Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (MacSci)

Name: Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (MacSci)
Price: 15.67 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.5 (443 reviews)
Author: Ian Tattersall

by Ian Tattersall

Nonfiction

4.5 (443)

4.5 stars from 443 reviews

266 pages~4.4 hr readPublished by Palgrave MacmillanPublished 2012-01-01

$15.67Near peak price

Last checked: Jun 22, 2026

Price history: $1.99 – $18.14

While not the biggest discount we've seen for this book, it's still a great deal and we recommend grabbing it before price returns to its normal range.

Price range: $1.99 – $18.14

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Perfect for you if...

You're curious about human evolution but find typical textbooks dry and want the real story told by someone who's actually handled the bones.
You enjoy popular science that doesn't dumb things down, especially when it challenges the "gradual progress" myth we're taught in school.
You like understanding where we came from as a way to make sense of who we are now, including why we're so different from every other animal.

Maybe not for you if...

You want a book that confirms evolution is a slow, inevitable march towards perfection; Tattersall argues our success came from sudden, unexpected changes.
You prefer narrative-driven stories with characters and drama over careful analysis of fossil records and competing scientific theories.
You're looking for a book that settles the evolution debate once and for all; this explores the questions science still can't fully answer.

About this book

Fifty thousand years ago, Homo sapiens coexisted with several other human species in a competitive struggle for survival, continuing a pattern that had persisted for millions of years. Yet something distinguished our species from its competitors, enabling its survival while others went extinct. Ian Tattersall, Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, examines the fossil record to identify what made Homo sapiens unique. Drawing on evidence spanning from the emergence of bipedality to the development of language and intelligence, Tattersall argues that Homo sapiens acquired a distinctive combination of traits through rapid rather than gradual evolutionary change. This sudden emergence fundamentally transformed their world.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $18.14

Price has dropped 7 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 31 days. Typically stays discounted for 51 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #99K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Climbing the charts — 41% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.5★ from 443 reviews

Gaining approximately 1 new review per month. Rating has remained stable at 4.5 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

Based on past patterns, a price drop could happen soon. It typically goes on sale every 31 days and the last drop was 96 days ago. Typical discount: 89% off.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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