Chip Walter's Blog: Childhood Is Why We Are the Last Ape Standing - Posts Tagged "anthropology"

It's an irony that after a book you write actually finds its way to bookstores little time remains to write because you are too busy working to let everyone know the book exists! This is, of course, crucial to writers, but frustrating.

The result, I'm afraid, is that I have fallen behind in my blog posts here. On the other hand, people are learning more about the book. Readers here at Goodreads, the most sensible and insightful I have ever run across anywhere, have been very kind to Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived and written several positive reviews in just a few weeks. I am very grateful. Kirkus, Booklist and the New Yorker have also had very nice words. And the last time I checked nearly 1000 Goodreaders had Last Ape Standing on the their "to read," list.

I am going to have to get back to writing however, and hope here in the coming weeks to scribble a bit about the process of writing. If this is something you would like me to explore on this blog, please let me know. Drop me an email through Goodreads.

I will also soon begin travel and research for an amazing assignment at National Geographic magazine, a extended piece about the emergence of human creativity (which is touched upon in Last Ape Standing). Research for this will take me to South Africa, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Britain. Possibly Algeria as well. I plan to share dispatches from all of these far flung locations where scientists are exploring the roots of our creativity and self expression. If you'd like me to write about this here, please let me know.

And, of course, please share your thoughts with the Goodreads community about Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived, or any other books you enjoy. I'd love to hear what you think.

For more information about my writing and background, I hope you'll also visit www.chipwalter.com where I have stories about how I met some very interesting people over the years including William Shatner, Michael Keaton, Ray Kurzweil and Donald Johanson.

Thanks!

A little more than three years ago, I began work on Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived. There were some days when I wondered if I would be left standing, but about nine months ago I completed the book and bundled it off to my publisher like a babe, hoping that when it eventually found its way into the reading world people like you would discover and enjoy it.

I wrote the book because I am, admittedly, obsessed with how creatures as strange and remarkable as us came into existence. I discovered some startling answers. Along the way I also found myself exploring the other astonishing human species who evolved along with us and our ancestors over the past seven million years -- Neanderthals, the recently discovered Denisovan and Red Deer Cave people, Homo erectus, the "Hobbits" of Indonesia (and many more). Who were they, and above all, why are we the only ones who survived when they didn't? What made the difference?

You may wonder why any of this matters, all of this rooting around in our deep past. What can any of it have to do with the 21st century? I believe that we can't possibly hope to understand who we are, or why we do what we do as individuals or as a species until we begin to get to the root of our nature. How can we hope to comprehend the tragedy of Sandy Hook, or, on the other hand, appreciate the generosity we witness during the holidays all around us? How is it that we are capable of such wildly different behaviors? Where do our motivations, talents, and marvelous traits come from? You wouldn't presume to understand Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci or Lady Gaga without looking into their pasts, why should we Homo sapiens be any different?

So consider Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived a kind of biography of our kind, with some telling secrets from our past illuminated.

I hope you enjoy it.

Here's a small sampling from the book. For more please visit www.chipwalter.com and click "Books."

And thanks so much for your support over the years of AllThingsHuman.net and your ongoing interest in what makes us tick. I'm hoping Last Ape Standing can help satisfy a little bit of your curiosity, but also hope you'll keep visiting ATH. We love "seeing" you.

May your holidays be warm, happy and healthy!

Very best,

I have been lucky enough to be assigned to write what we hope will be a cover story for National Geographic magazine (I'm not allowed to say exactly on what). I'll be leaving Thursday on the first leg of the research for South Africa where I'll be camping in caves next week on the Indian Ocean. I am a very lucky man!

Just received an email from the photographer working with me on this article. He spent a week at the location I am headed to . He suggested I bring some paint ball ammo. Why? Because in the caves where I'll be camping with the scientists, they use paint ball guns to control the baboons who sleep in the caves with us.

Should be interesting!

Stay tuned. I plan to blog , when technology allows here and at www.chipwalter.com/blog. The chipwalter site will also allow me to upload pix.