Masters of the Planet

The Search for Our Human Origins

By: Ian Tattersall

Narrated by: Bob Souer

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Fifty thousand years ago - merely a blip in evolutionary time - our Homo sapiens ancestors were competing for existence with several other human species, just as their precursors had done for millions of years. Yet something about our species distinguished it from the pack, and ultimately led to its survival while the rest became extinct. Just what was it that allowed Homo sapiens to become masters of the planet? Ian Tattersall, curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, takes us deep into the fossil record to uncover what made humans so special. Surveying a vast field from initial bipedality to language and intelligence, Tattersall argues that Homo sapiens acquired a winning combination of traits that was not the result of long-term evolutionary refinement. Instead, the final result emerged quickly, shocking our world and changing it forever.

©2012 Ian Tattersall (P)2019 Tantor

Great Book, Some Sloppy Editing

Excellent book, and a good narrator. The issue here is with the editor: Edit out the "tisks!" It's such an easy thing to do, it's an easily identifiable waveform amd simple to cut out--it's mind boggling that whoever edited this audio just left those tisks and deep breaths in, as though it adds texture to the narration. It doesn't, it's just incredibly sloppy editing that is not the narrator's fault. I enjoyed his voice, perhaps a bit fast-paced, but good overall. And this book is phenomenal. I just had to point out that editing miss, thank you for indulging me.

Judge A Book By . . . 😙✨

‘How many time you back up’, just to find out what you may have missed the first time is the real gauge of its’ worth . Or perhaps in this case, backing up the second or even the third time demonstrates the real advantage to Audible. Also, Bob Souer’s voice— the narrator—is so easy to listen to it almost overshadows the book itself. I would gladly start this book over but what for—I’ve already listened to the best parts two times end more. Great book—if you’re hungry for human evolution but ever if you’re not, you need this information anyway.

5 stars

Very well researched by extremely knowledgeable and passionate author. You will come to know, without him saying, why Ian Tattersall came to study evolutionary anthropology

Wonderful book about the rise of Homo sapiens!

This is a beautifully written book about the origins of Homo sapiens by a preeminent authority in primatology and paleoanthropology, Ian Tattersall, who holds an Emeritus designation at the American Museum of Natural History. The book is written for a general audience.

I happened to visit the American Museum of Natural History recently and spied this book in their bookstore. I have a fascination about how our species, Homo sapiens, arose. Just who were our ancestors? This small volume will provide the reader with a number of answers. Obviously, there are gaps in our knowledge, but Mr. Tattersall offers his expert opinion when confronting the various options and paths ahead.

Ian Tattersall has written a remarkable book on a very deep subject. Just where did we come from? I had the feeling I was listening to listening to one of the finest professors in the world address this subject. I can recommend this book without reservation. I am most grateful that experts like Ian Tattersall are willing to write popular books and not limit their writings to scientific journals which are read by the same small group of experts! There are many of us "non-experts" who are interested in this subject and would like to know more from an acknowledged expert. I say "Bravo!" to Ian Tattersall.

Excellent Listen

I very much enjoyed the logical ordering the author took to explain the rise of Homo sapiens and the presentation by the narrator. I am firmly a non-scientist in terms of background knowledge but found the material interesting and accessible. This is a really nice read.

Excellent

I recommend this excellent audiobook for every thinking person. I comprehensively covers a wide range of information on human and primate evolution. Most enjoyable listening.

Out of date when it was written

Ian Tattersall present with too much of a 19th century wise man attitude. Too much opinion, too much reverence for all that he thinks makes Homo sapiens special. We have learned more about Neanderthals since 2013 so perhaps he can be excused for writing that they lacked symbolic thought and language, but even in 2013 we had the work of Frans de Waal and others regarding the problem solving skills of various animals (mammals and even birds) as well as their limited but real capacity for empathy and for anticipating the actions of other animals in their group. I finally got so annoyed I stopped the book. I’ll see if I can return it.

Refreshingly Detailed & Positive

Despite acknowledging the negative theories of who we are and where we’re going as a species, the author stays surprisingly optimistic about humanity and our ability to innovate into a limitless future.

Phenomenal

Truly puts the perspective of our species into perspective. A philosophical and scientific masterpiece.

great book but too fast of an audio book

this is a great book. I specifically enjoyed the fact that the author only relies on the evidence and brimgs up conclusions as speculations rather than facts which some books do. my only problem with the audiobook was that given such scientifically heavy subject, it would have been easier to follow if read at a slower pace.

Decent exploration, unbalanced

The first half of the book is way too long, the second half, which would be more interesting a topic, and true to the books title, is rushed.

A huge amount of time is spend on our earliest ancestors. Digressions occur on the specifics of how rocks and fossils are dated etc, which don't help the overall purpose of the book. By the time discussion has moved to the Neanderthals, it has become a hurried affair. Neanderthal interbreeding with Homosapiens is brushed off with "well Ligers in South Carolina". It would be better to steelman other perspectives in paleoanthropology, and then challenge them, than to dismiss them off-hand.

Our acquisition of language, is the most fascinating topic, but only delved into in the last few chapters. The last 2 or 3 chapters read like a promising introduction to a book rather than the closing of a seminal publication. The narration speed is too fast, but that can be reduced in the player. The sentences are often long winded, something only exacerbated by the monotone narration.