The Third Chimpanzee

Click here to read an article about a 13 million-year-old fossilized skeleton of an ape that is possibly a common ancestor of humans and great apes, including orangutans, bonobos, chimps and gorillas that was found recently in Spain. Pretty exciting news for me as I have really developed an interest in getting to know more about the theories of the development of early man since recently reading Jared Diamond's book "Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13000 Years." A great book and a real "page turner!" I simply couldn't wait for the next revealing anecdote of our development. I was thrilled. And so much of the book seemed to make such simple elegant sense in a non-biased way, as if to say "how can we determine anything else when we are presented with this evidence?" So now, I'd like to read his other preceding book "The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal" (the theories of which are apparently proven by the Spain discovery!) but, I have recently seen that Mr. Diamond has published still another volume on the subject called "The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee: Evolution and Human Life." So, now I have to find some serious down time in order to get caught up! Also, if anyone knows of any good reads along these lines, please let me know! I find the idea of the theory that we are descendants of great apes so appealing in its unifying nature, as if to say, really these are the facts, we are one of them, that I am beside myself with expectations of the implications when the vast majority of humans begin to see themselves really as they are: terrestrial! I can't see how anything but good can come from this knowledge, but I suppose if you're a "bible thumper" you'd find it all a tad disturbing! Ha!