Evolution, the Story of the Origins of Humankind: A Three-Dimensional Book

This large book consists of five spreads, each unfolding into colorful 3-D representations of an erupting volcano, an air-breathing fish crawling onto land and other milestones in evolution. These grotesque pop-ups move semirealistically and jump inches off the page like giant origami animals, enticing the reader to peer behind each one to investigate the clever structural secrets involved. On the other hand, unlike other recent 3-D books like The Human Body, these impressive paper structures fail to advance the better understanding of the material, although they may stimulate interest in paper engineering. A rather dry exposition of the highlights of evolution accompanies the pop-ups, swinging randomly from the speculative to the conservative. Imposing but not very informative. All ages. (August)