Rating: 
Summary: Understanding ourselves...
Review: ...and the reasons why we do what we do as humans --that's the basic concept of this book which, as most books written by Sagan, is easy to understand and read.He starts with the big bang, followed by one cell organism , gradually taking the reader into a tale of how it is that we as a species came to be. It gives plausible explanations of so many of the things that religion cannot explain. Biology, human nature and sociology are explained in a simple but interesting way . It leaves the human species uncovered on just what it is that makes us. Books such as Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors enriched my life. Sagan and Druyan were a great team and I for one miss Carl Sagan and his wise approach in explaining science.
Rating:
Summary: Have You Ever Wondered Who We Are?
Review: After I read The Dragons of Eden, I learned that Carl Sagan explored more than cosmology. He also explored evolutionary biology-stimulated by his wife, the biologist Ann Druyan. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a book that Sagan and Druyan wrote together. It is much more scientifically rigorous and sophisticated than The Dragons of Eden, and deals not with the evolution of the tripartite brain, but on the evolution of consciousness itself. Druyan and Sagan write that we are like babies left in a basket on a doorstep, never knowing and always wondering what our ancestry is. For me, the most influential of the book's explorations involve the study of the levels of consciousness in other animals, aside from the human animal. Through study after study, many amusing and all interesting, Druyan and Sagan emphasize that the difference between the consciousness of the human animal and other animals is "a difference of degree rather than kind." Indeed, some of the studies indicate that some of the other animals may have consciousness that surpasses in degree that that of the human animal. The book stresses that we will not understand who we are until we view ourselves as part of a continuum, and the book also explorers the history of human resistance to this idea. One or two of the chapters were too difficult for me to understand as a non-scientist, but I was basically able to understand the book while only skimming the difficult chapters about DNA construction and such. It was nice to know that rigorous science was part of the book. This is one of those books that will change your outlook on the world.
Rating:
Summary: Have You Ever Wondered Who We Are?
Review: After I read The Dragons of Eden, I learned that Carl Sagan explored more than cosmology. He also explored evolutionary biology-stimulated by his wife, the biologist Ann Druyan. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a book that Sagan and Druyan wrote together. It is much more scientifically rigorous and sophisticated than The Dragons of Eden, and deals not with the evolution of the tripartite brain, but on the evolution of consciousness itself. Druyan and Sagan write that we are like babies left in a basket on a doorstep, never knowing and always wondering what our ancestry is. For me, the most influential of the book's explorations involve the study of the levels of consciousness in other animals, aside from the human animal. Through study after study, many amusing and all interesting, Druyan and Sagan emphasize that the difference between the consciousness of the human animal and other animals is "a difference of degree rather than kind." Indeed, some of the studies indicate that some of the other animals may have consciousness that surpasses in degree that that of the human animal. The book stresses that we will not understand who we are until we view ourselves as part of a continuum, and the book also explorers the history of human resistance to this idea. One or two of the chapters were too difficult for me to understand as a non-scientist, but I was basically able to understand the book while only skimming the difficult chapters about DNA construction and such. It was nice to know that rigorous science was part of the book. This is one of those books that will change your outlook on the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Informative.
Review: Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan state that this book began as "a study of the political and emotional roots of the nuclear arms race." While tracing back those aspects of human nature that nearly brought civilization to the brink of destruction, they found themselves delving deep into the origins of man and into the evolutionary heritage of life itself. Apparently the book's scope grew in the telling, yet the authors still manage to address the primary issue and support their case with an abundance of examples, analogies, and anecdotes.
The book has the following basic structure:
First the authors attempt to demonstrate the intrinsic relationship of all life forms. They explain the basic mechanisms of evolution and genetics, along with the pros and cons of sexual reproduction. The authors also spend a decent amount of time on the idea of group (kin) selection, especially in relation to altruism and overcrowding.
After the basics, Sagan and Druyan spend a number of chapters examining the social behaviors of our closest relatives: the non-human primates. They focus primarily on the sexual oppression, dominance hierarchies, xenophobia, and incest taboos which are found in many non-human primates; however, the authors also include a few examples that most people would find commendable.
Finally, the authors consider what it means to be human and attempt to support the claim that humans differ from other animals more in the degree of our particular aptitudes, rather than by possessing a truly unique set of abilities. In the process they refute a wide variety of objections held by critics of this notion.
The book ends with an admonition that, as a species, we must take care not to allow our "ancient primate algorithms" to endanger the long-term survival prospects of the species.
Overall I enjoyed this book. The authors have a candid and highly entertaining writing style and provide a wealth of information, yet at times I felt that the authors lost sight of their primary agenda. For instance, some of the behavioral examples seem to be given simply because they are shocking rather than as supporting evidence and the little "on impermanence" quotes that ended many of the chapters were annoying. Still, my complaints are minor, and I would certainly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Carl Sagan breathes humanity into the souls of his readers
Review: From DNA, Darwin, and Huxley to dominance, submission, and primates this book has it all. Carl Sagan was simply a shaman of words and wisdom, while being a prophet of science and rational thought. Shadow's of forgotten ancestors is Sagan's finest hour with unwavering skepticism and a passion unparalleled in the scientific community. I have read this book cover to cover twice, and still feel as though it will have more insight to offer as I begin to read it a third time. The book reveals the egocentric nature of man and his attitudes toward animals as lesser organisms based on ancient fears of his own past . Animals are very complex and intelligent, a sentiment that is for some a deplorable idea with atheist and Darwinian connotations. Sagan simply diffuses the idea to his readers that animals have the ability to feel complex emotions and acquire learned behaviors from parents, just as humans. It is not the author's intention to drag humans through the mud of the animal world, but, rather, lift the animals up to the level of humans by showing our similarities which include: reproductive strategies, behavior patterns, altruism, love, and the perpetuation of the species. Sagan offers an alternative view of the world, a world in which man shares the Earth with other organisms and accepts their differences rather than condemning them. Such an optimistic belief in a world that breeds hate, bias, and indifference. Anyone who reads this book and still believes man is superior to animals and holds a special place in the world, missed the entire point and needs their compassion spoon fed to them.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Is Worth Your Time
Review: Have you ever read a book on evolution?
In my mind that is the first key question relevant to this moment. If your answer is no, then if I could command you to buy this book I would.
Though if your answer happens to be yes, that's not necessarily a reason to hold back!
A few years ago I became obsessed with Carl Sagan's writing, and ended up consuming 8 or 9 of his books. I've lost count. Anyway, this one was my clear-cut favorite. I'll minimize detail in describing what Carl Sagan (and Ann Druyan) talk about in this book, (and they talk about quite a lot!) and will instead discuss what were for me it's most rewarding attributes.
Before I had read this book I was completely ignorant of evolutionary thinking. I didn't dismiss it - I simply didn't know anything about it and hadn't given it much thought. Then I read this book and I encounterd all these new ideas that brought the origins and behavior of the human race into incredible perspective. Carl Sagan's fluidly polemical and perpetually poetic writing cast illuminations into my mind that could be likened to bursts of thunder! That rare and exciting moment, when an idea unknown or difficult suddenly crystalizes into clear understanding? Do you know this? While reading this book I got to experience this special joy, and with really big ideas, perhaps a half dozen times! Of course, years later I don't remember what were the specific ideas that got me all excited, but I remember the excitement.
One reviewer on this site has reminded me of a little worth highlighting, however. He mentions that Carl Sagan, in his comparison of human beings to other animals, rather than lower the stature of humans in the eyes of the reader, instead elevates the stature of the animals.
And Carl Sagan does this wonderfully. I don't remember how, but it is no surprise to me, who has always found Carl Sagan's writing to be cautious, humble, yet broadening, insightful, and passionate. A subdued, humble passion, but the passion is always there. I can read a single paragraph from any of his books and feel reassured by the life he yearned to share through his writing.
At any rate this all was about what I wanted to say: Fantastic illuminations on the nature of human beings and our place in the Universe, and perhaps the best example of a book by a man whose writing is always poetic in prose and grand in it's scope.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: I had a fundamentalist upbringing and even was a missionary for a couple of years. I'm now 49. Twenty years ago the Cosmos TV series changed my life. I've since read all of Sagan's books. While all are good, I think the most valuable is Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and the second most valuable is Demon Haunted World. Also, the photograph of earth taken by the Voyager spacecraft from beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, in Chapter 1 of Pale Blue Dot, is something everyone should see. All my life I wondered why we behave the way we do and why things are the way they are. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is the most helpful thing I have found. For me, parts of the first third of the book were a little dry, but it became a livelier read after that.
Rating:
Summary: Homo Sapiens in Perspective
Review: Let's begin with this: Carl Sagan was a master of popular science writing. Nobody wrote more compelling about science for the non-scientific reader. This book is a brief history of the universe as it relates to the development of mankind. It covers a lot of territory and the history of the universe is necessarily cursory. His introduction to genetics is basic, but very readable for the non-scientist. This book really begins to "cook" when Sagan begins to discuss the behavioral and societal charactistic of our close relatives, the primates. Read it and draw your own conclusions, but I was astounded by the parallels between human society and the behavior of the other primate species. So much of our behavior, good and bad, is exhibited in primate socialization. I notice another reviewer somehow saw this as evidence of God's creation but I think that this strains the evidence that Sagan has carefully assembled. This is a book that will cause you to reassess what you believe being human means.
Rating:
Summary: "We are all kin"
Review: Sagan and Druyan have created a masterwork in _Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors_. Written for the layperson, they clearly explain the origins and evolution of life on the planet. Yes, this is well-trod ground, yet the complex processes of species variation, mutation and natural selection (at the micro level to the macro level) are clearly articulated. Sagan's bread and butter has been in bringing science to the masses and making it understandable. Its been years since I had had a biology class (even then very little of it "stuck".) Druyan and Sagan have managed to expand my understanding of life and make it "stick." This is his crowning achievement, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: enlightening
Review: Sagan/Druyan deconstruct the Western Chrisitan Myth of Intrinsic Human superiority over their mammal kinfolk. They show how we may be cleverer, but not that much different then our primate
cousins. Sobering, intelligent and beautiful. Recommended.
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