Customer Reviews

Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The author, Don Johanson, is the founder of "Lucy",the 4.2 million year old hominid that revolutionized the study of human evolution. This book tells again the story of his find, and of his extensive research and findings since that time. He also covers the ground of other discoveries in the field. And the pace of discovery in this field in the last 35 years is truly astonishing.
But his writing can be kind of stiff. If you want a sense of where the field of human evolution is today, much of the same ground is more vividly and completely told in "The First Human" by Ann Gibbon, which I recommend highly . If you are looking specifically for the story of "Lucy" and Johanson's work since, then "Lucy's Legacy" is for you.

Once again, Dr. Johanson has written a book for those of us with a passion for human evolution, but not a PhD in it! Lucy's Legacy is an exciting, suspenseful, action-packed adventure that goes behind the scenes... here for the first time we learn what really happens before - and after - an important discovery is made. Some of it isn't pretty! Also includes up-to-date information about all the latest finds, amazing photographs, and a ton of delicious personal anecdotes.

This book was a pleasant surprise. I enjoy reading about the sciences yet I had neglected a topic that has everything to do about me and us, from which all things human flow. This book is both a memoir and an informative update, but more, a reality check as this subject has been so badly misconstrued while rightly turned on its head by amazing new discoveries. Johanson's adventures are a good read and keep things exciting, but this book is not just about Lucy; each chapter serves as a great overview of important topics in human evolution. I was surprised at just how riveted I became, both humbled and elevated with my place on Earth.

This is an odd admixture of memoir, travelogue, and a general survey of the state of the field. It is an uncomplicated read but I was a bit put off by the needless repetition of points and anecdotes. It seems almost as if the co-authors never compared notes or the editor was asleep on the job.

I tend to think of this book as a sort of "color commentary" on the current state of Human Origins fieldwork.

I have enjoyed reading the book, written by the discoverer of Lucy.

The first part goes into lots of detail of his expeditions, to the extent of what he had for dinner some nights. Although in a way it seems like too much detail, I have to admit that I have a better feel for what it must be like to go on a dig.

The second half discusses current theories and controversies about our ancestors, cousins and "uncles/aunts" (extinct branches of the Homo and Australopithecus trees). The book is quite new and even has a lot of detail about the recent discoveries of "Flores" man -- the so-called "Hobbit". You learn that there is a lot of disagreements about almost everything in paleoanthropology.

I had two dissatisfactions with the Kindle version of the book. There were lots of typos -- words misspelled or run together. I don't know if the printed book had the same errors or not, but it was distracting and at times hard to understand.

And it was difficult to see the many pictures collected near the middle of the book. The contrast was OK, considering there are only 16 levels of gray on the Kindle, but they often split in half on a page break, and sometimes ran off the side of the page. Captions weren't always where they were supposed to be either. Whoever created this eBook should have taken more time and made sure the pictures displayed correctly.

"Lucy's Legacy, the Quest for Human Origins," is a book that everyone can (and should) read. Donald Johanson's newest work is a delightful combination of adventure and science.

The first part of the book takes the reader on a journey to Africa, especially Ethiopia, to witness some of the greatest discoveries ever made. It is at once a travelogue and an exposition that inspires one to want to be there with Johanson. The detail makes you feel present in the Afar triangle as it takes place, and the style forces you to keep turning pages for more.

Johanson and his co-author, Kate Wong, then tackle the difficult task of putting hominid fossils, and our current knowledge of them, in a context that allows a non-scientist, such as myself, to appreciate the present views of many scientists on topics old (did we blend sexually with Neanderthals) to new (what can we make of the homo floresiensis "hobbit").

For anyone who has done some lay reading in the field, the account of paleoanthropological theory in "Lucy's Legacy" is fascinating and remarkably balanced. The book recounts all sides of issues (when there are sides) in a measured and thoughtful way. That is a rare find.

Johanson takes lumps from some other scientists for publishing material that popularizes what he does. That it lifts the spirits of informed non-scientists, and inspires the younger set to new dreams, is viewed as of no importance. Moreover, some will claim that the title was "stolen" from Alison Jolly's insightful earlier work entitled "Lucy's Legacy, Sex and Intelligence in Human Evolution." But, anyone who actually reads them both will see that they are complementary parts of an intellectual search.

This is a terrific book.

This book came quickly and It is a pleasure to be able to read it. It continues the writings about how science thinks we began. This is a very interesting read. It makes you think it may be real. Thank you

I thought this was a good read. It gives you a picture of the behind the scenes work it takes to recover and analyze fossils. It also touches on the controversies each new find brings, like the different species of humans, their ancestors, and where they fit in on the evolutionary tree.

"Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins" by Donald Johanson and Kate Wong serves as a non-technical introduction to the advances in modern paleoanthrolopogy told through the perspective of Dr. Johanson's career at the Institute of Human Origins (IHO). The text is broken into three sections which describe the discovery of the Lucy skeleton, the contemporary and ancestral hominid species to Lucy, and the evolution of hominid species since Lucy. Each section serves only as an overview of the topic, and more detailed, scientific discussions of each are available elsewhere.

The strength of the book is in its moderate use of technical terms and attention to telling as complete of a story as possible in this rapidly changing field. After reading the book, one has a basic understanding of paleoanthropology from initial field research through the laboratory to the conference podium. Likewise, the discussion on hominid evolution goes to lengths to introduce a multitude of theories for the reader to consider (although the author is quick to point out which theories he disagrees with and why).

Unfortunately, the book suffers from several areas of vague writing. The first section of the text, an autobiographical account of the discovery of Lucy, wanders throughout the author's career with little structured direction. While it sets up the further sections of the book, it could do so in either shorter length or with more structured detail. Throughout the text, the author references field research methods and terminology with little explanation of what the practices are or why they are important. While this does not detract from the overall message of the book (explanations could conceivably be found by reading other texts), a chapter or section explaining basic field and laboratory research methods in greater detail would be of use. Similarly, there are several references to specific locations in Africa that are not put in geographical context and do not show up on the provided map. More context and an additional map of only Ethiopia would be desired.

All in all, the book is a good read, especially to wet the appetite on the subject. Some refinement in the first section would be welcome, as would be a more detailed discussion on paleoanthropological field methodology. Hence an average rating of 3/5 stars.

Lucy's Legacy was written by the paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson who was involved in the discovery of the Lucy female skeleton. Kate Wong is listed as a co-author. Lucy is of the Australopithecus afarensis species. This species is dated to about 3.2 million years ago.

Johanson provides an in depth narrative of the events that led up to the discovery of this specimen, and I found this narrative to be quite interesting. The first eight chapters are devoted to this story, but it is more than this. In these chapters, you will learn what it is like first hand to be a paleoanthropologist working in the field. It certainly does not seem to be a bed of roses. There is a lot of hard work, searing temperatures endured in tropical African areas, and many dangers encountered from rival ethnic clans engaged in constant fighting for whatever reasons they fight. While reading this account, you will also learn a bit about the lingo used in the field.

The next section covers the dawn of humankind and some of the other early hominids prevalent in this same period such as, A. anamensis, the Robust australopithecines, Kenyanthropus platyops, and Australopithecus garhi. The front and back inside covers of the book display a nice chronological chart of all the hominid species and their relations. I found myself referring time and again to this chart as I read the book - a nice touch.

The final section of the book discusses the homo genus including Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, and Homo ergaster. We learn about the population at Dmanisi (an area populated by hominids that left Africa), the hobbits of Flores (H. floresiensis) and the mysteries surrounding them, and, of course, no discussion of the subject is complete without talking about the Neandertals (H. neanderthalensis).

I found the final chapter very interesting. It was about the rise of Homo sapiens. Johanson discussed the "big band" that occurred about 40,000 years ago when we see a sudden rise in sophisticated weapons, art, and music - a general intellectual burst of sorts. Johanson tries to make the point that some believe this may have more of a cultural revolution than a big bang. He provides many examples of advanced tool making and the use of substances such as red ocher used in body painting as evidence that humans displayed advanced skills prior to this. I think more study is needed in this area.

Overall I found this book a good read. It gives an interesting insight into what Paleoanthropology is all about and the state of our knowledge base on the subject.