«Shame of Man» by Piers Anthony

Book two in the New York Times–bestselling author’s world history–spanning epic that began with Isle of Woman.Piers Anthony’s Shame of Man is a towering saga of remarkable scope, retelling the story of humanity in a daring and exciting way. At once grand in scope and intimate in human detail, Shame of Man recounts the stunning journey of a single family reborn again and again throughout history. Beginning in the earliest origins of our ancient ancestors who emerged from the Eden of Africa millions of years ago, Shame of Man follows two lovers—Hugh, a dreamer and musician, and his beloved Ann, a beautiful dancer—as they struggle to preserve their family and their way of life during some of the most turbulent periods of our savage past. Their saga takes them from the caves of prehistoric Europe to the Holy Land in the time of King David, through the imperial court of third century Japan, and Damascus in the early days of Islam, to Central Asia in the era of Genghis Khan, and the fallen paradise of Easter Island, concluding with a harrowing glimpse of our future, in the wreckage of a world devastated by global ecological catastrophe. Through their eyes we experience humanity’s greatest triumphs, and witness its greatest shame, the relentless exploitation of nature that now threatens our very survival.