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mar's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.5
very exhaustive book on a very interesting topic but so so so dry đ
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Death
Minor: Racism and Pregnancy
fairly detailed descriptions of animal butcheryonetothreedogs's review
4.0
Very interesting, but it is not written "for the ear" as David McCullough likes to say.
murphyc1's review
4.0
23 in '23 #1
Dense and exhaustive, this book is like a fat Thanksgiving turkey that baked slightly too long: appealing, filling, but just too dry. Case it point, it took me more than a year to get through this one, and I've been slightly obsessed with Neanderthals since I was a kid. I see myself returning to reread a few chapters again and perhaps again, but the rest I will likely never revisit, such as the chapter on lithic techno-complexes.
Dense and exhaustive, this book is like a fat Thanksgiving turkey that baked slightly too long: appealing, filling, but just too dry. Case it point, it took me more than a year to get through this one, and I've been slightly obsessed with Neanderthals since I was a kid. I see myself returning to reread a few chapters again and perhaps again, but the rest I will likely never revisit, such as the chapter on lithic techno-complexes.
hecman111's review
4.0
Kindredâthereâs not other way to describe itââhumanizesâ Neanderthals in a way that many wouldnât think possible. The book portrays Neanderthals as complex, caring, intelligent, and social beings, taking the reader through the minutia of scientific research and paleontology in a surprisingly accessible way. Yes, it does get bogged down in the details, but the purpose is clear: itâs time to move away from popular portrayals that severely limit our ability to see Neanderthals as, well, a part of us.
After about the 300 page mark (maybe sooner), I did start to feel a tad weighed down by said details. However, Wragg Sykes puts together an amazing summation, respectfully analogizing our historic approach to understanding Neanderthals to the mistreatment and degradation of Indigenous peoples over time. Itâs a masterful close that begs us to be more mindful of our past, and our future.
After about the 300 page mark (maybe sooner), I did start to feel a tad weighed down by said details. However, Wragg Sykes puts together an amazing summation, respectfully analogizing our historic approach to understanding Neanderthals to the mistreatment and degradation of Indigenous peoples over time. Itâs a masterful close that begs us to be more mindful of our past, and our future.
colorfulleo92's review
5.0
I found this to be an intensely interesting non fiction about neanderthals. Every page had some new, fascinating and exciting fact about them, their life and the ever going process to learn more about them. But I had to take a few breaks as it was a lot of information to process.