The Sediments of Time: My Lifelong Search for the Past by Meave LeakeyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fantastic book.
Part memoir and part science with the evolution of hominids. Leakey starts with her beginnings, born during WWII, but doesn’t linger long on her childhood, it was just enough. Although the book is a mix, it feels more an autobiography, as it keeps going back to her life but there is a ton of science, as that was a huge part of her life and what she is deeply involved in.
Her husband Richard came from the famous Leakeys and is quite an amazing person in his own right. He overcame many medical issues, first his kidney then a plane crash, which he survives but caused more medical issues. His perseverance to survive is extremely strong. I may have to read a book about him.
The children are mentioned, and they follow in the family business of becoming scientists and help on digs, they aren’t mentioned very much. A little surprising since one daughter is co-author of this book. Most of the book discusses the finds and discoveries in the field, and how that fits into what we know and have learned about the evolution of these ancient hominids. It is fascinating and the journey takes you places that may seem unrelated at first, but no, it all fits together.
This was a fantastic book! I listened to the audiobook, which was nicely narrated. However there are photos in the book, which do help to view while reading if you have access to those.
No comments:
Post a Comment