Edey and Johanson do a splendid job of detailing the philosophies and scientific discoveries that led to the formation of modern evolutionary thought. The history they present is filled with interesting details and offers a good refresher on high school biology. It begins with many pre-Darwinian thoughts and works its way up to the present (or 1990). Along the way the authors occasionally dialogue between themselves explaining various topics, offering analogies for concepts, presenting possible theories, and giving personal details about the men and women involved in this field.

...the book is more presentational rather than apologetic. On occasion the authors did generalize creationism with Biblical fundamentalism, but they also admit once to the difficulty of originating life. I would also have liked to have seen more fossil discoveries outside the realm of humanity, a discussion on stem cell and embryo development, and perhaps a brief tracing of the likely line of descent from single celled bacteria to the major classes of vertebrates. (I am a theist, so take into consideration any bias.)

Overall, there were only a few tedious pages, but it is otherwise an excellent book that I had a hard time putting down.

Don't worry if you are not a science-oriented person! This is a great resource for anyone interested in evolution, dna and natural selection. The book is almost a dialogue between the authors and each topic's history, growth and purpose is given in everyday language and images. If you are a scientist, you will still find this a valuable tool, especially if you've ever tried to explain some of these issues to non-scientists.

Blueprints is just what the title says. A look at how evolution performed its magic work, on our species and others. While I started reading this book knowing what evolution was, I left it knowing how it works. Taking you from the first scientific investigation of the relations of species, through to the discovery of DNA, Maitland Edey and Donald Johanson clearly and easily walk you through time. The concepts are explained simply and succinctly, in an entertaining style that often includes humorous incidents as the world of science lurched toward our current level of understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone, including students, who wishes to experience the evolution of evolution

Dr. Johanson shows both his strengths and weaknesses in this largely enthralling look at risks and rewards of paleoanthropology. His expertise in hominid development comes well-wrapped in the role of storyteller. And his experiences in the field are a story worth telling. Johanson disappoints when he steps outside his field of expertise. For instance, his chapter on radiometric dating is riddled with inaccuracies. And "Is It A Matter Of Sex?" is intrinsically flawed in its discussion of evolutionary "strategies." Overall a great book and a good read!

As a reader who has a sparse knowledge of anthropology, I can say this book was a pleasurable and informative read.

Dr. Johanson divided the book into a prologue and five parts. The prologue describes the events of November 30, 1974, the day Lucy was discovered. The first part covers a brief background to the earliest fossil finds and is invaluable to any reader who is interested in who's who among some of the earliest scientists working on human origins. Part two covers his actual field expeditions to East Africa. During his first field season, Johanson became concerned about financing when his original grant of $43,000 was dwindling away. It is interesting to note, as Johanson describes about anthropology, that science is more than just field work and analysis. There is political, financial, and human relation issues that need to be mastered for the mission to succeed.

I found part three, the analysis of Lucy, to be the most compelling. Johanson includes Le Gros Clark's paper and accompanying illustrations to highlight eight differences between chimpanzee jaws and human jaws. Knowledge of these differences were of immeasurable value in the analysis of an australopithecine jaw. Part four delivers a brief account of how our ancestors began to walk upright. I found this to be interesting but highly speculative. The final section includes drawings of how australopithecus afarensis may have appeared.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a desire to know more about human ancestors and how a paleoanthropologist proceeds in uncovering our past.

This book is a riveter. I could not put it down and read well into the next morning. The background information and private political insights were very informative. I remember as a youngster seeing a short clip on the news about Lucy. This book brings her to life. Dr. Johanson has almost convinced me to do paleoanthropology for a living rather than as a hobby. A very welcome and valuable addition to my private library.

The authors have written an interesting and timely book. I liked all of the factoids and descriptions they gave about life one thousand years ago in England. Fascinating to see how our ancestors did it (life) facing challenges we have long ago conquored.

The organization of the book tends to break up the narrative. It is mildly annoying in places, as are comparisons to current news that will, unfortunately quickly make this book look dated. This situation is caused by the author's using a period calendar as a backdrop to their story and organizing the book around the twelve months of the year and the seasonal activities of the Anglo-Saxons under study.

A quick read and overall enjoyable.

The authors have written an interesting and timely book. I liked all of the factoids and descriptions they gave about life one thousand years ago in England. Fascinating to see how our ancestors did it (life) facing challenges we have long ago conquored. The organization of the book tends to break up the narrative. It is mildly annoying in places, as are comparisons to current news that will, unfortunately quickly make this book look dated. This situation is caused by the author's using a period calendar as a backdrop to their story and organizing the book around the twelve months of the year and the seasonal activities of the Anglo-Saxons under study.

A quick read and overall enjoyable

In this book, Lacy and Danziger break the year 1000 into twelve chapters, one for each month, and include important events preceding and following that year. The authors then take you back in time to live the life of an anglo-saxon peasant (contrasted with the life of the privileged) on a month-by-month basis. Having read a great deal of English and European history, I found the book well written, accurate (scholarly in its research while almost casual in its style) and placed in such an "every man" perspective as to be an engrossing read. It is a quick read with interesting period illustrations kicking off each chapter/month.