The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans (2007)

Title: The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans
Pub date: 2007
Genre: Natural History / Anrthropology

Who is the last human?  We homo sapiens are. This is a book detailing the 22 hominids related to modern humans who have not survived, from the earliest and most apelike creatures, such as the Australopithecines, to humans that had culture and possibly symbolic language, such as Homo Neanderthalensis . Contrary to popular belief, human evolution does not proceed in a straight line from ape to modern humans.

The book provides details on each species' diet, range, and body-types, and speculates on tool-usage, language and culture. The book also highlights the work of anthropologists, who work laboriously to suss out the story of these creatures so like us, from the smallest of fragments. 

The real highlight of the book are the stunning illustrations done by paleoartists G.J. Sawyers and Viktor Deak.  Few illustrations of our ancestors convey the shared humanity of our small family.  Even if you don't read all of the text, the book is worth picking up for the graphics alone.

Similar Books Available Via the Library:
Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins by Carl Zimmer
The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language by Christine Kenneally
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin
Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald R. Prothero