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REVIEWS
Science News, 12/09/2000: "In this riveting, first person account, Kalb relates how his brash geological expedition paved the way for a series of the most significant discoveries in modern archaeology. . . . Kalb remained on the front lines of efforts to extract the desolate region's closely guarded keys to the human past. In this gripping memoir he tells the sometimes terrifying tale of that search."
Choice,
July, 2001: "Kalb's rip-roaring tale of the clash of titan egos . . . . Kalb is engaging precisely because he presents the search for early hominid fossils novelistically, with no attempt to mask his own blemishes. . . . As Kalb documents [Afar] discoveries such as the bones of 'Lucy' . . . he makes his readers lust, sweat, swear, and connive with the expatriate adventurers.".
Faculty of Science, Addis Ababa University, 2001: "The quest for human origins in Ethiopia has been replete both with spectacular discoveries and infamous personal acrimonies. . . . It is therefore a matter of considerable interest that one of those who participated in the 'scramble' of the 1970s has finally penned down for us his [Jon Kalb] reconstruction of those momentous events - with all the heroism and the villainy that they so ironically combined. . . . the author has done a commendable job in giving us in as comprehensive a fashion as possible his version of a contentious story. The hope is that both the scientists and the state authorities and the scientific foundations would learn something from this and help redeem paleontological research in the Awash basin from the disrepute into which it has fallen, despite its phenomenal achievements." -Bahru Zewde, Professor of History, Addis Ababa University
Texas Monthly,
January 2001: "This is a genre-buster if there ever was one. . . Like the fossil beds Kalb once explored, Adventures in the Bone Trade is crammed with valuable bits and pieces -- some on the surface, some buried deep below."
California Wild Magazine, Winter 2002:
"This firsthand account of the people who have helped shape the study of human origins makes for an enlightening case study into how paleoanthropology gets done outside the ivory tower and down in the trenches. . . .One of the most admirable aspects of this book is his genuine concern for the Ethiopian people. Kalb emphasizes that fieldwork should be more than just 'fossil-mining,' and attempts to incorporate and train local people to find, curate, and analyze the fossils and artifacts collected from their own country."
The Washington Post Book World,
02/11/2001: "What distinguishes [ADVENTURES IN THE BONE TRADE] is its blend of the long-dead and the contemporary; alongside the story of the region's paleohistory and geography, Kalb sets a less pretty tale of the jealousies and rivalries among the bone hunters he knew and worked with. Moving from the geological to the geo-political, he also provides the reader with a field scientist's careful record of the events that deposed Haile Selassie.in 1974 and later led the region into civil war and famine -- calamities.that touched Kalb and his work directly and indirectly in many ways."
Discover Magazine ,
03/2001: "Geologist-paleontologist Kalb blends 19th-century-style travelogue and up-to-date science in a lively memoir of his work in a fossil-rich region of Africa."
The Herald (National Peace Corps Assoc.),
Spring 2001: "There is a good deal of human detail in ADVENTURES IN THE BONE TRADE, from camping right in the middle of a major caravan route . . .to one of [Jon Kalb's] colleagues , , ,becoming a feasting ground for mosquitoes. All in all, this is a fascinating read, as both history and as a scientific adventure in discovery of predecessors to human and modern human conflict."
Scientific American,
03/2001: "Kalb tells the story of his work, the scientific infighting, and the political turmoil in Ethiopia during his years there with verve and thoroughness."
The Dallas Morning News,
12/18/2000: ". . . recounts the author's first-hand experience with the search for hominid fossils in East Africa in the 1970s -- complete with geological and historical background on the region, details on the fierce battle between competing scientific egos and descriptions of life in Ethiopia during after the 1974 overthrow of Emperor Haile Sellassie."
American Journal of Physical Anthropology,
June, 2001: "[Adventures in the Bone Trade] grabs readers right away . . . . Kalb's biting humor is in evidence throughout the book. . . Kalb employs his most successful literary device [when] he analogizes the 1979-1980 partitioning of the Middle Awash region for American researchers . . . with the carving up of resource-rich central Africa by European colonial powers in the late 19th century . . . . both were ostensibly for the 'good of the people,' yet everyone understood that only the 'powers that be' truly benefited. . . ..[Kalb] is passionate in his belief that Western researchers should not take.'neocolonial' attitudes into developing nations that have invited them to do fieldwork . . . [he] emphasizes that a primary objective should be to help train local students and professionals to self-sufficiency. Only then can a true partnership flower between local and Western scholars.".
East Bay Express,
8/15/2001: "Jon Kalb has, well, a bone to pick. . . . [his] book is a searing lament but also a meticulously detailed look at life in the field.".
The Quarterly Review of Biology,
December 2001: "History is usually written by the winners. Occasionally, however, others.weigh in with an alternative perspective on well-known success stories. . . . Although not as slick as many other popular books on early human evolution, ADVENTURES IN THE BONE TRADE is nonetheless engaging reading as the book portrays very clearly Kalb's own emotions throughout these experiences -- from the thrill of seeing a new expanse of badlands to the agony and frustration of a rejected grant proposal."
Faculty of Science, Addis Ababa University,
2001: "Kalb's pioneering work in the Afar is respectable. His contribution to the paleontological/paleoanthropological studies of the Afar region is of great significance. His sufferings are saddening. Ethiopians must be ashamed of what happened, and it must never be repeated on others. He has written a book which every one studying prehistory and Ethiopia must read." -Solomon Yirga, D.Sc.
Reference & Research Book News,
02/2001: "Geologist Kalb tells of his experiences mapping Ethiopia's inhospitable Afar Depression, and describes the many astounding archaeological finds that the region yielded. He discusses the 'bone wars' that arose among rival reams of archaeologists driven by money and fame, and looks at the armed conflict that wracked the region in the mid-1970s and its impact on research."
The Quarterly Review of Biology,
December 2001: "ADVENTURES IN THE BONE TRADE is. . .engaging reading as the book portrays very clearly Kalb's own emotions throughout these experiences--from the thrill of seeing a new expanse of badlands to the agony and frustration of a rejected grant proposal."
Journal of Anthropological Research, May, 2001: "The last decade has seen a proliferation of popular books on human evolution, many of which offer few new insights on their subject matter. Fortunately, Kalb's book departs from the trend and presents an important, richly varied, and highly readable account. . . . Kalb's portrayal of his enjoyment of fieldwork and the excitement of making discoveries are.delightful and add zest to an engrossing story. He interlaces his accounts of fieldwork at Hadar and the Middle Awash with numerous dryly humorous anecdotes. . . . Kalb weaves diverse threads together into a very readable and informative text. Anyone interested in human evolution, Paleolithic archaeology, East Africa, the history of anthropological science, or Western science in the Third World should read this book."
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