Douglas Palmer

Seven Million Years

Seven Million Years by Douglas Palmer is packed full of information about the evolution of humans. As well as describing the many of the discoveries of fossil humans, Palmer explains the techniques used to make sense of these fossils, such as radioactive dating. He also looks at our similarity with other primates, especially chimpanzees, and sees what this can tell us about our origins. Later in the book Palmer examines how we came to use tools, and looks at the development of human language and society, as well as showing what genetic tests on present day humans can tell us about how we spread around the planet.

One thing I felt about this book was that it wasn't particularly good at inspiring enthusiasm for the subject in its readers. In books where the author is trying to persuade you of a particular point of view there is more of a tendency to 'get into' the arguments. This book isn't like that, its more of a straightforward overview of the facts. Palmer does manage to convey the information in a readable form though. Hence it would suit someone who already has an interest in the subject and would like to know more, without going into the technicalities.

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Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0753820846
Salesrank: 765238
Weight:0.62 lbs

Published: 2007 Phoenix Press

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0753820846
Salesrank: 363587
Weight:0.62 lbs

Published: 2006 Phoenix

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Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0753820846
Salesrank: 411737
Weight:0.62 lbs

Published: 2006 McArthur & Company / Not Applicable

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Product Description
How did humans evolve? Why did Homo sapiens survive when others did not? Do Neanderthals deserve their reputation as hairy, unintelligent ape-men? Douglas Palmer, an acclaimed science writer and lecturer, examines one aspect of evolution that has been particularly difficult for some to accept: humanity’s common ancestry with chimpanzees and other apes. Written for the general reader, and including the most up-to-date genetic research, this fascinating study explores the archeological finds and biological research that lead to the discovery of our own species. Palmer’s look at our link to a family tree of over 20 close relatives—many now extinct—provides intriguing insights and will change our perception of what it means to be human.

Product Description

How did humans evolve? Why did Homo sapiens survive when others did not? Do Neanderthals deserve their reputation as hairy, unintelligent ape-men? Douglas Palmer, an acclaimed science writer and lecturer, examines one aspect of evolution that has been particularly difficult for some to accept: humanity’s common ancestry with chimpanzees and other apes. Written for the general reader, and including the most up-to-date genetic research, this fascinating study explores the archeological finds and biological research that lead to the discovery of our own species. Palmer’s look at our link to a family tree of over 20 close relatives—many now extinct—provides intriguing insights and will change our perception of what it means to be human.

Dry science **
Well the blurb on my edition says "A pleasure to read" but I wouldn't go that far. The problem with science writers like this is that sometimes they can take what you would have thought was a very interesting subject and spoil it all with quite boring and repetitive prose. I guess popular science writing really is an art and when you stumble across someone with a bit of style like Malcolm Gladwell then you're really quite lucky. Having said that the book isn't all bad and it's not always a complete struggle to get through. There are interesting sections most notably the beginning and the very end of the book. The problem is the middle where Palmer describes the history of the archaeological discoveries over the past few hundred years that have lead to our current state of knowledge; this is a considerably large part of the book. Here Palmer really should have done more to bring the story to life. The scientists involved obviously had strong personalities and there were some big controversies involved but this never ever feels very compelling. Two other problems with the book are the illustrations and the diagrams. Firstly there are lots of pictures of the various bones and skulls of ape and hominids as it is obviously important to recognise the different features of each species. Unfortunately the pictures are in the form of drawings and to my eye many look quite similar. This is an important flaw as often the author wishes to draw attention to specific and subtle differences. I am sure that photographs would have been much better. Secondly the diagrams often don't seem to show anything or don't make much sense. Overall the book leaves one with the impression that this field of science is one where it is extremely difficult to prove anything and say anything for sure. Scientists have and will continue to argue with each other over our origins. I think this is a fascinating subject and perhaps now I should try to find another author's take on it.

Dry science **

Well the blurb on my edition says "A pleasure to read" but I wouldn't go that far. The problem with science writers like this is that sometimes they can take what you would have thought was a very interesting subject and spoil it all with quite boring and repetitive prose. I guess popular science writing really is an art and when you stumble across someone with a bit of style like Malcolm Gladwell then you're really quite lucky.

Having said that the book isn't all bad and it's not always a complete struggle to get through. There are interesting sections most notably the beginning and the very end of the book. The problem is the middle where Palmer describes the history of the archaeological discoveries over the past few hundred years that have lead to our current state of knowledge; this is a considerably large part of the book. Here Palmer really should have done more to bring the story to life. The scientists involved obviously had strong personalities and there were some big controversies involved but this never ever feels very compelling.

Two other problems with the book are the illustrations and the diagrams. Firstly there are lots of pictures of the various bones and skulls of ape and hominids as it is obviously important to recognise the different features of each species. Unfortunately the pictures are in the form of drawings and to my eye many look quite similar. This is an important flaw as often the author wishes to draw attention to specific and subtle differences. I am sure that photographs would have been much better. Secondly the diagrams often don't seem to show anything or don't make much sense.

Overall the book leaves one with the impression that this field of science is one where it is extremely difficult to prove anything and say anything for sure. Scientists have and will continue to argue with each other over our origins. I think this is a fascinating subject and perhaps now I should try to find another author's take on it.

An Acquired Taste ***
`Seven million years' attempts to tackle the complicated history of human evolution in just over 256 pages - an ambitious quest since human anthropology has been ongoing for nearly 400 years. It does a good job at this, and is very well written and edited, giving a concise history of the subject without either waffling or missing out important finds. Having said this it requires deep concentration and is not a `light' book. When I chose to read it I was hoping that it would constitute a chronological history of the Homo genus from its most distant ancestor to modern humans, with details of the habits and lifestyles of the species, how they went extinct and what contribution they made to the homo lineage. In fact it takes a different angle - focusing more on the story of human anthropology itself. The book sticks strictly to describing the history of the discipline, the biology of the finds and their significance in tracing the evolution of our ancestors. The book is presented in a similar way to a novel - in physical dimensions, paper type and in content layout. Split into ten chapters each with several subchapters it is exclusively text with no photographs, which is a little disappointing. Having said this there are some diagrams and skull illustrations here and there. `Seven million years' is a tough book to read cover to cover and to be really enjoyed you need a real passion for the subject, and some degree of knowledge to understand the concepts without difficulty. It makes little attempt to `spoon-feed' amateurs like myself, and therefore took me about as long to read as the topic it features! In short an interesting and very well written book, but very hard work.

An Acquired Taste ***

`Seven million years' attempts to tackle the complicated history of human evolution in just over 256 pages - an ambitious quest since human anthropology has been ongoing for nearly 400 years. It does a good job at this, and is very well written and edited, giving a concise history of the subject without either waffling or missing out important finds. Having said this it requires deep concentration and is not a `light' book.

When I chose to read it I was hoping that it would constitute a chronological history of the Homo genus from its most distant ancestor to modern humans, with details of the habits and lifestyles of the species, how they went extinct and what contribution they made to the homo lineage. In fact it takes a different angle - focusing more on the story of human anthropology itself. The book sticks strictly to describing the history of the discipline, the biology of the finds and their significance in tracing the evolution of our ancestors.

The book is presented in a similar way to a novel - in physical dimensions, paper type and in content layout. Split into ten chapters each with several subchapters it is exclusively text with no photographs, which is a little disappointing. Having said this there are some diagrams and skull illustrations here and there.

`Seven million years' is a tough book to read cover to cover and to be really enjoyed you need a real passion for the subject, and some degree of knowledge to understand the concepts without difficulty. It makes little attempt to `spoon-feed' amateurs like myself, and therefore took me about as long to read as the topic it features! In short an interesting and very well written book, but very hard work.

A Detailed but Incomplete Study ****
Palmer gives a detailed if necessarily sketchy description of the history of human archeology and describes most of the theories of human evolution adequately. Unfortuantely, he omits any discussion of disease as the bottleneck in human evolution. He therefore cannot make sense of the spread of neanderthals and cro magnons and possible other early humans across Euope and Asia before the bottleneck. It was the near extinction of humans in Africa, followed by the survivors carrying of a disease, probably the common cold, out of Africa (a disease that was fatal to virtually all but the survivors), that created the genetically homogenious population of present humans.

A Detailed but Incomplete Study ****

Palmer gives a detailed if necessarily sketchy description of the history of human archeology and describes most of the theories of human evolution adequately. Unfortuantely, he omits any discussion of disease as the bottleneck in human evolution. He therefore cannot make sense of the spread of neanderthals and cro magnons and possible other early humans across Euope and Asia before the bottleneck. It was the near extinction of humans in Africa, followed by the survivors carrying of a disease, probably the common cold, out of Africa (a disease that was fatal to virtually all but the survivors), that created the genetically homogenious population of present humans.

Seven Million Years in 250 pages: not at all a bad job! ****
Douglas Palmer does a good job of marshalling the vast army of theories surrounding our evolutionary origins and of explaining the scientific and palaeoanthropological discoveries supporting them in this sweeping history of human evolution. I was intrigued by Palmer's sketching the human characteristics of some of the more famous anthropologists. Inevitably one's own character colours how one goes about one's work and his description of Louis Leakey has one wondering at times whether the man was a genius or an idiot! In another chapter, Donald Johanson's introduction as "extremely ambitious" sets one wondering what kind of hatchet job may be in store for the young American. In fact, Johanson escapes with his reputation more or less intact, although the descriptions of the ill-feeling between the French and American archaeologists on the digs that eventually led to the excavation of Lucy are revealing - and, like all of us, Johanson can be made to sound ridiculous when his early claims about what his team had found are examined in the light of thirty-three years' hindsight. Telling the story of seven million years of human evolution in a little over 250 pages inevitably leaves gaps. There was almost no discussion of the exciting events surrounding the discovery of Peking Man, little depth to the analysis of cave painting, and no mention at all of the work of David Lewis Williams in this field. Likewise, the discoveries of Homo floresiensis and the recently extended timeline for both Homeo erectus and the Neanderthals must have surfaced during Palmer's writing of the book. Homo floresiensis is discussed, but Palmer must have wished he had another year or so to delay publication and consider this important find in a deeper research context. I most enjoyed the discussion boxes that deal with side issues pertinent to the text. These, for once in a book of this kind, have been thoughtfully placed at natural pauses in the text so that one doesn't get sidetracked reading them and then have to pick up what can be at times a complicated narrative. The discussions themselves are perfectly weighted; assuming that the reader can follow scientific discourse but not necessarily complex analysis involving esoteric terms. Where so many publishers seek to dumb down, I thank Palmer for that. I also appreciated the humour and warmth he brings to a subject that is often presented to the lay reader with neither. As an overview of our evolution and as a history of our attempts to understand it, this will do very well indeed. Like the subject he is discussing, this book will evolve, and I look forward to reading Palmer's update one day.

Seven Million Years in 250 pages: not at all a bad job! ****

Douglas Palmer does a good job of marshalling the vast army of theories surrounding our evolutionary origins and of explaining the scientific and palaeoanthropological discoveries supporting them in this sweeping history of human evolution.

I was intrigued by Palmer's sketching the human characteristics of some of the more famous anthropologists. Inevitably one's own character colours how one goes about one's work and his description of Louis Leakey has one wondering at times whether the man was a genius or an idiot! In another chapter, Donald Johanson's introduction as "extremely ambitious" sets one wondering what kind of hatchet job may be in store for the young American. In fact, Johanson escapes with his reputation more or less intact, although the descriptions of the ill-feeling between the French and American archaeologists on the digs that eventually led to the excavation of Lucy are revealing - and, like all of us, Johanson can be made to sound ridiculous when his early claims about what his team had found are examined in the light of thirty-three years' hindsight.

Telling the story of seven million years of human evolution in a little over 250 pages inevitably leaves gaps. There was almost no discussion of the exciting events surrounding the discovery of Peking Man, little depth to the analysis of cave painting, and no mention at all of the work of David Lewis Williams in this field. Likewise, the discoveries of Homo floresiensis and the recently extended timeline for both Homeo erectus and the Neanderthals must have surfaced during Palmer's writing of the book. Homo floresiensis is discussed, but Palmer must have wished he had another year or so to delay publication and consider this important find in a deeper research context.

I most enjoyed the discussion boxes that deal with side issues pertinent to the text. These, for once in a book of this kind, have been thoughtfully placed at natural pauses in the text so that one doesn't get sidetracked reading them and then have to pick up what can be at times a complicated narrative. The discussions themselves are perfectly weighted; assuming that the reader can follow scientific discourse but not necessarily complex analysis involving esoteric terms. Where so many publishers seek to dumb down, I thank Palmer for that. I also appreciated the humour and warmth he brings to a subject that is often presented to the lay reader with neither.

As an overview of our evolution and as a history of our attempts to understand it, this will do very well indeed. Like the subject he is discussing, this book will evolve, and I look forward to reading Palmer's update one day.

good ***
I was looking for something a little easier to read. The author is very comprehensive and goes into a lot of detail on the different topics. I enjoyed very much the history of the search for our past and I think with a few more better placed diagrams the book may have been more readable. If you are looking for a thorough account of the history of human evolution then this is the book for you. If however you are like me and just want a more story like account then look elsewhere.

good ***

I was looking for something a little easier to read. The author is very comprehensive and goes into a lot of detail on the different topics. I enjoyed very much the history of the search for our past and I think with a few more better placed diagrams the book may have been more readable. If you are looking for a thorough account of the history of human evolution then this is the book for you. If however you are like me and just want a more story like account then look elsewhere.