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emilykk's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this was going to be a history of how we came to be the sole human species left, instead I read the first 36 pages and skimmed. The book is a history on the author’s own theories about the multiple-origins hypothesis and the evidence to support it, NOT a book focused on Neanderthals like I thought.
sevenlefts's review against another edition
3.0
I've seen the author on any number documentary programs about Neanderthals and the origins of humankind. He really does know his stuff and does an admirable job of outlining competing theories about human origins, and the new tools and techniques that paleoanthropologists are using to learn more.
I got a bit lost a few times -- more my fault than his. I do wish there had been more discussion of other outlying branches such as the Denisovians and the recently unearthed "Hobbits" from the island of Flores. But Neanderthals are what he knows best, and Neanderthals are what we get. I appreciate that Stringer puts the evidence out there, some of it quite contradictory, so that the reader can get an idea of the issues being grappled with, then applying his b opinion as to what is most likely rather than just telling us "this is the way it is." It's a very even-handed approach, and he gives rival theories their due.
My favorite take-away concept (not originally his, I think) was that all hominid species struggled along at levels of low cultural advancement, making and losing technological innovations until Homo sapiens managed to reach a tipping point, perhaps related to lifespan increases and symbol development that allowed innovation to survive and disseminate widely.
You can definitely tell that Stringer is an academic and not a science journalist -- still, his enthusiasm for and knowledge of his subject shows.
I got a bit lost a few times -- more my fault than his. I do wish there had been more discussion of other outlying branches such as the Denisovians and the recently unearthed "Hobbits" from the island of Flores. But Neanderthals are what he knows best, and Neanderthals are what we get. I appreciate that Stringer puts the evidence out there, some of it quite contradictory, so that the reader can get an idea of the issues being grappled with, then applying his b opinion as to what is most likely rather than just telling us "this is the way it is." It's a very even-handed approach, and he gives rival theories their due.
My favorite take-away concept (not originally his, I think) was that all hominid species struggled along at levels of low cultural advancement, making and losing technological innovations until Homo sapiens managed to reach a tipping point, perhaps related to lifespan increases and symbol development that allowed innovation to survive and disseminate widely.
You can definitely tell that Stringer is an academic and not a science journalist -- still, his enthusiasm for and knowledge of his subject shows.
berenikeasteria's review against another edition
4.0
Chris Stringer, an expert in the field of more than 40 years, and currently attached to the British Natural History Museum guides the reader through the world of palaeoanthropology, and the changes and discoveries in this field over the past four decades. This book is well written, clear, and explains technical terms, so if you’re a newcomer to the subject this book is ideal, as it has been written to be easy and accessible for just such an audience. However, at the same time, it offers a pretty comprehensive discussion of the field and of the debates and exciting questions. Did humans really come out of Africa? To what extent did we interbreed with other human species? Were we as mentally proficient and inventive when we evolved as anatomically modern humans, or did our brain continue evolving and did we undergo a later revolution of thought, as some palaeoanthropologists argue? How is use of genetics changing our understanding of palaeoanthropology? Anything you ever wanted to ask about human evolution and stone age humans, it’s here. Of course, over time no doubt this book will itself become out of date, but I’m impressed with just how up to date it is, including discussions of the recently discovered Denisovans, Homo floresiensis, and the revelations in recent years that our species did indeed interbreed with both Neanderthals and Denisovans. I suppose my one criticism is that although I found the writing style easy and flowing, it was not deeply engrossing for me, and I would have enjoyed more photos to illustrate the points being made in the text.
8 out of 10
kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
5.0
“It has often and confidently been asserted that man’s origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.” ~Charles Darwin
2011 - A paleoanthropological “state of the union” address, encompassing some 7 million years of hominid evolution, but with considerable emphasis on the last 400,000 yrs (give or take a few millennia here and there).
Unfortunately for Darwin, the first major unearthing of an archaic human fossil (in this case, Homo erectus) didn’t occur until 1891, nine years after Darwin’s death. The discovery most certainly would have delighted him, but it could hardly have come as any big surprise. In the last 130+ years anthropologists, paleontologists, and sundry other enthusiasts have amassed a literal mountain of evidence supporting Darwin’s insightful hypothesis.
Dr. Chris Stringer gives a detailed overview of some of history’s most striking anthropological discoveries, starting with Eugène Dubois and his Pithecanthropus erectus, and aptly orders those discoveries into a semblance of logical progression and flow. Stringer’s presentation is, for the most part, methodical and academic, and I would be hesitant to recommend Lone Survivors to anyone with only a passing interest in human evolution. But, if your heroes and heroines have names like Leakey and Goodall and Wallace, and if your heartbeat quickens at the utterance of words like heidelbergensis and mitochondrial, then this is definitely your book.
*I would be remiss if I failed to note Stringer’s inclusion of my favorite WSU professor in his take on the prominence and utility of Neanderthal brow ridges:
“The eccentric anthropologist Grover Krantz even strapped on a replica brow ridge from a Homo erectus skull for six months to investigate its possible benefits, finding that it shaded his eyes from the sun, kept his long hair from his eyes when he was running, and also scared people out of their wits on dark nights.”
2011 - A paleoanthropological “state of the union” address, encompassing some 7 million years of hominid evolution, but with considerable emphasis on the last 400,000 yrs (give or take a few millennia here and there).
Unfortunately for Darwin, the first major unearthing of an archaic human fossil (in this case, Homo erectus) didn’t occur until 1891, nine years after Darwin’s death. The discovery most certainly would have delighted him, but it could hardly have come as any big surprise. In the last 130+ years anthropologists, paleontologists, and sundry other enthusiasts have amassed a literal mountain of evidence supporting Darwin’s insightful hypothesis.
Dr. Chris Stringer gives a detailed overview of some of history’s most striking anthropological discoveries, starting with Eugène Dubois and his Pithecanthropus erectus, and aptly orders those discoveries into a semblance of logical progression and flow. Stringer’s presentation is, for the most part, methodical and academic, and I would be hesitant to recommend Lone Survivors to anyone with only a passing interest in human evolution. But, if your heroes and heroines have names like Leakey and Goodall and Wallace, and if your heartbeat quickens at the utterance of words like heidelbergensis and mitochondrial, then this is definitely your book.
*I would be remiss if I failed to note Stringer’s inclusion of my favorite WSU professor in his take on the prominence and utility of Neanderthal brow ridges:
“The eccentric anthropologist Grover Krantz even strapped on a replica brow ridge from a Homo erectus skull for six months to investigate its possible benefits, finding that it shaded his eyes from the sun, kept his long hair from his eyes when he was running, and also scared people out of their wits on dark nights.”
melledotca's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't end up finishing this one. I paused it to read some stuff that had to get back to the library sooner, and just couldn't get back into it. The subject matter is interesting, but it's a bit dry and overly detailed a lot of the time.
rhyslindmark's review against another edition
2.0
Tough for a non-paleoanthropologist to get into.
Not well structured. Too much on specific sites.
Good if you want an overview of sites. I was looking for something more holistic and pop science-y.
(Chris has obviously done incredible work. Just not the book for me.)
Not well structured. Too much on specific sites.
Good if you want an overview of sites. I was looking for something more holistic and pop science-y.
(Chris has obviously done incredible work. Just not the book for me.)
runkefer's review against another edition
3.0
Rehashed a lot of what I've already read elsewhere, but still interesting. I love this stuff. Probably just skip to the last chapter, as that's the most interesting stuff. About how humans are still evolving. And about the evolutionary advantage of imitation.
rebus's review against another edition
4.75
The most compelling theory I've ever read on the topic--and I am a biologist--though I will not declare it a masterpiece because there is always new evidence and we must allow for evolving viewpoints.
alexctelander's review against another edition
4.0
One might say that Chris Stringer has had the ideal career that he dreamed of achieving when, at the age of eighteen, he switched his major from medicine to anthropology and was accepted in the PhD program at Bristol University to study Neanderthals. Shortly after graduating he received a job offer at the Paleontology Department at the Natural History Museum in London, where he is still a researcher, and is now one of the world’s foremost paleoanthropologists.
Lone Survivors is the ideal book for any would-be fan of anthropology, wanting to get the latest news and discoveries on our ancient ancestors, as well as the perfect text for one either taking an anthropology course or perhaps contemplating switching majors, much as Stringer did. The book is an easy read in that Stringer’s voice is conversational and pleasant, he breaks everything down to its base parts, and shows complex matters in a clear light. He has introductory chapters dedicated to the various methods of archaeology used in studying fossils, as well as dating them. Stringer also skillfully provides constant hints of matters he will be later discussing to entice and keep the reader hooked. By the end of the book the reader will feel well educated and well versed on our ancestors, as well as up to date on the latest findings in the world of anthropology.
Originally written on February 3, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews and exclusive interviews, go to BookBanter.
Lone Survivors is the ideal book for any would-be fan of anthropology, wanting to get the latest news and discoveries on our ancient ancestors, as well as the perfect text for one either taking an anthropology course or perhaps contemplating switching majors, much as Stringer did. The book is an easy read in that Stringer’s voice is conversational and pleasant, he breaks everything down to its base parts, and shows complex matters in a clear light. He has introductory chapters dedicated to the various methods of archaeology used in studying fossils, as well as dating them. Stringer also skillfully provides constant hints of matters he will be later discussing to entice and keep the reader hooked. By the end of the book the reader will feel well educated and well versed on our ancestors, as well as up to date on the latest findings in the world of anthropology.
Originally written on February 3, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews and exclusive interviews, go to BookBanter.