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Rating: 
Summary: Tattersall provides access to a complex field
Review: Ian Tattersall does wonders for paleontology and anthropology. Here he literally explains "how we know what we think we know about human evolution."
Tattersall illuminates just how fasions and concepts are constantly shifting as new fossils are found. His description of how and where fossils are found is fascinating. We don't know nearly as much about human evolution as most might think. And what we think of evolution is subject to constant change - and not at all firm.
Overall, Tattersall provides an easily accessible path to a complex subject. Anyone with an interest in how humankind may have evolved will find this interesting reading.
Jerry
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read!
Review: An interesting overview of the history of paleontology. I found that the book was a great introduction to the topic following the paths (and dogmas) of the first researchers to current work of scientists today. The only criticism that I could make is that the description of the fieldwork ends in the late '80s and I am curious what has happened since then. Anyway I would highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fossilized Writing
Review: How do you read a book for pleasure when the author is constantly stopping you from advancing by using one word parenthetical expressions? The answer is that you can't. This tome by Tattersall is in dire need of a good editing. It should be a warning for all those who would read scientific books; when the credits do not contain an "edited by" recognition, be wary.
Don't get me wrong, Tattersall tackles an incredibly difficult topic and does a great job with the chronology and with the scientific facts. The problem is that his prose and grammar are so dreadful that the book is painfully difficult to read. Tattersall is constantly badgering the reader with silly, needless one word parenthetic expressions.
Moreover, then, of course, indeed, you could choose to ignore these, well, annoying little pauses. And, therefore, you might, remakably, gain some knowledge and, well, insight into a, mostly, difficult subject. But, the fact that the book is so, well, scientifically informative, well, mostly.
ENOUGH ALREADY!! Buy a red pencil and use it. A copy editor at a weekly local newspaper could have edited this book on short notice and made it a five star candidate in about two hours. Why no editor? I have no idea. I am surprised that Oxford Press would print a book with such glaring grammatical nonsense. The problem is that scientists think that their peers will forgive their literary gobbledygook if the topic has innate merit and the scientist has authority in the subject.
My recommendation is to pass on this book. There are many other books that will give you the same information less painfully.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent history of paleoanthropology
Review: I enjoyed this book from the perspective of knowing what we think we know about human evolution. The text is a bit dry at times, but loaded with many historic insights, making it worth the read.This is a must have book for those interested in human evolution and want know where we "stand". I found more insights in this book than the Neanderthal Enigma, but the latter was a more fluid read. I particularly liked the cladogram laying out the various species of homo. Very nice concise and summary on page 232 I have bookmarked. I found this and the time line summary at the beginning of the book quite helpful. I had not heard of homo ergaster until I picked up this book. I have recently attempted to apply cladograms to both meteorological theory and computer programming languages, they work quite well.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed, complex but ultimately rewarding
Review: Ian Tattersall's _The Fossil Trail_ traces the evolution of scientific undestanding of human origins in exquisite detail and in a language that is understandable to the lay reader. The book is rich with scale diagrams of the fossil record of early hominids, presenting the various theories of human evolution from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.
Because of the subject matter and the aim of the book, it is dense reading, and it clearly is not for everyone. Nonetheless it is a fascinating and rewarding book.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!!
Review: Informative, interesting, and contrary to what Anthony, ... said, a very enjoyable read. This book was recommended to me by one of my professors and was far beyond simply worthwhile; it was scientifically accurate and absolutely fascinating. Ian Tattersall's unique writing style is what makes it that way!!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!!
Review: Informative, interesting, and contrary to what Anthony, ... said, a very enjoyable read. This book was recommended to me by one of my professors and was far beyond simply worthwhile; it was scientifically accurate and absolutely fascinating. Ian Tattersall's unique writing style is what makes it that way!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books on human evolution ever written!
Review: The author of this book writes a highly readable account on the history and biology of human evolution. I was captivated by his ability to make such a difficult subject so interesting and palatable. Tattersall eases through five million years of primate ancestry and a hundered and fifty years of convoluted theories on human evolution, hitting all of the highlights of important fossil discoveries. The author, however, approaches the human fossil record as a biologist, interpreting and reporting what he observes with lapidary skills that go unchallenged by any anthropologist. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in knowing more about human evolution than most anthropologists.
Rating:
Summary: Great historical review
Review: This book really went into the thinking behind paleoanthropology since its beginnings. It looks at the scientific mindset of the scientist at the time and why some of their views were developed. Not a great book for the current state of paleoanthropology although it eventually gets there in a round about way since it presents an historical account of the science.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating history of ideas about human evolution.
Review: Too often we forget that what we believe today is heavily determined by what our predecessors thought. Nowhere is this more true than it is in the study of human evolution, as Ian Tattersall elegantly shows in this smooth-flowing and highly readable book. By blending an engaging account of the discovery of the human fossil record with the history of paleoanthropological analysis, the author shows how the variety of current interpretations arose, and offers an intriguing alternative of his own. If you want to understand where all the controversies that currently rage around the subject of human evolution originated, this lively and well-written book is the source for you.
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