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The Origin and Evolution of Mammals by T. S. Kemp (Paperback) $84.50 344 pages Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198507615 I've been happy to see that we've received quite a few scientific books on prehistoric mammals lately. Mammals today are the dominant large animals, occurring in virtually every environment. This book is an account of the remarkable fossil records that document their origin before and since the extinction of the dinosaurs, tracing their evolution over million of years. The book starts with a detailed account of the mammal-like reptiles, then on through mammals of the Mesozoic, concluding with all living and fossil mammals after the K/T extinction. For the first time presented in one single volume Kemp unveils the exciting DNA sequence evidence which coupled with fossil evidence challenges current thinking on the relationships amongst mammals and their history. Packed with line illustrations of fossils. A fine accomplishment.
The Sauropods : Evolution and Paleobiology by Kristina Curry Rogers (Editor), Jeffrey A. Wilson (Editor) $65.00 University of California Press ISBN: 0520246233 Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and they represent a substantial portion of vertebrate bio- mass and biodiversity during the Mesozoic Era. The story of sauropod evolution is told in an extensive fossil record of skeletons and footprints that span the globe and 150 million years of earth history. This generously illustrated volume is the first comprehensive scientific summary of sauropod evolution and paleobiology. The contributors explore sauropod anatomy, detail its variations, and question the myth that life at large size led to evolutionary stagnation and eventual replacement by more "advanced" herbivorous dinosaurs. Chapters address topics such as the evolutionary history and diversity of sauropods; methods for creating three-dimensional reconstructions of their skeletons; questions of sauropod her- bivory, tracks, gigantism, locomotion, reproduction, growth rates, and more. This book, together with the recent surge in sauropod discoveries around the world and taxonomic revisions of fragmentary genera, will shed new light on "nature's greatest extravagances." Both editors are paleontologists in Minnesota. This technical book collects papers on sauropods from the editors and some of the greatest minds in paleontology today to create an up-to-date "bible" on the long- necked dinosaurs.
The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life by Tim Haines, Paul Chambers $35.00 Hardcover: 216 pages Firefly Books Ltd ISBN: 1554071259 The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life brings the primordial world to vivid photo-realistic life, covering 112 of the earliest beasts dating from the Cambrian Period to the Pleistocene Period, with in-depth profiles on physical characteristics, lifestyle, habitat and behavior. Fascinating Fact sidebars throughout offer tidbits of dinosaur trivia. The book includes 350 richly detailed and lifelike color illustrations. These photo-illustrations are the result of pioneering work by the Emmy award-winning creative team at Framestore CFC. Leaders in digital animation technology, they combined animation, graphic effects, and filmmaking to recreate creatures such as Meganeura, a giant carnivorous dragonfly, the sail-backed killer Dimetrodon, and Gorgonops, a saber-toothed predator on through the many dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures of the Mesozoic and concluding with the age of prehistoric mammals and the first man. Using stills from "Before the Dinosaurs", "Walking with Dinosaurs", Walking with Prehistoric Beasts" and more, this colorful book is a treasury for fans of these television programs and prehistoric life.
Carnivorous Nights : On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger by Margaret Mittelbach, Michael Crewdson, Alexis Rockman (Illustrator) Hardcover $24.95 Paperback $14.95 Villard Publishing ISBN: 1400060028 The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, is an extinct carnivore from the island of Tasmania but supposable sightings keep the mystique of the animal alive for many. The thylacine was a doglike predator brought to extinction mostly by chicken farmers tired of its chicken ransacking habits who, over 100 hundred years ago, often shot it on sight. Nature writers Mittelbach and Crewdson became interested in the animal after discovering a taxidermy specimen at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Their friend, artist Alexis Rockman, grew up visiting the same museum and also loved the thylacine mount. When they discovered that people still claimed to sight the Tasmanian tiger, and that scientists were attempting to clone one, the trio decided that they needed to go to Tasmania and look for them in the wild. The result is part travel log, part Tasmanian fauna lesson. Rockman's lively illustrations of the thylacines and other native wildlife illuminate this marvelous search for an elusive, charismatic animal. Is the Tasmanian tiger really extinct? This often comic travel writing down under is a fun way to find out.
Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins by Carl Zimmer (Smithsonian Books) $29.95 Hardcover: 176 pages HarperCollins Publishers ISBN: 0060829613 New discoveries in the science of human evolution are changing our understanding of our own origins. Zimmer has produced a most up-to-date, fact filled book on the subject even describing the newly discovered tiny hominids from the Indonesian island of Flores that stood only three feet tall but had brains the size of our own. These "Hobbit" people are now very controversial among anthropologists. Zimmer explains what all of the new knowledge tells us about our prehistoric history. He examines the various steps in human evolution as hominids began to stand upright, develop tools and consciousness. New discoveries in DNA are telling us much too. Showing that despite physical differences among races, we are more closely related than ever believed before. Both enlightening and entertaining, the book shows how our human tree from early hominids to the first large brain humans to Neanderthals and modern man is being rewritten. With over 100 full color photographs and illustrations (many by the fantastic John Gurche), this is a fabulous book on the topic of prehistoric man.
From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals) (Hardcover in slipcase) by Charles Darwin, Edward O. Wilson (Editor) $39.95 W. W. Norton ISBN: 0393061345 Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin — Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) — been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two- time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slip- cased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products. 101 illustrations, map. A gorgeous gift and a landmark work that is an essential addition to everyone's personal library.
Darwin The Indelible Stamp (Hardcover) by James D. Watson (Editor) $29.95 Hardcover: 1260 pages Publisher: Running Press ISBN: 0762421363 In one volume, here are four of the most influential works of Charles Darwin, reprinted in their entirety, each illuminated by commentary from Nobel Prize winning scientist James D. Watson. Here readers can trace the evolution of Darwin's own thought processes as he challenges conventional wisdom, unveils fundamental laws of nature, and documents the outstanding power and creativity that drives evolution. Included in this anthology are On the Origin of Species, arguably the most important scientific work of the nineteenth century; Voyage of the Beagle, a captivating travelogue richly stocked with observations that helped guide the young Darwin through his evolutionary world view; The Descent of Man, which explored the origins of humans and their history; and The Expressions of Emotions in Man and Animals, which explored the origin and nature of the mind. Darwin stated that "man with all his noble qualities . . . still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin." With his introductory essay, Dr. Watson reveals the link between Darwin's indelible stamp and its modern representation within the DNA studies pioneered by Dr. Watson, himself. With his separate introductions for each of Darwin's books he goes further to explain how the modern considerations underlying genome research would have been impossible without Darwin, bringing a contemporary relevance to these nineteenth century masterworks.
Rocks & Fossils: A Visual Guide (Hardcover) by Robert R. Coenraads 304 pages Firefly Books Ltd ISBN: 1554070686 A basic introduction to geology and paleontology, this predominantly pictorial treatment will lure even newcomers to the subjects. Included are a series of ancient-life illustrations depicting creatures from different segments of geologic time, from the Cambrian period forward. Accompanied by many photographs the full color book is a beauty. Coenraads describes how fossils are formed, how rocks are formed, and how plate tectonics work and explains what people on a rock- hunting field trip should look for and opens their imaginations to the former environmental conditions that the discoveries of a fossil, rock, or mineral conjure. A science work suitable for all ages and schooling it is packed with glossy color photographs of rocks, fossils, and landscapes.
The Plausibility of Life: Resolving Darwin's Dilemma (Hardcover) by Marc W. Kirschner, John C. Gerhart, John Norton (Illustrator) $30.00 Hardcover: 336 pages Yale University Press ISBN: 0300108656 Darwin's theory of evolution — natural selection favors some adaptations over others. But where do new adaptations come from, also known as "novelty"? This problem baffled Darwin and is the main point of attack for opponents of evolution. Now two neo-Darwinian biologists have extended the original theory by showing how the deep molecular biology of the cell actually fosters biological novelties when plants and animals need them most, not merely when random chance generates them. Kirschner and Gerhart, professor at Harvard and UC-Berkeley, respectively, present their solution to the problem thereby silencing the advocates of intelligent design. The key to understanding the development of complex structures, they say, is seeing that all different body parts are formed from the same basic molecular mechanisms. This way, the authors claim, the metabolic building blocks of life functions can be rearranged and linked in novel ways with less chance of fatal variations than random mutation of DNA would allow. One piece of evidence they offer is the frequency of periods of "deep conserve tion" following evolutionary anatomical changes, where conventional theory would argue for continuous mutation and change. Though this seems like an simple solution, the underlying molecular biology is quite complicated. As for proponents of intelligent design, the authors say their theory turns some of their arguments around and into arguments for evolution.
How Dinosaurs Took Flight : The Fossils, the Science, What We Think We Know, and Mysteries Yet Unsolved (Hardcover) by Christopher Sloan $17.95 Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 64 pages National Geographic Children's Books ISBN: 0792274040 There is a lot of talk today about dinosaurs with feathers. Did they start flying and why? What use were feathers to dinosaurs that didn't fly? Chris Sloan's 2000 book Feathered Dinosaurs introduced kids to the radical idea that some dinosaurs had feathers and that birds are, in fact, a subset of dinosaurs. In How Dinosaurs Took Flight, Sloan returns to these ancient feathered creatures to introduce kids to the fascinating new finds — including a Tyrannosaur with feathers and the dinosaur Microraptor gui with not just two but four wings. The author focuses on the tough new questions scientists are asking right now, the evidence they've gathered, the hypotheses that are developing from the evidence, and the unknowns that remain. This book is the most up-to-date children's book on this topic on the market with tons of yisuals including great John Sibbick paintings and sculptures by Alan Groves of Australia. Author Christopher Sloan is Senior Editor for Art at National Geographic magazine, where he guides the work of artists on projects ranging from dinosaurs to the frontiers of space.
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by Kathleen V. Kudlinski, S. D. Schindler (Illustrator) $15.99 Hardcover Dutton Juvenile ISBN: 0525469788 Science has had more than its share of theories once accepted as fact but later proved wrong and the mystery of dinosaurs could possibly top the list of all time mistaken science. Kids will love the idea that adults can make booboos like the ancient Chinese, who decided that dinosaur fossils came from dragons that still lived, the mistakes then come from nineteenth century scientists, who guessed that Iguanodon's sharp, conical bone was a spike on its head, rather than a spur on its hand. One mistaken idea after another is examined. Kudlinski presents a number of early dino theories like drawings that depicted dinosaurs dragging their tails in the mud and running on spraddled, lizardlike legs, etc and shows how further discoveries disproved these, and more. She includes data on present-day debates with such topics as scales and feathers, coloration, and infant care. She discusses the demise of the dinosaurs, the probable evolution of birds, and the fact that some books still on library shelves and even for sale in bookstores may be promulgating old, disproved theories. With colorful illustrations, this book is simple, attractive, and informative, and a good starting point for a discussion on the scientific method. It portrays the scientists of each generation as earnest, sometimes mystified researchers who did the best they could with the evidence available. The ending returns to the Chinese beliefs, stating that if birds are the descendants of dinosaurs, then dinos are still alive today. The book shows kids that the search is not over yet and that children reading this book may one day find new answers to old questions about the dinosaurs.
Prehistoric Actual Size (Hardcover) by Steve Jenkins $16.00 32 pages Houghton Mifflin ISBN: 0618535780 Moving chronologically from a dot-sized protozoan of 550 million years ago, Jenkins has chosen the animals and the portions of them to depict in their actual size. Cut and torn paper figures reveal texture and details, from the long wings of an early dragonfly to the feathered tuft of an eight-foot terror bird. A three-inch spiny shark stands out distinctly against a page of white space, while less than half of a giant millipede barely fits across two pages. A series of foldout pages reveals one complete small dinosaur (Saltopus), the huge beak and head of the flying reptile (Dsungaripterus), and the thick claw of the fish-eating dinosaur (Baryonyx). The book goes for the visual impact and the illustrations highlight features mentioned in the brief text, such as the sharp beak of Protoceratops. Closing pages offer more information about each species in this colorful volume, along with illustrations that provide the full-body view lacking from many of the large, actual-size renderings. Only 5 of the 17 animals are actual dinosaurs. The mammals, insects, and other groups emphasizes the diversity of life forms over the vast prehistoric span. The largest animal shown: the top and bottom teeth of Giganotosaurus fill an entire page spread. Sure to elicit plenty of Wows from the youngsters. Children fascinated by Jenkins' vibrant cut-paper artwork in Actual Size (2004) won't want to miss this oversize album of prehistoric creatures.
I so wanted to review all the many King Kong books available now based upon the fantastic new Peter Jackson movie but simply do not have room. I'm showing the front covers of those books received but not shown in the last issue here. You definitely want to spend your money on the beautiful The World of Kong A Natural History of Skull Island and The Making of Kong; my highest rating for both plus Kong Unbound features great essays on the giant ape from all the great minds of today, Dark Horse has a great three-part comic book on the new film, and Harper Kids has a bunch of illustrated books on Kong for the kids.
