num_pages: 640
description: In this fascinating and authoritative work, acclaimed science writer Virginia Morell brings to vivid life the famous and infamous Leakey family, pioneers in the field of paleoanthropology: Louis Leakey, the patriarch, who persisted through initial scientific failures and scandal-ridden divorce to achieve spectacular success in digs throughout East Africa; Mary, his second wife, who worked alongside Louis as they made their outstanding discoveries at Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere; and Richard, their son, who ascended to the top of the field in his parents’ wake, only to be threatened with both near-fatal illness and fierce professional rivalry. Morell transports us into the world of these compelling personalities, demonstrating how a small clan of highly talented and fiercely competitive people came to dominate an entire field of science and to contribute immeasurably to our understanding of the origins of humanity.
language: English
title: Ancestral Passions: The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings
titlecomplete: Ancestral Passions: The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings
genres: History, Palaeontology, Kenya, Africa, Biography, Science, History Of Science, Nonfiction, Anthropology
ratings_count: 117
publisher: Touchstone