Guide to fossil man : a handbook of human palaeontology /

This perennially popular illustrated guide has been extensively revised since the last edition (1977) with significantly improved illustration quality and 25 percent more figures. The style remains the same, focusing on brief discussions of human fossils from major sites worldwide, grouped geographically. For each site or region, the emphasis is on the morphology and affinities of the fossils yielded, with illustrations, extensive bibliographies and brief notes on history, age, and associated fauna and/or artifacts. Of the 49 sites or areas included, 15 are newly added (and 4 minor ones removed) compared to the third edition. Day's anatomical expertise is obvious in the clearly written and pithy descriptions of the fossils, most of which he has studied personally. Full listings of material from Koobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge are especially welcome. The site reviews are preceded by a too brief review of dental, skeletal, and taxonomic terminology. Although more expensive than other guides, such as Clark S. Larsen and R.M. Matter, Human Origins: The Fossil Record (1985) and C. Loring Brace et al., Atlas of Human Evolution (CH, Sep '79), Day's concentration on photographs rather than drawings of uneven quality and his more extensive descriptions, bibliographies, and interpretations make his book the preferred reference for university libraries.-E. Delson, Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY