Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (Macmillan Science)

Well written, nicely brief and well balanced in describing bones, tools, genetics and symbolic artefacts. Begins with description of a variety of different lineages of early hominids 7 million years ago (nicely summarised in a figure), the developments towards bipedalism and use of first tools, and the complexity of interpreting the findings. I particularly enjoyed reading about our more recent predecessors – H. heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis (who actually are not our ancestors). The modern humans took over as they developed symbolic thinking, which our predecessors lacked. I found the arguments well balanced and convincing. I found missing a good schematic map with the archaeological finds and dates, or a summary table. If the book was written in 2018, I’d like to see more genetics. This however would not warrant to subtract a star. This is a must read for everybody interested in human origins.

If you are interested in the origins of homo sapiens then this is an enlightening read. I was expecting the chapters to continue and was a bit disappointed that the reading came to an end before the book because many pages were reference material. However I would still recommend it.

The book literally takes you on a journey over millions of years and captivates your imagination like no other topic can. I found myself imagining every stage of the process and remaining in awe ... science brings back the wonder of childhood and this book took me there. It is a well written book that is challenging for the paleoanthropology newbie without being inaccessible. This opened up my eyes to the subject and I want to find out more.

Satisfied. Good product.

Excellent

I am very interested in the way the very early people on this planet became what we know today.

Author is well credentialed, has a easy to read writing style. I enjoyed and learned from the book.Well grounded in current thought on the subject. Do not expect a 'cutting-edge' new theory of everything.

excelente

m'ha agradat molt per posar-me al dia. Esperava que la primera part em resultes mes feixuga, però al contrari els primers capitols es fan super interessants, potser per això sobre l'apartat que tenia més espectatives se m'ha fet una mica mes curt. De tota manera un llibre super agradable de llegir, recomanable!

Un grande paleontologo Andrew Knoll racconta, in modo chiaro e impeccabile, la storia della vita sulla Terra dalle prime forme fino all'esplosione del Cambriano, come emerge dallo studio dei fossili. E' sicuramente la parte più interessante dell'evoluzione della vita ma poiché è anche la meno spettacolare ( tre miliardi e mezzo di esseri unicellulari o quasi) non viene spesso raccontata ed è assolutamente fuori dagli schermi radar di media e stampa.