Well, I'm not terribly well-versed on paleo-anthropology, but I followed the science of this just by reading attentively - it was that clearly written.

I found both the Young chapters (more about Ida and her scientists, roughly) and the Tudge chapters (more about the big picture of how primate evolution is being worked out, roughly) fascinating.

I loved the close-up pictures of Ida and other fossils, and the explanations of how scientists can tell so much about a critter from a fragments of a jaw (and why it's so often only the jaw that is found). I loved the description of the Eocene world and of the significance of the Messel pit.

If you're looking for an adventure of how some cool dudes found the earliest ancestor of people, don't read this. If you want to learn about primate evolution, do. ( )

While the Ida fossil is probably not a direct link fossil for humans to primates, it is still a really important discovery.

( )

Diante de uma descoberta, o que se imaginava saber a respeito da origem dos primatas pode mudar. Guardada em um dos mais famosos museus de história natural do mundo, está o fóssil de um primata, batizado de 'Ida' pelos pesquisadores que verificaram sua procedência. Ida reescreve a história de ancestrais antigos. Colin Tudge conta a saga de Ida e seu lugar no mundo - trata-se de um relato sobre uma história científica. 'O elo - a incrível descoberta do ancestral mais antigo do ser humano' oferece uma investigação sobre Ida e as origens do homem. ( )

O elo - a incrível descoberta do ancestral mais antigo do ser humano' oferece uma investigação sobre Ida e as origens do homem.

Quite a technical book with sections that a layperson like me could struggle with. Other sections are repetitive and iy feels like they actually have very little to say about Ida herself. However, overall an interesting read. ( )