Lucy, Donald C. Johanson
Lucy, Donald C. Johanson
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Lucy
The Beginnings of Humankind

Author: Donald C. Johanson, Maitland Edey

Narrator: Donald C. Johanson

Unabridged: 14 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/18/2020

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

The story of the discovery of “Lucy”—the oldest, best-preserved skeleton of any erect-walking human ancestor ever found.When Donald Johanson found a partial skeleton, approximately 3.5 million years old, in a remote region of Ethiopia in 1974, a headline-making controversy was launched that continues today. Bursting with all the suspense and intrigue of a fast-paced adventure novel, here is Johanson’s lively account of the extraordinary discovery of “Lucy.”By expounding the controversial change Lucy makes in our view of human origins, Johanson provides a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of the history of paleoanthropology and the colorful, eccentric characters who were and are a part of it. Never before have the mystery and intricacy of our origins been so clearly and compellingly explained as in this astonishing and dramatic book.

About Donald C. Johanson

Donald Johanson discovered the famous 3.2 million-year-old skeleton named Lucy in 1974 in a remote region of Ethiopia known as Hadar and, with a team of investigators, revised society’s understanding of human evolution. Although dozens of other significant hominid fossils of all ages have been found, Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) continues to be the benchmark to which all discoveries are compared. He is the author of several popular books, including Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind (with Maitland Edey), which won the 1981 American Book Award in Science, and has written or contributed to hundreds of articles. He is a distinguished member of the Siena Academy of Sciences in Italy and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His numerous honors include medals from the Explorers Club and the California Academy of Sciences. He established the renowned Laboratory of Physical Anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Institute of Human Origins, based at Arizona State University, where he serves as the Virginia M. Ullman Chair in Human Origins.

About Maitland Edey

Maitland Edey (1910–1992) was awarded (with Donald C. Johanson) the National Book Award in Science for Lucy: The Beginnings of Mankind. His other works include Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on May 25, 2022

I really enjoyed this book by Laurence Gonzales, published in 2010. The protagonist is Lucy Lowe, a bonobo-human hybrid. She is the "creation" of a scientist working in the Congo, studying the bonobos, or, as they used to be known, pygmy chimps. When Congolese rebels kill the scientist and the bonob......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on September 15, 2010

The back cover of this book touts "a daring biotechnical thriller in the tradition of Mary Shelley and Michael Crichton." This description is like buying a mislabeled can of vegetables at the grocery store: you chose a can of peas from the shelf; you are expecting to find peas inside; but you really......more

Goodreads review by Susan on August 23, 2010

Lucy began as her father's experiment. He raised her in the jungle while giving her a strong British education. She was also raised by her mother who gave her an introduction to life as a bonobo. The rest of the story is about what happens after her parents are killed and she is rescued and taken to......more

Goodreads review by Ellis on April 09, 2015

I’m going to be at ComicCon this year (so will Wil Wheaton, George Takei, and Chris Ware, although they're not going to be, you know, with me), helping present a panel on Powerful Women: Now With Clothes. A mosey down my Goodreads list shows that lot of what I read does not contain women, powerful o......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on February 27, 2011

I know a lot of reviewers on Amazon.com panned this novel. I still decided to go ahead with it based on the reviews on NPR last fall. Even with a master's degree in anthropology, I still enjoyed this novel. The gene-splicing technology is similar to that proposed for bringing back the Woolly Mammoth......more

Quotes

“One of the most compelling scientific investigations ever undertaken.” New York Times Book Review

“A riveting real-life saga of scientific detection.” Cosmopolitan

“Johanson is doing for the earth what Carl Sagan has done for the Cosmos. Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A glorious success…The science manages to be as exciting and spellbinding as the juiciest gossip.” San Francisco Chronicle

“There is a youthful vitality in Johanson’s story, a combination of romantic fervor, gee whiz, inexperience, adventure, even danger.” Kirkus Reviews

Awards

  • American Book Award
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