| View Larger Image | The Neandertal Enigma | Paperbackby James Shreeve (Author)
| 9 Used starting at: | $1.31 |
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| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Penguin Books | | Edition: | New Edth Edition | | Page Count: | 384 Pages | | Publication Date: | 1997 | | Sales Rank: | 990,661th |
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 16 reviews)
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Incredible science writing by Justin F. Gaynor  5 Stars
February 24, 2008
Anthropology is a field about which I knew nothing when I picked up this book, but this account got me interested. Shreeve does an admirable job not only of explaining the science, but makes the discovery process, with its conflicting opinions and lack of hard data absolutely riveting. This is journalism of the highest order.
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engrossing, all round exploration of the Neandertals by Vinaya Manmohansingh (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad/Tobago) 5 Stars
March 25, 2007
This book is probably already outdated, but it is still a good read. Everything about the Neandertals, as the book make clear, is the subject of often heated controversy. The author does a good job of giving all sides in the story their say, even if the to-and-fro arguments make it hard to come to come to a conclusion. There's plenty of information here in a not too-hard-to-read book.
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a good primer for the beginner by tempusfugit (san francisco)  4 Stars
June 24, 2005
This is a great book to get you started on more serious writing about paleoanthropology. Shreeve gives consideration to many theories without taking sides. His writing is clear & easy-going. I would have loved more illustrations & maps.
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Not just about Neandertals 5 Stars
May 19, 2004
The best thing about this book is that it is not just about Neandertals or Human origins. It covers enough from peripheries of science and the humanities as well as detailed natural history to make it accessible and interesting to anyone who has the slightest interest in this confusing subject.Though Shreve identifies the complex issues allowing us to doubt everything, the book is far from confusing and there is an enormous amount of travel and biographical notes of the people he has met that Shreve has marshalled in. By all accounts this was an expensive and time consuming book to put together and almost no stone has been left unturned.I think the fascination with this topic is because it asks the big question - What makes us human? Fortunately, though many answers are offered, Shreve takes care not to make any dogmatic assertion and provides a balanced overview of all the ideas, key workers and key debates.As a student, I liked the way he discussed the basics of the biological species concept showing how difficult separating species can be at times, especially if using fossils. He also shows us how lots of ideas can be manufactured only to be holed by later workers or evidence.Most of the book is very fluid. My only criticism is the lack of more illustrations of neandertals - perhaps in colour and a lack of any detail on the classic illustration showing Ramapithecus leading to Cromagnon which has been shown so many times, though this famous picture is discussed.I think this book shows what science is not. It is not about a solution to the problem that you can believe and cling to. Rather, it is a provisional statement of current understanding and if it seems to explain things, all the better (speaking in the context of human origins).So many people and ideas are mentioned that this is true journalism, no holes barred, sharp, comical, witty and above all accessible.I thouroughly recommend it to anyone.
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Every armchair anthropologist should read this book! 5 Stars
April 30, 2004
I read this book many years ago and it is still one of my all-time favorites. It combines an anthropologist's journey to answer questions about neanderthals with the scientific debates over human evolution. It is suspenseful and thought-provoking. Mr. Shreeve is a creative, objective and often witty science writer who will make you want to read more about this fascinating science.Though the mitochondrial DNA evidence was just starting to be accepted when this book was written, it is still an excellent resource. It will also enlighten new anthropology enthusiasts about the separate battlecamps of multi-regional and replacement theorists in the human origins debate.If you are on this page, you should just buy the book already. Then go get The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes!
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