Steven M. Stanley

(posted on my blog: davenichols.net)

Paleobiologist Steven Stanley considers the impact of major ecological and environmental changes wrought by ice ages on the evolution of human beings in his book Children of the Ice Age. A fascinating subject and impressive theory, the treatment here is disappointing.

I found Stanley's writing to be a bit jarring: the narrative seemed to skip across necessary connections between thoughts. By the time the author got to the primary evidence for his thesis, I had had to reread numerous passages to attempt to understand his points. The writing is not dense or overly-complicated (I am an experienced science reader who often enjoys such dense treatments), but it left me missing the point far too often.

Still, the subject is very interesting, and while I wouldn't recommend this book to many people, those with a keen interest in paleontology, paleobiology, anthropology, evolution, and population migrations will likely find some value in reading Children. Two and one-half stars.… (mere)