Last Ape Standing by Chip Walter
Over the past 180 years scientists have discovered evidence that at least twenty-seven species of humans evolved on planet Earth. What enabled us to survive when all the others were shown the evolutionary door? Chip Walter tells the intriguing tale of how against all odds and despite nature's capricious ways we stand here today, the planet's most dominant species. Drawing on a wide variety of scientific disciplines, he reveals how a rare evolutionary phenomenon led to the uniquely long childhoods that make us so resourceful and emotionally complex. Walter explains how the evolution of our highly social nature has shaped our moral (and immoral) behavior. He also plumbs the roots of our creativity and investigates why we became self-aware in ways that no other animal is. Along the way, Last Ape Standing profiles the mysterious "others" who evolved with us-the Neanderthals of Europe, the "hobbits" of Indonesia, the Denisovans of Siberia, and the recently discovered Red Deer Cave people of China, who died off just as we stood on the brink of civilization eleven thousand years ago. Last Ape Standing is evocative science writing at its best-a witty, engaging and accessible story that explores the evolutionary events that molded us into the remarkably unique creatures we are.
Whether reading as a student or simply someone interested in how we came to be who we are today, Last Ape Standing provides a captivating look at science's evidence of evolutionShelfAwareness A fluid introduction to the development of the human species. Booklist [An] engrossing, up-to-date account of human evolution Kirkus [A] captivating and information field trip through man's paleontological past...an exceptionally well-written overview of man's evolutionary history as well as an accessible guide to the underappreciated field of paleoanthropology. Booklist [An] engaging account...shed[s] a fascinating light on our evolutionary success. New Yorker Chip Walter has made himself indispensable to audiences craving the latest information about our evolutionary past. No one write about early man, evolutionary dead ends or our pre-human rivals better than Chip Walter. If all science books were this witty and well-written, everyone would be a nerd. Pittsburgh Post Gazette Walter takes an antic delight in the triumphal adaptations and terrifying near misses of human evolution...Last Ape Standing makes for a lively journey. New York Times Book Review Thumbs, Toes, and Tears was a Book Sense pick. Fascinating and superbly written. Publishers Weekly on Thumbs, Toes...
Chip Walter is the founder of the popular website AllThingsHuman.net, a former CNN bureau chief, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker. His articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal,Scientific American,Slate,and numerous other publications and websites. He is author of three books, most recentlyThumbs, Toes, and Tears, and his writing has been published in eight languages. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife Cyndy and their four children.Visit his website at www.chipwalter.com.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780802717566 |
| ISBN 10 | 080271756X |
| Title | Last Ape Standing |
| Author | Chip Walter |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing USA |
| Year published | 2013-01-29 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |