Our Human Story

By Louise Humphrey & Chris Stringer Natural History Museum £14.99

Few family trees are scrutinised in such meticulous detail as the human one. It seems to sprout new twigs with each new fossil find, with the result that it can look more like an impenetrable thicket. Who better to untangle the branches of the story than experts from the Natural History Museum? This authoritative and accessible account of human evolution starts seven million years ago, when our own lineage split from that of the other great apes. It will surely not be long before it is out of date, but that’s one more reason to read it now. Stuart Blackman Science writer