As co-founder of the expedition that discovered Lucy, and leader of most of the first site-surveys in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia, Jon Kalb has years of experience with the region, its politics, and the scientists involved in the excavations. A participant himself in the "bone wars" that accompanied these discoveries, Kalb recounts the cutthroat competition and back stabbing that were often part of the media-highlighted race to find the oldest hominid fossil. He weaves this story in the rich fabric of Ethiopian society and politics, the plight of the regions peoples, and the international maneuverings for control of the fossil finds.
L egends tell of battles with strange beings living under the earth, beings whose origins lie beyond the stars. When Bones Bonebrake finds himself stranded in a small New Mexico town, he comes face-to-face with a local legend and dangerous enemies. Joined by old friends and new, Bones finds himself caught up on an action-packed search for a lost Native American artifact that may hold the key to unlocking one of the world's most enduring mysteries. Hounded by conspiracy theorists and secret government agencies, he must stay alive long enough to find The Book of Bones!
For the youngest fans of the bestselling graphic novel series BONE, Jeff Smith has created two hilarious tales to delight beginning readers. In Finders Keepers, the Bone cousins find a coin -- finders keepers -- but the boys can't agree on how to spend it. Fone Bone wants an apple and bananas they can share. Smiley Bone wants an ice cream cone with a pickle on top. And Phoney Bone wants to build a giant statue... of himself Whose idea will win out? In Smiley's Dream Book, Smiley Bone walks through the woods on a beautiful morning. During his journey, he meets a flock of friendly and playful birds. Smiley is having such a good time that he must find a fantastical way to keep up with his new friends as they soar into the big, blue sky. These wonderfully funny tales, told with lively artwork and expressive word balloons, will engage young readers like the best Sunday comics.
A vacation in Monaco drops former Navy SEAL "Bones" Bonebrake into the middle of a whirlwind adventure centering around a monumental discovery. The remains of giants, mammoth beings from antiquity, are laid out before him. Most appear to be long since decayed, but one does not.Looking like it-she-only recently died, the enormous woman's perfectly preserved corpse is a find like no other, a real-life "Queen of Giants." And when the excavation team suddenly disappears overnight, Bones quickly realizes that there's more to the mysterious find than meets the eye.*This book was originally published as part of the Kindle Worlds program. It has been republished with bonus content added.PRAISE FOR DAVID WOOD AND THE DANE MADDOCK ADVENTURES!A great read that provides lots of action, and thoughtful insight as well, into strange realms that are sometimes best left unexplored." Paul Kemprecos, author of Cool Blue Tomb"Dane and Bones.... Together they're unstoppable. Rip-roaring action from start to finish. Wit and humor throughout. Just one question - how soon until the next one? Because I can't wait." Graham Brown, author of Shadows of the Midnight Sun"David Wood has done it again. Quest takes you on an expedition that leads down a trail of adventure and thrills!" David L. Golemon, Author of the Event Group series"Ancient cave paintings? Cities of gold? Secret scrolls? Sign me up! A twisty tale of adventure and intrigue that never lets up and never lets go!" Robert Masello, author of The Medusa Amulet"A non-stop thrill ride triple threat- smart, funny and mysterious!" Jeremy Robinson, author of Instinct and Threshold"Let there be no confusion: David Wood is the next Clive Cussler." Edward G. Talbot, author of 2010: The Fifth World
The first three books in the phenomenal BONE graphic novel series -- now together in one huge, full-colour gift edition, perfect for new readers and collectors alike! After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins -- Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone -- are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran'Ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter, Thorn. But little do the Bones know, there are dark forces conspiring against them and their adventures are only just beginning! Included in this book are complete editions of BONE #1: Out from Boneville, BONE #2: The Great Cow Race, and BONE #3: Eyes of the Storm. This brilliant BONE starter set is the perfect book at a perfect price!
"Fascinating. . . . As engaging an explanation of how scientists study fossil bones as any I have ever read." --John R. Alden, Philadelphia Inquirer In 1984 a team of paleoanthropologists on a dig in northern Kenya found something extraordinary: a nearly complete skeleton of Homo erectus, a creature that lived 1.5 million years ago and is widely thought to be the missing link between apes and humans. The remains belonged to a tall, rangy adolescent male. The researchers called him "Nariokotome boy." In this immensely lively book, Alan Walker, one of the lead researchers, and his wife and fellow scientist Pat Shipman tell the story of that epochal find and reveal what it tells us about our earliest ancestors. We learn that Nariokotome boy was a highly social predator who walked upright but lacked the capacity for speech. In leading us to these conclusions, The Wisdom of the Bones also offers an engaging chronicle of the hundred-year-long search for a "missing link," a saga of folly, heroic dedication, and inspired science. "Brilliantly captures [an] intellectual odyssey. . . . One of the finest examples of a practicing scientist writing for a popular audience." --Portland Oregonian "A vivid insider's perspective on the global efforts to document our own ancestry." --Richard E. Leakey
Africa does not give up its secrets easily. Buried there lie answers about the origins of humankind and the dawn of civilisation. Through a century of archaeological investigation, scientists have transformed our understanding of the beginnings of human life, although vital clues still remain hidden. In Born in Africa, Martin Meredith follows the trail of discoveries about our human origins made by scientists over the last hundred years, as well as describing the history of scholarship in this incredibly exciting field. He relates the intense rivalries, personal feuds and fierce controversies that shaped the study and perception of Africa, and recounts the feats of skill and endurance that have illuminated thousands of years of human evolution. The results have been momentous. Scientists have identified more than twenty species of extinct humans and firmly established Africa as the birthplace not only of humankind, but also of our own species: homo sapiens, the modern human. Scientific study has revealed how early technology, language ability and artistic endeavour all originated in Africa, and scientists have shown how, in an exodus sixty thousand years ago, small groups of Africans left their birthplace to populate the rest of the world. We all have an African legacy, and in this fascinating and informative book Martin Meredith leads us back to the place where we have rediscovered our common human heritage.
In this dynamic account, award-winning science writer Ann Gibbons chronicles an extraordinary quest to answer the most primal of questions: When and where was the dawn of humankind?Following four intensely competitive international teams of scientists in a heated race to find the “missing link”–the fossil of the earliest human ancestor–Gibbons ventures to Africa, where she encounters a fascinating array of fossil hunters: Tim White, the irreverent Californian who discovered the partial skeleton of a primate that lived 4.4 million years ago in Ethiopia; French paleontologist Michel Brunet, who uncovers a skull in Chad that could date the beginnings of humankind to seven million years ago; and two other groups–one led by zoologist Meave Leakey, the other by British geologist Martin Pickford and his French paleontologist partner, Brigitte Senut–who enter the race with landmark discoveries of their own. Through scrupulous research and vivid first-person reporting, The First Human reveals the perils and the promises of fossil hunting on a grand competitive scale.
