Essentials of Physical Anthropology

Rating:
Summary: Textbook. Good intro to topic. Book well designed.
Review: I read this book as part of a correspondence course through the University of California, Berkeley in 1997.

The book is 8x11, about 350 pages, color photos and diagrams. The typography and layout are very good. Text is dense. The writing style is clear.

Chapter topics: Intro, Darwin, cell biology, genetics, race, human variation, primate evolution, living primates, primate behavior, hominid origins, interpreting early hominids, homo erectus, homo sapiens, lessons learned.

I rate the book average because topic coverage seemed thin. Later editions of the book contain more material. The book is graphics-rich. Lots of drawings, photos etc. More so than I am used to seeing in textbooks.