Masters of the Planet, Ian Tattersall
Masters of the Planet, Ian Tattersall
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Masters of the Planet
The Search for Our Human Origins

Author: Ian Tattersall

Narrator: Bob Souer

Unabridged: 8 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/12/2019

Synopsis

Fifty thousand years ago—merely a blip in evolutionary time—our Homo sapiens ancestors were competing for existence with several other human species, just as their precursors had done for millions of years. Yet something about our species distinguished it from the pack, and ultimately led to its survival while the rest became extinct. Just what was it that allowed Homo sapiens to become masters of the planet? Ian Tattersall, curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, takes us deep into the fossil record to uncover what made humans so special. Surveying a vast field from initial bipedality to language and intelligence, Tattersall argues that Homo sapiens acquired a winning combination of traits that was not the result of long–term evolutionary refinement. Instead, the final result emerged quickly, shocking our world and changing it forever.

About Ian Tattersall

Ian Tattersall is Curator Emeritus in the Division of Anthropology of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The author of many books, including the widely praised Masters of the Planet, he is often interviewed about human evolution in the media and speaks around the world. He is the winner of numerous awards, and lives in Greenwich Village.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Steve

Just before reading this I read Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth by Chris Stringer. I wish I had read this book first because it covers the whole span of human evolution from before the split with chimpanzees 6-7 million years ago, whereas Stringer's book focuses on the dev......more

Goodreads review by Christopher

I read this book because I'd been told it was a good introduction to the study of human ancestors attested in the archaeological record. The cover of the book claims that it is "the authoritative account of how homo sapiens edged out its cousins to become the world's only human species". The latter......more

Goodreads review by Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.)

Ian Tattersall's new book, Masters of the Planet, is an eloquently and well-written story of our human origins. While much of the material included in this book was familiar to me, I have to say that Dr. Tattersall's organization and presentation makes this book the perfect gift for someone looking......more

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