In article <1993Sep14.100734.19950@cs.su.oz.au> danny@cs.su.oz.au (Danny) writes:
>Human Biology -
>An Introduction to Human Evolution, Variation, Growth and Adaptability
>G.A. Harrison, J.M. Tanner, D.R. Pilbeam and P.T. Barker
>Oxford University Press 1988 (3rd edition)
>pp. 568
>
>_Human Biology_ is really four books in one, as it consists of four
>almost completely separate sections, one by each author.  The general
>idea is to look at homo sapiens not from a medical point of view,
>stressing anatomy and physiology and allied disciplines, but from a more
>general biological and anthropological point of view.  
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>_Human Biology_ is a book with a lot of really interesting stuff in it,
>but one which is perhaps a little bit of a misfit.  It is a little too
>detailed to be suitable as a general introduction for the novice to the
>subjects it covers, but not systematic enough to be a good reference
>(the lack of bibliography and references hurts here, though there are
>suggestions for further reading at the end of each section).  Its target
>audience is probably students of anthropology or the social sciences who
>want some biological background to their discipline, and medical
>students who want a broader perspective on theirs.  
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The <<Scientific American Library>> has published a number
of volumes which hit just to the popular side of *An Intro-
duction ...*, and are surprisingly good--that is, surprising
to me, as I have some severe criticisms of other W. H. Free-
man and Company projects.  In any case, I recommend

	Lewin, Roger
	1993	The Origin of Modern Humans.  Scientific
		American Library, New York.  ISSN 1040-
		3213.  $32.95

for the quality of its production, moderation of its presenta-
tion, and lucidity of its explanation.  It's a rather topical
work; there are only seven chapters, among which "Mitochondri-
al Eve" receives one to herself.  Lewin does a good job there
of providing a bit of historical context for the 1987 Wilson,
Cann, and Stoneking paper; makes clear the significance of the
ticks of the molecular clock; distinguishes all the different
issues that the popular press has muddled together in describ-
ing Eve, including the non-existent Paleolithic bottleneck;
and even reaches a tentative conclusion or two.

Other chapters also cover material of ongoing interest to Use-
Net posters and readers.  "Two Models" precedes "... Eve"; it
provides respectful space both to the Out of Africanists and
the Multiregional Evolutionists--and also to a full-color
photograph of Milford Wolpoff and the dozens of skulls he
husbands at the University of Michigan.  "The Archeology of
Modern Humans" tackles hard questions about where and when
transitions occurred, and which ones were important (Lewin
doesn't hit the time and place for which Harry Erwin has
recently been arguing in nearby threads, but that's OK).  In
fact, *Origins* covers much of the same material--variation,
adaptation, origins, ...--as *Introduction*, but in a more
abbreviated and less formal way.

Caution:  Lewin is, well, uncritical about matters linguistic.
The final chapter, "Language and Modern Human Origins", pre-
sents important material, but, as with linguistic material
earlier in the book, simply is not adequate at conveying the
diversity of specialists' assessments of the points covered.  
Particularly disappointing to me is that the Appendix of
"Further Readings" is so narrow.  Lewin's editor should take
responsibility for providing adequate space to illuminate
more of the range of contemporary thinking on the roles of
language, anatomy, and social behavior.