Fairweather Eden is the story, through the eyes of those involved, of over ten years of archaeological excavations at Boxgrove in Sussex, England, the world's best-preserved early human site. it is an extraordinary, tale of vision, determination, and ultimate triumph. Boxgrove Man, it emerges, lived in a "fairweather Eden" also inhabited by lions, rhinos, elephants, and wolves.Excavating him and his uniquely preserved environment has opened a unique window on life as it was lived by our ancestors in Europe half a million years ago. These were not simple-minded scavengers, nor were they primitive beasts driven only by a desire to kill. From evidence of the ingenuity, needed to craft complicated tools and the foresight necessary to track and kill large, dangerous game, a new picture of early humans emerges.

The work of Mark Roberts's team at Boxgrove will cause a major shift in our understanding of the true origins of humankind.