{"product_id":"9780062410306_fossil-men","title":"Fossil Men","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Riveting. ... Pattison's uncanny ability [is] to write evocatively about science. ... In this, he is every bit as good as the best scientist writers.\" \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Brilliant. ... A work of staggering depth.\" —\u003cem\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA decade in the making, \u003cem\u003eFossil Men\u003c\/em\u003e is a scientific detective story played out in anatomy and the natural history of the human body: the first full-length account of the discovery of a startlingly unpredicted human ancestor more than a million years older than Lucy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is the ultimate mystery: where do we come\u003cbr\u003efrom? In 1994, a team led by fossil-hunting legend Tim White uncovered a set of\u003cbr\u003eancient bones in Ethiopia’s Afar region. Radiometric dating of nearby rocks indicated the\u003cbr\u003eresulting skeleton, classified as \u003cem\u003eArdipithecus ramidus\u003c\/em\u003e—nicknamed\u003cbr\u003e“Ardi”—was an astounding 4.4 million years old, more than a million years older\u003cbr\u003ethan the world-famous “Lucy.” The team spent the next 15 years studying the\u003cbr\u003ebones in strict secrecy, all while continuing to rack up landmark fossil\u003cbr\u003ediscoveries in the field and becoming increasingly ensnared in bitter disputes\u003cbr\u003ewith scientific peers and Ethiopian bureaucrats. When finally revealed to the\u003cbr\u003epublic, Ardi stunned scientists around the world and challenged a half-century\u003cbr\u003eof orthodoxy about human evolution—how we started walking upright, how we\u003cbr\u003eevolved our nimble hands, and, most significantly, whether we were descended\u003cbr\u003efrom an ancestor that resembled today’s chimpanzee. But the discovery of Ardi wasn’t just a leap forward in\u003cbr\u003eunderstanding the roots of humanity--it was an attack on scientific convention\u003cbr\u003eand the leading authorities of human origins, triggering an epic feud about the\u003cbr\u003eoldest family skeleton.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eFossil Men, \u003c\/em\u003eacclaimed journalist Kermit Pattison brings us\u003cbr\u003ea cast of eccentric, obsessive scientists, including White, an uncompromising\u003cbr\u003eperfectionist whose virtuoso skills in the field were matched only by his\u003cbr\u003epropensity for making enemies; Gen Suwa, a Japanese savant whose deep expertise\u003cbr\u003eabout teeth rivaled anyone on\u003cbr\u003eEarth; Owen Lovejoy, a onetime creationist-turned-paleoanthropologist with\u003cbr\u003eradical insights into human locomotion; Berhane Asfaw, who survived\u003cbr\u003eimprisonment and torture to become Ethiopia’s most senior paleoanthropologist; Don Johanson,\u003cbr\u003ethe discoverer of Lucy, who had a rancorous falling out with the Ardi team; and\u003cbr\u003ethe Leakeys, for decades the most famous family in paleoanthropology. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on a half-decade of research in Africa,\u003cbr\u003eEurope and North America, \u003cem\u003eFossil Men\u003c\/em\u003e is not only a brilliant investigation into the\u003cbr\u003eorigins of the human lineage, but the oldest of human emotions: curiosity,\u003cbr\u003ejealousy, perseverance and wonder. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kermit Pattison","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46908421079189,"sku":"9780062410306","price":10.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780062410306_a5d4ae64-f7ec-43e0-82f8-fcccbd2b49ff.jpg?v=1776992598","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780062410306_fossil-men","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}