The Monkey in the Mirror

An "absorbing" look at how our species evolved, from the curator of human evolution at the American Museum of Natural History (Kirkus Reviews).

What makes us so different from those other animals? How did we get this way? How do we know? And what exactly are we? These questions are what make human evolution a subject of general fascination. Ian Tattersall, one of those rare scientists who is also a graceful writer, addresses them in this delightful book.


Tattersall leads the reader around the world and into the far reaches of the past, showing what the science of human evolution is up against—from the sparsity of evidence to the pressures of religious fundamentalism. Looking with dispassion and humor at our origins, Tattersall offers a wholly new definition of what it is to be human.


"Unparalleled insight." —Donald C. Johanson, author of Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind