Not the most engaging of stories but it kept my attention at the time. An anthropologist discovers a tribe of protohumans. He sees, and learns quite a few things. Political intrigue ensues and takes a plausible and interesting story and makes it slightly generic. ( )

Blend of intriguing thoughts on the species development of humans and human behavior mixed with high action adventure. If he had started with the high action in the first couple of chapters, I would not have read this. I could picture this as a movie or TV show: high speed car chases, people shooting wildly, attacking lions, crooked police, & exotic romance (a movie also I wouldn't watch). But his premise of remnant proto-humans still existing in an isolated area in Kenya's Rift Valley was intriguing, as was his story of an archaeologist's interactions with the young boy he first contacted.
Giving this book away--not worth my shelf space. ( )

I read this book about 10 years ago and still remeber it as a Boring Book. The author tries to model the main character off Tarzan and trust me, the author is no Edgar Rice Burroughs. Just a ridiculous read and should only be attempted if you have nothing else to read !!! ( )

Paleoanthropologist Ken Lauder lives and studies in Kenya. His friendship with the son of a local official Ngili, and his budding romance with Ngili's sister, play out against turmoil and political unrest. Lauder discover's footprints of protohumans while surveying a remote area, and then, on a return trip, the protohumans themselves--living fossils, surviving by some miracle in this remote region. Lauder, cut off from supplies and contact with civilization, becomes assimilated by the protohuman tribes. In an alternate story-line, Popescu charts a threat arising from a ruthless and ambitious academician and from the threat of war in Kenya, posing a threat to the survival of the protohumans and to Ken Lauder himself. Eventually, Lauder is rescued, and he and Ngili decide to forgo the documentation of this "find of a lifetime" in order to protect the small tribe.

The best thing about Popescu's book is his colorful, authentic description of Kenya and of the people who live there. His ability to "show" this county and its culture to the reader is exciting. The book did tend to drag on, especially toward the end. ( )

paleoanthropologists in Africa discover protohumans

2.00 ( )