—A soaring overview of the astonishing & peculiar traits that enabled Homo sapiens to dominate the planet—
The Non-fiction Feature
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 443 | 2011
It’s a common fallacy to envision these species as arranged in a straight line of descent, with Ergaster begetting Erectus, Erectus begetting the Neanderthals, and the Neanderthals evolving into us. This linear model gives the mistaken impression that at any particular moment only one type of human inhabited the earth, and that all earlier species were merely older models of ourselves…It’s our current exclusivity, not that multi-species past, that is peculiar—and perhaps incriminating.
The Fiction Spot
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
by Orson Scott Card
“‘If I know you at all, Tagiri,’ said Hassan, ‘You would not have come here tonight if you didn’t know already what the change must be.’
‘Columbus,’ she said.
‘One sailor? Caused the destruction of the world?'”
The Product Spot
National Geographic –
Human Origins
The paleogeography of Lake Turkana, recent discoveries of other human species, maps of human migration, how to carbon date fossils in rocks, and so much more.