Traces of Life: The Origins of Humankind

This is an involving, well-crafted survey of paleoanthropology. Lasky offers extensive information on the history of hominid research and its scientists, occasionally breaking up the text with brief musings on the lives of the early hominids, though readers may be confused by these interludes as the book's design does not clearly set them off from the factual narrative. This oversized book is heavily illustrated throughout with pencil drawings and charts. There is an excellent index and bibliography but the book would benefit from a glossary of the various genera and species of all the hominids included. Ages 10-up. (Feb.)