Close Encounters with Humankind is based on a collection of a series of essays by paleoanthropologist Sang-Hee Lee on human evolution published over between February 2012 and December 2013 and appearing in a popular science magazine as well as a South Korean newspaper. Lee writes in a clear, conversational style and though sometimes one wishes for a bit more detail or depth, she makes for an entertaining and informative tour guide of our species’ history.

Lee eschews the usual chronological approach, with each essay instead focusing on a particular step along our evolutionary journey, placing it in historical context (as much as possible given inherent uncertainties over ascribing anything so ancient to a particular timeframe) and explaining our best theories on the topic. Lee answers the When, Why, and How with regard to stops along the way from our shared ape ancestor to hominid to Homo (including our contemporary selves) such as loss of fur, move to bipedalism, a shift from mostly vegetarian to more meat-eating, the increase in brain size, migration out of Africa, the rise of agriculture, the development of altruism, and more.

By not going in chronological order, Lee does end up repeating herself on some aspects (reference to changing brain size abound for instance), but the repetitive information tends to be brief and also serves to cement or clarify certain points in the reader’s mind. And because the series ended in 2013 (Lee has added some updated information), those who keep up with the topic via news reports or other popularizing works might find themselves wishing Lee could have included newer discoveries or developments (it’s tough to keep up with fast-moving sciences like genetics but even paleo-sciences have made new discoveries in the past few years). But that’s a problem for anyone writing in the sciences, and in any case, if one wishes for Lee to have more recent material in spots it’s only because she writes so clearly and easily about the topic.

The style isn’t the breezy non-fiction of say a Mary Roach or Bill Bryson, but more pleasantly conversational, and if, thanks to their provenance, the essays don’t go in depth, the level of detail more than suffices for basic understanding and Lee’s fluid and lucid overviews will I imagine inspire readers to look elsewhere for more detailed discussion of the material. And while I’m sure there are places she runs the risk of over-simplifying things (not being an expert hard to say), one rarely feels that as a layperson. Instead she shows a deft touch in knowing just how far to take the scientific detail without overwhelming the reader.

She also does a nice job of conveying the uncertainty surrounding much of the field, as well as explaining why such uncertainty arises. She’s always quick to note alternate dating, alternate theories, and the like. One of my favorite aspects of the collection as well is how she shows that science is not a simple march forward, a linear progression from ignorance to knowledge, but instead is often a sort of fumbling forward in the fog, two steps forward, one step backward, another step forward, two steps sideways, etc. One example is her explanation of “molecular clocks” and how the science and theories arising from it have morphed over time. Lee also does a good job of offering a balanced view of the two major competing theories of “replacement” (modern humans arose about 200, 000 years ago in Africa and then migrated outward, out-competing and replacing all other homo species such as the Neanderthals) and multiregionalism (modern humans rose in several places at the same time, sharing genes and culture over two million years). Lee herself is a proponent of the latter, but as noted, proffers a fair and balanced explanation of both.

Close Encounters with Humankind is a highly readable, smooth, lucid, and informative overview of human evolution that makes clear at the end that humans are still evolving. An excellent concise guide to the topic.

Highly recommended, this is a very enjoyable and accessible anthropology book on mankind's origins and how they affect us today.
Written in short chapters and a plain English style, the book presents fascinating stories ranging from why our brains are so big to how all mankind was lactose intolerant until 10,000 years ago. This book is fun and informative

This is a collection of essays Lee, a paleoanthropologist, wrote for a South Korean magazine, offering public-friendly answers to the most interesting questions the come up in survey classes--were people cannibals? how did walking upright make birth more dangerous? what role did grandmothers play in the survival of humans? Why are so many modern people lactose intolerant?

Close Encounters with Humankind is a sort of compendium of various questions about hominid ancestors. It doesn't try to tackle things chronologically or systematically. Instead, it poses interesting questions -- are there cannibals in the line of human descent? How much of a Neanderthal am I? -- and then tries to answer them with the best of what we know at the moment. Sometimes the answers aren't entirely satisfactory or complete, because the evidence isn't there (yet, or perhaps ever; behaviour, after all, does not fossilise).

It's a pretty good tour through some interesting topics, although if you're already interested in this sort of thing, you may well find that there's nothing much new here for you. But if that knowledge is a bit cursory or out of date, this'd probably be perfect.