The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE

This book narrates the story of human biological and cultural evolution, from the earliest beginnings of our zoological family Hominidae, through the emergence of Homo sapiens, to the Agricultural Revolution. It concludes with a brief overview of the subsequent diversification of cultural and technological traditions in all the areas our species inhabit.

Ian Tattersall is curator at the Anthropology Department of the American Museum of Natural History and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University & CUNY Graduate School

The book is clearly written and does provide a handy, and accessible introduction to what can be a rather complicated story. The Glasgow Naturalist Ultimately how good is this book? Pleasingly, the answer is that it is very good. It takes a complex subject and produces a gripping read while covering the major themes of human evolution with a refreshing confidence. Simon Underdown, Times Higher Education Supplement