Kirkus Reviews QR Code
FIRST MEN by Irving & Hannah Goldman

FIRST MEN

By

Pub Date: April 7th, 1955
Publisher: Abelard-Schuman

A cultural anthropologist and his wife, who is a writer and a teacher, do a very competent job of condensing the vast subject of man, his beginnings and his present locations, into a readable, informative short history. A first chapter on evolution explains it as a science and lays the groundwork for the discoveries it has made. Taking them up, subsequent chapters treat the determination of man's age, the characteristics of the first men as they evolved from ape men to the smaller and smarter cave men and farmers who eventually invented the tools and developed ideas that helped them master their world. Society diversified them as men became artists and priests as well as herders and traders, who roamed, started cities and began to explore afar. A well telescoped account of achievements during 5,000 years brings the story to the present day. A good stimulus for further reading.