The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology by
Jonathan Marks was required reading last semester as a companion to the formal textbook for my class in - you guessed it! - biological anthropology.
Marks does a great job of breaking down all the core concepts without losing anything vital to a basic understanding of the field: he covers a brief introduction into what anthropology is; discusses theories of evolution; genetics and heredity; non-human primates; early hominids; and more. Each chapter ends with a list of references and further reading recommendations, should you be interested in delving a little deeper into a particular subject.
