Fantastic story of a real scientist

A great read, no popular science book I've read has had such close attention paid to practicalities

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Equally scientific and autobiographical

It’s fascinating to follow the development of such a carrer/project from beginning to « end ».
The scientific subject is thoroughly discussed but the practical aspects of the project development are given equal attention.
The book is able to successfully switch between the general chronological narrative and the theoretical and technical subjects while keeping a sense of excitement and anticipation thanks to its autobiographic style. Although at times intimate details about the author’s personnal life were superfluous in my opinion.
The narration was excellent.

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Amazing story

This is such an amazing story but such a shame that the publishers couldn’t find someone who could pronounce some technical terms correctly. It’s quaternary NOT quarternary. A couple of similar gaffs spoiled the flow of an excellent story.

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1 person found this helpful

the best book ever!

What made the experience of listening to Neanderthal Man the most enjoyable?

Pääbo is not only brilliant but funny and I have listened to the book twice in the last day and looked through the paper book again. This book taught me a lot and even made me laugh a fair amount.

What does Dennis Holland bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

It was great to get to listen to the book also since I could write a report on the subject at the same time as refresh my knowledge on the subject. Really nice to be able to do other things, like eat Nutella and think, while learning more also.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

twice. I didn't even sleep.

Any additional comments?

You just can't help getting obsessed with this subject. You just want to learn more and more.

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1 person found this helpful

Human endevour behind Neathandal science.

Great insight into the trials and tribulations of peacing togetger the genetic story we share with our big brained, successful and ultimately enigmatic ancestors .

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Fascinating!

I read this after it was recommended to my daughter at a university presentation about studying anthropology and was so impressed I wanted to find out more. I’ve always been fascinated by prehistoric history and while I don’t have a good understanding of biology, it was written so well that I could access the ideas. The author is generous in his acknowledgment of others’ contributions and I enjoyed the personal touches which I felt gave the narrative a holistic human perspective.

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Fascinating - very in depth account

This book is fascinating but was probably not the best book for me in this area. It is a very detailed and well written account of the science behind the understanding of the Neanderthal genetic code and also an interesting autobiography of the scientist who lead the work. My level of understanding in this area is A level Biology followed by a zoology degree, admittedly 30 years ago, and I was often at full stretch to try to keep up with the arguments presented here. For me an abridged version would have worked better but if you want to get the complete picture and have the scientific knowledge to understand it you'll find all you could wish for here. The narrator is well matched to this type of material.

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3 people found this helpful

Fascinating

Although it seems strange to put an American narrator to speak for a Sweden author; the intonation, silences, we're perfect. I loved the narrator's voice! The story is a fascinating inside to the life of a scientist in love with what he does.

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2 people found this helpful

Book with great storytelling

Such a cool way to tell the discovery of how the the scientific community has worked and progressed in discovering the history of the Neanderthals and us.

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Tedious but excellent science

Precise and technical account marred by the authors ego and desire to include aspects of his personal life and sexuality which were irrelevant . This significance and scope of his scientific endeavour overcomes this I am glad that I persevered with this account I respected the work this team undertook .

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1 person found this helpful