This "progress report" on what we now know about the origins of homo sapiens is something that I have been thirsting for. As Tattersall says what we knew in paleoanthropology when I was in college looks "engagingly quaint today". From deep core ice sampling to DNA testing of ancient bones to functional MRI's of the brain, as well as finding new archeological sites, we have learned a lot. I have read about various finds and testing but have not been able to put it all together. This book does.

Tattersall demonstrates why he is a curator at the American Museum of Natural History. He explains clearly what we know for the non-scientist without talking down to us (or at least to me). I truly appreciate the way that he organized the book going from the oldest hominids to the earliest humans--not by the order that we have found traces of them; and that he used a consistent method of dating (in this case how many years ago) throughout the book.