written presentation of the doings of some of the big names in modern anthropology, shown in their efforts to out-do one another in the race to discover (and exploit) the fossils of man's oldest ancestors. Gibbons did a good job of showing the sometimes not-so-nice side of these scientists, with their claim-jumping, allegations of theft, and attempts to knock their rivals down a notch at any cost, in an all-too human game. Customer Rating: Summary: Cannot Recommend This Highly Enough---WONDERFUL Comment: This book is wonderful, in that it takes you on a journey concerning the various discoveries about early hominids/humans and how they came to be discovered. A great great book. Highly recommend it. Customer Rating: Summary: An excellent primer Comment: This is an excellent primer for the general reader on where we are in searching for the oldest fossils of man, and it's amazing how much has been added to the field in the last ten years. The fossil record of hominids now dates back over six million years. Gibbons does an excellent job of setting out what has been found, what it might mean, and the personalities involved in it all. A good, solid, interesting read. Customer Rating: Summary: Ann Gibbons, the First Human Comment: Very informative summary of more recent discoveries and their significance w.r.t. older finds. The competition among field workers is not surprising although at times the story becomes a bit "gossipy" Customer Rating: Summary: A Human who can write! Comment: The First Human by Ann Gibbons is a good book for any armchair paleoanthropologist. She reviews concisely the history of the search for human origins and reveals in great detail the recent discoveries made over the last few decades. The book is well written and analytical with in depth reporting from actual interviews with the principals who have made the most recent finds. I highly recommend this book. More Reviews