The World from Beginnings to 4000 BCE (New Oxford World History)

An enjoyable (but short) read - covers "the World" (from a hominid/human perspective) through to the development of civilisation/cities around 4000 BCE. Starts with a synopsis of the history of theories on evolution - and provides a big breakthrough in understanding for the layman in presenting the non-linear approach to evolution. Makes sense, moving through the emergence and co-existence of various hominids. Also explains in clear terms how homo sapiens came to populate the earth and how so-called racial variations came to emerge. Well illustrated with photos, maps and drawings. The only disappointment is that the book is quite short - the text in the Kindle version is complete at around 70% through, with the remaining 30% comprising sources, references to websites and an index. That quibble aside, this book has brought great clarity to a subject that was previously buried in mystery.

I bought this book because I wanted something to bridge the gap I'm finding in books for a general but educated audience that cover the period in Human history between the Ice Age and the Bronze Age. The last chapter doesn't quite live up to the title, not quite making it to 4000 BCE. He gives only a very cursory treatment of the discovery of agriculture and the domestication of animals, far short of a fully fleshed-out account of the human experience just before the dawn of civilization. I don't feel I know much more than I did before I read the book.However, the book is very well-written and entertaining without being glib or dumbed-down. I highly recommend it.

Ian Tattersall is the ultimate story teller. His work answers so many questions I have in evolution of humans. Why did it take so long for humans to become civilized. 200,000 Years of developing our minds and what do we have to show for it; dominion over the planet but still not civilized? Our minds are like nothing that has come before, yet our tenure on earth may come to an end. But this book is not about end times. It is a celebration on the human mind. An awakening of thought and culture that will never come again. This may be a novel take on this book but I have read three other books of this author. They were very good stories as well but this book brings all of human evolution together with out using many technical expressions to describe what we all want to know. A remarkable book.

Generally the monographs in this series are well rounded books on topic. With this one, I thought there may have been more details on the developing Neolithic societies around the world. There was , however, good coverage of the 'out of Africa' development of early man.

Ordered this for research in my PaleoAnthropology course. Ian Tattersall writes with a flair for explaining reasoning and giving one a vivid glimpse of our planets epoch's and how WE came to be who we are now. The process of it all is fascinating. Awesome book!

This is a scientific work, and so the lay reader may find the conditional nature of the author's conclusions unsatisfactory. The history of genus Homo is ambiguous, fragmentary and dependent on very little evidence, haphazardly obtained at random locations. Nevertheless, some things are known; others can be reasonably inferred. Dr. Tattersall carefully lays out the existing evidence, describes its implications & provides excellent synopses of the contending schools of thought regarding humanity's evolutionary heritage. Despite the relatively recent publication of this book, some of Dr. Tatersall's conclusions have been called into question by more recent findings. This is particularly apparent in his discussion of Neanderthal contributions to Homo Sapiens genetic structure. This reflects the enormously exciting pace of discovery in the field rather than any shortcomings by the author. Highly recommended for the casual student of Evolutionary Anthropology.

Ian Tattersall continues his exploration of human origins and the emergence of homo sapiens in this introductory history series by the Oxford University Press. I have read many of Dr. Tattersall's books and this small volume ranks right there up with his best.An excellent overview of prehistory by an expert in the field who also happens to write very, very well.

I am not sure why, but I expected this to be a scholarly work with in-depth survey of what is known about the history of homo sapiens from emergence to civilization. That isn't what this is. It is basically a very long Wikipedia article about human evolution. I was disappointed about the content, the graphics, the length...pretty much everything except the bibliography. If you are looking for a very general brief overview this might be of interest.

Ein schön strukturiertes Buch, welches die Menschwerdung über die Jahrmillionen anschaulich und fundiert darstellt. Der Fluss der Geschichte ist sehr angenehm und auch das Sprachniveau sollte für alle ab B2 passen. Sehr zu empfehlen.

Once again this author has produced a scholarly description of human origins for non scientists that keeps you absorbed without being too complex. The variety from chapter to chapter keeps the reader interested, and humerous touches keeps him amused.