Close Encounters with Humankind

by Sang-Hee Lee W W Norton & Company $26.95

To describe this as a toilet book is not a criticism. The short, punchy, stand-alone chapters (including Are We Cannibals? Are Humans Still Evolving?) lend themselves perfectly to reflective moments in the smallest room of the house. Unlike any other species, humans’ evolutionary story cannot be explained by biology alone. Sang-Hee Lee reveals how history, culture and politics make things really tricky, especially when we are inclined to project our own morality, prejudices and ideologies onto our ancestors. Stuart Blackman Science writer