Caitlin’s review of Reading the Bones: Homo Naledi and the Mysteries of Human Evolution > Likes and Comments

Thank you for your detailed reading and comment on our book. I'd like to disagree with a few of your thoughts, but in the spirit of discussion not clash. You have two key criticisms of the book -- that we show Dr. Berger as charismatic and inspiring important discoveries but also as a showman with questionable decisions and practices. Yes that is precisely who Lee is and what we think is important for young reader to wrestle with -- a complex figure who is a real leader in the field, and is seen, by some, as a modern P.T. Barnum. As I recently wrote in the Horn Book, we are in the age of incomplete knowledge, I believe in presenting young people with complexity in a person -- which they certainly know from Spiderman and fantasy novels on. (by the way, the diamond prospecting was Pedro not Lee, and we define Pedro as sketchy) Second you find the 6 Underground Astronauts flat. As we explain in the book, we worked very closely with Marina, the leader of the team, and Becca. How they appear is how they wanted to appear. Because to them what is most important is not that they are female pathbreakers but the actual science they have done. And that leads to a third question -- you didn't mention the science, the whole issue of burial and what that may tell us. If you would like to discuss these question offline I can be reached through my website. And even if we have different views I truly am grateful for your careful read of the book.