The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of What Makes Us Human

Ian Tattersall

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Aug 16, 2016 - Science - 153 pages

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

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - nmele - LibraryThing

After reading Tattersall's short book of essays, I want to read more of him. He makes a good deal of sense in what he says, so much so that a single essay has me rethinking my acceptance of much of what "evolutionary psychology" claims about human behavior.

The monkey in the mirror: essays on the science of what makes us human

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

In eight essays, anthropologist and American Museum of Natural History curator Tattersall (Becoming Human) explores the current understanding of organic evolution in terms of science and reason. He ...

About the author

IAN TATTERSALL is curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, and the author of many books and articles. Becoming Human won the distinguished W.W. Howells Prize of the American Anthropological Association. An expert on both fossil humans and lemurs, Tattersall has done fieldwork in places as varied as Madagascar, Yemen, and Vietnam.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of What Makes Us Human
• Author: Ian Tattersall
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016
• ISBN: 0544986954, 9780544986954
• Length: 153 pages
• Subjects: Nature / Essays; Science / Essays; Science / Life Sciences / Evolution; Social Science / Anthropology / Physical