The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins

This 1989 edition has been updated in 2000. I have not yet acquired the newer version, but even this is worthwhile for getting your feet wet on the subject of human evolution. Klein is a careful scholar, weighing evidence clearly and letting you know on what grounds he has come to his conclusions. He lays out evidence very well, and that alone makes this recommended reading, because whatever else you read on the subject, you have to understand the kinds of evidence that scientists use and how they come to conclusions from that evidence. Since this topic is a hot one, new discoveries are occurring all the time and older evidence is being reevaluated. Even so, I found Klein's chronicalling of the development of hominids into modern show more humans, very enlightening and not contradictory of newer evidence that I have read. show less