Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins (Hardcover)

~ Dr. Donald Johanson (Author), Kate Wong (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Johanson (Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind), the paleoanthropologist who in 1974 discovered the famed 3.2-million-year-old hominid named Lucy, and Scientific American editor Wong delve deeply into the significance of Lucy, her probable ancestors and her probable successors, including modern humans. The authors capture the curiosity, passion and excitement that Johanson and his colleagues bring to their research, as well as the mundane, backbreaking aspects of fieldwork. Wong and Johanson are also expert at framing the science that informs judgments about what defines a hominid species, such as brain size, the ability to walk upright and facial structure. They probe the equally important question of what drove human evolution, examining three major approaches: a social model, a dietary model and an environmental model. Johanson is adept at framing the debates within his famously contentious discipline, ranging from fundamental questions about the fossil record to theories of early human migration, the fate of the Neanderthals and the controversy over the highly publicized recent discovery of fossil "hobbits" on the Indonesian archipelago. The writing is accessible, especially considering the challenging nature of the science that shapes our understanding of human evolution. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Johanson’s fourth book trading on the Beatles-derived name he gave the famous fossil he found in 1974 well complements the second edition of From Lucy to Language (2006), in particular. That book was 50 percent different from its 10-years-older original state because of the further revolutionary changes wrought in hominid paleontology by several very recent discoveries that Johanson devotes most of the latter two-thirds of this book to explaining. The first third recounts his return to Ethiopia’s Hadar region in 1980 after a hiatus necessitated by political turmoil in the East African nation. Very engaging, thanks perhaps to popular scientific journalist Wong, it communicates the poignancy of Johanson’s occasionally nerve-racking return to the birthplace of his career with something of the verve and suspense of an Indiana Jones movie. Hooked by that adventurous beginning, and introduced to many of the figures whose work preoccupies what follows, many will continue with the book’s real meat, which implicatively but not literally argues that far from there being no missing link between apes and humans, there are several, complicatedly related, with more being found and likely to be found in the foreseeable future. --Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harmony (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307396398
• ISBN-13: 978-0307396396
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #126,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #31 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Evolution
  #42 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Paleontology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suprised at my misconceptions!, June 8, 2009

By	Ian J. Mccarty (Portland, ME USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, compelling, highly readable!!, March 8, 2009

By	RLS (Newton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take a Trip Back to the Dawn of Humanity, April 18, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Donald C. Johanson, author of //Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind//, and winner of the American Book Award, was also the founder of the Institute of Human Origins. His first book tells the tale of how in 1974, while walking back to his car along a barren stretch of Ethiopia, he spotted something bone-like in the ground. Lucy, better known as //Australopithecus afarensis//, became a great archaeological find of our times.

In //Lucy's Legacy//, Johanson continues telling Lucy's story, discussing some of the 363 specimens that were discovered over the succeeding decades. Divided into parts; the first part, "Lucy," covers his work since the 1974 discovery. In "Lucy's Ancestors," Johanson takes readers on a journey and discussion of the different hominid lines from the primeval ape up to //Australopithecus afarensis//. In "Lucy's Descendants," he talks about the various hominid lines after Lucy, with Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and most importantly, Homo sapiens. Johanson even reserves a chapter for the important Homo floresiensis, better known as the "hobbit," leaving it up to the reader to decide whether the "hobbit" really was a separate hominid line, or just an individual anomaly.

To help readers along, the inside cover of the book features a clearly laid out Hominid Family Tree, creating an easy to follow map. //Lucy's Legacy// is a fascinating new book with important updates on the ancestry of humanity. This is a book everyone should read as it answers the all important question: Where did we come from?

Reviewed by Alex C. Telander