Scan barcode
onetothreedogs's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting, but it is not written "for the ear" as David McCullough likes to say.
murphyc1's review against another edition
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 against another edition
4.0
Kindred—there’s not other way to describe it—“humanizes” Neanderthals in a way that many wouldn’t 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: it’s 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. It’s 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. It’s a masterful close that begs us to be more mindful of our past, and our future.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
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.
willaryreads's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
katyoctober's review against another edition
5.0
The reinvention of the Neanderthal...I loved it! A portrait of sensitive, complex, familial, artistic peoples.
Long, detailed book from which the more entertaining parts could be extracted for a more marketable volume (think: Sapiens)
I loved this book because for me, it’s so evocative. Rebecca Wragg Sykes uses only solid evidence to set out the grieving rituals, the childcare, the artistic endeavours of the Neanderthals, which are remarkably similar to us now. This is the history of my ancestors, the history of royals is not.
Overall I’m delighted to have found such a comprehensive volume which seems to cover every element of our current understanding of Neanderthal life. I have every faith in the rigor of the underlying research and I feel very well informed now!
Long, detailed book from which the more entertaining parts could be extracted for a more marketable volume (think: Sapiens)
I loved this book because for me, it’s so evocative. Rebecca Wragg Sykes uses only solid evidence to set out the grieving rituals, the childcare, the artistic endeavours of the Neanderthals, which are remarkably similar to us now. This is the history of my ancestors, the history of royals is not.
Overall I’m delighted to have found such a comprehensive volume which seems to cover every element of our current understanding of Neanderthal life. I have every faith in the rigor of the underlying research and I feel very well informed now!
pickwickthedodo's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting, if a little dense and repetitive at times. Sykes mostly succeeds in taking you through a very complex and lesser known period of history and explaining it clearly (and without feeling like you're reading a text book). I particularly enjoyed the more personal stories pertaining to art and potentially beloved objects.
I did not love the epilogue, it felt random and out of step with the rest of the book (I know it was meant to be looking to the future (ie climate change, pandemics) but that would have made a lot more sense if 'the future' had been referenced literally at any point in the rest of the book).
I did not love the epilogue, it felt random and out of step with the rest of the book (I know it was meant to be looking to the future (ie climate change, pandemics) but that would have made a lot more sense if 'the future' had been referenced literally at any point in the rest of the book).
alexandrachan's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome, thoroughly up to date and comprehensive presentation of the latest research on closest human relatives, the Neanderthals. I have been a life-long human origins enthusiast, and even taught Human Origins at Vassar College for a few years. It remains one of my favorite topics in archaeology/paleontology. But I was thrilled to find so much *new stuff* in here that even I hadn't heard of yet. It was really, really good, and really captured my imagination about these elusive cousins who just seem to be coming into clearer and clearer focus with improvements in technology, and deepening and broadening of questions we even think to ask.
coriandercake's review against another edition
DNF @ pg 24
I’m deeply uncomfortable with the lack of footnotes/bibliography in the book itself. Instead, they’re only available as a document on Sykes’ website. This is too close to academic dishonesty for my taste.
I might have been able to look past this, but the writing style is awful. I actually find the footnotes distracting (and that’s saying something since I literally read books with footnotes every day) and if she’s going to have them anyway, I don’t see why she couldn’t pop her sources in there, instead of having random trivia about whichever person she’s discussing. Information feels disjointed.
I’m deeply uncomfortable with the lack of footnotes/bibliography in the book itself. Instead, they’re only available as a document on Sykes’ website. This is too close to academic dishonesty for my taste.
I might have been able to look past this, but the writing style is awful. I actually find the footnotes distracting (and that’s saying something since I literally read books with footnotes every day) and if she’s going to have them anyway, I don’t see why she couldn’t pop her sources in there, instead of having random trivia about whichever person she’s discussing. Information feels disjointed.