Description:
Winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Ralph Waldo Emerson Award
"[A]n incisive and captivating reassessment of prehistory . . . In lucid prose, Geroulanos unspools an enthralling and detailed history of the development of modern natural science. It's a must-read." --Publishers Weekly, starred review
"An astute, powerfully rendered history of humanity." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
An eminent historian tells the story of how we came to obsess over the origins of humanity--and how, for three centuries, ideas of prehistory have been used to justify devastating violence against others.
Brief description: Stefanos Geroulanos is the Director of the Remarque Institute and a Professor of History at New York University. The author of Transparency in Postwar France: A Critical History of the Present and other books, he lives in New York, NY.
Review Quotes: History may not be bunk, but prehistory is: So argues Stefanos Geroulanos in his spirited new book... The more you want to upend the status quo, the more likely you'll be to venerate an idyllic past. The reverse is also true: The more you want to preserve the status quo, the more likely you'll be to scorn the past as horrific -- or, at least, unsustainable. Geroulanos traces the long history of Europeans depicting Indigenous and colonized peoples as 'savage' -- thereby rationalizing every violent measure used against them, from brutality to annihilation.--Jennifer Szalai "New York Times"