This book could have easily been a five-star effort, but Ms. Beekman dropped the ball. Her theory departs from the standard genetic orthodoxy (Dawkins, Pinker, et al.) that the need for cooperative childcare created human language. Still, her arguments in favor are, at best, relatively weak and incomplete. Ms. Beekman added a lot of filler to "The Origin of Language." I didn't need to go on two imaginary train rides with other extinct Hominines. Her book was often interesting, but it required much better editing to encourage the author to focus her arguments in favor of her theory.