Product Description
Since George Gaylord Simpson published Tempo and Mode in Evolution in 1944, discoveries in paleontology and genetics have abounded. This volume brings together the findings and insights of today's leading experts in the study of evolution, including Francisco J. Ayala, W. Ford Doolittle, and Stephen Jay Gould. It covers morphological and genetic changes in human populations, contradicting the popular claim that modern humans descend from a single woman. ... Read more

Product Description

This book offers a thorough and up-to-date treatment of the use of morphometric procedures in a wide variety of contexts. As one of the most dynamic and popular fields on the contemporary biological scene, morphometrics is gaining notice among researchers and students as a necessary complement to molecular studies in the understanding and maintenance of biodiversity. This is the first reference to meet that growing need.

Product Description

This volume delves into a spectrum of theoretical as well as applied aspects of high-resolution stratigraphic approaches in paleontology. It explores how increasingly detailed knowledge of the fossil record can enhance our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth and also allows geoscientists to address a broad range of important evolutionary and environmental questions in this arena.

A 'zipped' version of the program CONOP9 2007 along with read-me files, sample files, and other documentation are available via a web site (see below). An earlier version of CONOP9 was initially supplied with 'High-Resolution Approaches in Stratigraphic Paleontology' (PJ Harries, editor) and described in Chapter 13 of that volume. This is an updated version of the program, and the documentation supplied with this version supersedes the information supplied in that chapter.

To view the CONOP9 Programs, click on the link CONOP9 Programs on the right side of this page under Related links.

Product Description
In this provocative book two authors—one a scientist, the other a biblical scholar and pastor—recount the pilgrimages of understanding that have led them from the young-earth, "scientific creationist" position they were taught in their youths to new perspectives on what it can mean to believe in God as Creator. Dr. Godfrey describes the field work he has done as a descriptive paleontologist and the successive paradigm shifts that his discoveries led him through as he sought new ways to understand what he had been taught in light of the evidence he was uncovering.Dr. Smith describes how the integration of his background and training in literary studies with his work in biblical interpretation similarly led him to a new way of understanding the Bible, especially the early chapters of Genesis. The book as a whole presents an alternative way of understanding how the Bible and natural history relate to one another. This book will be of personal interest and practical use to college students and college-educated adults who have evangelical or fundamentalist backgrounds and who are seeking to integrate the study of the Bible with a commitment to academic and scientific inquiry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

This is Reality
I so related to this book. I grew up as a Literal Creationist, and it was a slow road to see the Light. I first had to understand that the Bible didn't dictate a literal reading of Genesis, and that there was deeper truth there. Only then was I able to accept the evidence I saw in my biology classes.But what set me on this road was actually the Literal Creationists themselves. I was repeatedly struck with how much they had to bend over backwards and into great contortions to make the evidence fit their preordained beliefs, and the literal words of scripture.And I finally realized that it was just too much work.One did injury to mind and logic to try to create a reading of the Bible that would fit the notions of early 20th century fundamentalists.

This is the first book that fits my personal history exactly.Dr. Godfrey also grew up as a Literal Creationist, and his path to the Light was in learning from the fossils, and learning to accept the truth of science which did not contradict the truth of the Bible. Dr. Smith took the theological path, and left Literal Creationism to embrace a more accurate exegesis of the scriptures, one not dictated by human preconceptions but by the authors' original intents, and the intents of God.

In this mixture, they take that final step, of looking to see how we can understand more of God through evolution.If he is the author of not only general revelation but special revelation as well; if evolution occurred, then surely he is the Original Cause- then by studying evolution, we can learn something of God.

This book is extraordinarily well-written, piecing together the evidence piece-by-piece.It does not attack the beliefs of the Literal Creationists, for these men were once trapped in that understanding as well.It rather is a conversion story, of how God came to them and showed them more fully who he was, and who he is.

I particularly enjoyed some new ideas that both authors introduced.For today, there is a veritable genre of Theistic Evolution books, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a new slant on the idea, and new ideas to incorporate within the theological theory.Dr. Godfrey's discussion of Biblical Meteorology is priceless. We understand that God brings the rain- this is clear in the Bible.It is also clear that he created the world.But there are some among us who insist on "Biblical" Geology and Paleontology- "science" that confirms a young Earth and a Literal Creation.They believe that we must do this because the scriptures say this happened- literally. Yet the scriptures also say that God brought the rain, and the wind, and the storms, and the sun.Why, then, do we accept the idea that the weather has proximal causes?Why is it okay to advocate that hot weather causes winds which cause hurricanes, and then predict the path of a hurricane- and somehow all of this does not deny the power of God behind the hurricane?This discussion by Godfrey reveals how we can accept science as proximal cause and God as original cause.

Dr. Smith's insights were frankly revolutionary.He introduces the concept of "Observational Theology".It is not that the Ancients believed in a videocam view of reality, as if it could be recorded on a machine, for they had no inkling of such a concept. But neither did they reject the literal interpretation.Rather, they had solid "science" for their time- observational science.They observed the world around them, and understood God as present in it.Had God intervened and dictated scripture, as if it were some sort of Qur'anic revelation to Mohammed (pbuh), with modern science, well, then we would have understood it very well- today.And it would have been absolutely irrelevant for every generation before us, with less science, and every generation after us, with better science.Instead, the scripture is interpreted through the understanding of the people of the time.Even Jesus' understanding of science and medicine is limited to his time and culture, such as the concept that spit rubbed on the eyes is efficacious.

So Smith goes through point by point in the scriptures, to prove that they could not possibly be interpreted literally, and never were intended to be, in every instance.And in some instances, they were intended to be interpreted literally, by the Ancients. But here, when we Moderns try to do the same thing, we insist on putting our own framework upon theirs- without even realizing it! As I read, I realized I did the same exact thing, both when I was a Literal Creationist, and even today. When I read the Genesis story, whether I interpret it literally or symbolically, I continue to picture a round Earth, with water in one place and land in another, with sky above and clouds in the sky, with a sun and moon above the sky. But this is not what it says! Dr. Smith, in a series of helpful drawings and explanations, shows us that the Ancients pictured a flat Earth, with water, and then space between the waters, like a hollow egg, and then land floating in the water.Rather than a sun, moon, and stars in outer space, the Ancients actually pictured all of those in the actual sky.

And once he spells it out, you realize, "Oh, of course! How foolish! *This* really is their understanding! How could I have not seen that?"For the whole concept of a round Earth and outer space are extremely modern concepts.And concepts that, even if they could have been explained to the Ancients, would have been completely unhelpful to them.

No, the genius of the two Genesis Stories is that God is powerful and greater than all other gods, and that he is intimate, and walks with us. Plenty of other religions had one or the other. No other people until the Hebrews had combined those two concepts into one deity until that point.And for that to be an effective idea, it had to reach them where they were at- it had to be an observational cosmology, and observational perspective, and observational science.

And so Smith and Godfrey return us to the original intent of Genesis.Not all this unhelpful discussion of origins and what literally happened.No.So much of the attack on evolution and science and insistence on a "Biblical" perspective has ironically removed us from the real Biblical perspective.

It's about God.

Finally, some satisfying theological answers to a very tough subject
About a year and a half ago I decided I was ready to delve into the creationism/evolution debate. I'm an evangelical Christian. It didn't take long for me to be convinced by the scientific evidence that evolution & common descent are indeed facts.

I was left with a lot of theological questions, though. Since I grew up in a very conservative home, a lot of my theology has been based on a literal rendering of "the fall" in Genesis. This book didn't answer all of my questions. (I'd have given it five stars if it had gone into even more depth.) But the answers that were given by Christopher R. Smith were the most satisfying I have found. From the poetry of Genesis 1 to Messianic prophecies, Dr. Smith helped tweak the way that I am reading my Bible. I still have questions and "issues" but this book gave me more confidence that there are satisfying answers to be had, at least to a lot of the questions.

I'd like to take a minute to compare this book to "Finding Darwin's God" by Kenneth R. Miller. Dr. Miller's book is generally one of the first recommended to people who want to explore the compatibility of religion with faith. I love Dr. Miller's ability to explain science--he makes it exciting and understandable. He's a fantastic writer! But "Finding Darwin's God" answered very few theological questions for me. Dr. Miller makes no claims to being a theologian; he is a scientist. His book is very worth reading, as a primer on evolution--one that is specifically pro-faith. Dr. Godfrey & Dr. Smith do not give nearly as much scientific information as Dr. Miller's book does. In fact, "Paradigms on Pilgrimage" talks very little about the proposed mechanisms for evolution. It, however, goes into a great more theological detail. The books complement each other very well, and their topics don't overlap very much.

This book is promoted as being useful to those with evangelical or fundamentalist Christian backgrounds--in other words, Christians who have held very conservative theologies. I would add it's also very useful for those Christians who hold more theologically moderate ideas, but who haven't really thought through these particular issues. In fact, Dr. Smith's non-literalist views on the Bible will not be acceptable to many theological conservatives. But to people like me, who are open to more moderate views, this is exciting stuff!

Richard Dawkins is famously quoted as saying, "Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually-fulfilled atheist." This book got me a lot closer to being an intellectually-fulfilled Christian.

Thoughtful approach to Genesis 1
Interesting, well-written book featuring plenty of food for thought. Godfrey's foundational premise, differentiating between methodological naturalism and metaphysical naturalism, is similar to that promulgated by Dr Francis Collins.I would have preferred that he not posit the contrast as being between "faith" and "reason" in his introduction, but rather that he point out that each position combines elements of faith and reason.

I agree with the author's argument against a 'literalist' reading of the text as flat historical narrative, an interpretative mode that Young Earth Creationists rely on to force a 6,000 year old universe on the passage. My understanding of Gen 1-3is that Moses is instructing the Israelites who God is, who they were and what events led them from Egypt to the Sinai to Palestine, and not in providing them with a scientific explanation of the creation of the universe.

Another good Biblical case for an old earth
This book is about the personal spiritual and intellectual journeys of two brothers-in-law (a PhD paleontologist and a PhD Baptist minister) from Young Earth Creationism to Evolutionary Creationism (Theistic Evolution).

The first five chapters were written by the paleontologist (Stephen Gopdfrey) and deal a lot with the fossil record.He sums up his discussion by stating that evolution "wasn't devised specifically to deny the existence of God any more than the science of meterology was. It developed like any other branch of science as biologists, paleontologists and geologists sought to "subdue the earth,' that is, to to make sense of it and to provide a natural explanation for what they observed."

The next five chapters were written by the Baptist minister and deal a lot with evolution. He boils down his discussion to two large categories of questions (p. 154): "(1) The character of God: could a God who might have used a process such as evolution in creating the world be the same God revealed to us in the Bible?(2) The position of humans within creation: on what basis can it be said that they enjoy an elevated status, and how could their actions in relation to God have affected all other life on earth?"He then takes up each of these issues.

The final chapter (Genesis cosmology and its Implications) was written by both. It starts with a reading of Genesis 1 as "an observational cosmology, rather than an objective scientific one." Their theme is that "Genesis, when understood as originally intended, does not present an objective scientific account of the origins of the universe. It rather presents a phenomenological account - that is, it describes how things appear and how they appear to have been made."

They summarize their argument very nicely (p. 192): "If you feel that you must believe in a young earth on the basis of a commitment to a literal reading of Genesis, you must also believe in a flat earth on that same basis. But if, as is no doubt the case, you do not feel that you have to believe in a flat earth, even though it has now been shown that this is what Genesis literally presents, then you may have articulated for yourself the reasons why you don't need to believe in a young earth either."

I recommend this book to any Young Earth Creationist or to any Old Earth, Progressive or Evolutionary Creationist who is trying to reach Young Earth Creationists.

A look inside two former YECs
I received my copy of Paradigms on Pilgrimage (Clements Publishing, 2005) this week, and finished it in a couple of sittings ... which is to say that I found it hard to put down. The authors, Stephen J. Godfrey and Christopher R. Smith write of their personal pilgrimages out of a YEC paradigm which they were taught earlier in life, and into an understanding of the evolutionary history of life on earth. The two men, brothers-in-law, have backgrounds in different disciplines. Godfrey is a trained paleontologist, and Smith is a student of the Biblical interpretation and literary science. Each describe the succession of understandings as they struggled to integrate what became for them undeniable -- evolutionary science -- with their Biblical faith. Any believer who struggles with this huge shift in paradigms would benefit from the personal accounts of their respective journeys.

Stephen Godfrey writes the opening five chapters. His style is engaging and, at times, entertaining (chapter one is entitled, "The Dog Skeleton and My Grandmother's Toothbrush"). As Godfrey receives his training in descriptive paleontology, and as he becomes proficient in the science of fossils, his long-held assumptions of Young Earth Creationism and Flood Geology are rocked again and again. He entered the field, in part, hoping to find evidence in the fossil record to support his YEC views. But instead he finds that the fossil record renders Flood Geology wholly untenable, and that it strongly supports the evolutionary hypothesis. What I found interesting is that, even in the face of this mounting evidence, Godfrey clings to a literalist view of early Genesis, and he continues to look for something, anything, some shred of data that might be used to discount Darwin and/or substantiate a literal reading of Genesis. He describes the chronology of his personal discoveries and his ensuing struggle, and leads the open-minded reader to understand why his ultimate acceptance of evolution was the only reasonable conclusion.

These chapters are filled with illustrations and fossils that tell amazing stories of the history of life on earth; I found them fascinating. The chapters dealing with trace fossils should forever put to rest the idea that the Flood is responsible for laying down our fossil rich geological strata. At one time, I found the notion of so-called "polystrate fossils" (fossilized trees which are said to pass through multiple strata of sedimentary deposits suggesting that all these layers were the result of a single catastrophic event) quite convincing. Still looking for that shred of evidence for Flood Geology, Godfrey describes his disappointment when he personally observed this phenomenon: "Some young-earth creationists ... were claiming that places like Joggins, where fossilized trees were seen to pass upright though the surrounding sedimentary rocks, provided powerful evidence that the world had been overtaken suddenly by a global flood. I had once believed this to be true. However, after visiting Joggins, I knew first hand that this could not be. The tree stumps lined up along clearly visible, once horizontal, beds" (page 49).

Christopher Smith takes up the account of his pilgrimage in the second half of the book. Trained in theology, Biblical languages and literary studies, his shifting paradigm travels along a slightly different course from Godfrey's. Like his co-author and brother-in-law, Smith was taught a YEC perspective as a young person, and he tenaciously stuck to his views even during his years at Harvard University where he was among an extreme minority. Not until the time of his graduation did he begin to experience doubt about his literalist/creationist understandings. He describes the processes involved in the ultimate merging of his Biblical faith with what he was learning about his world from the various fields of scientific inquiry. In short, he develops a hermeneutic which not only accommodates good science, but is far more in keeping with the internal evidence of the Bible itself. Far from undermining his confidence in the Bible, this new paradigm has opened new vistas upon the Biblical truth, and given him fresh insight into what God is really communicating through the inspired scriptures.

Some believers may struggle with some of Smith's methods of understanding and interpreting Scriptures. Paradigm shifts in theology and Biblical interpretation are never easy. Smith's views do not entirely line up with my own. But I appreciate his honesty in dealing with Scriptures with intellectual honesty.

The final chapter of the book returns to the first chapter of the Bible, in light of the Ancient Near-eastern Cosmology context in which it was written. Genesis 1 can only be understood in light of its historical context. The authors help us to see that, read properly, Genesis is not in conflict with evolution.

I wish every evangelical and fundamental believer could read this book. Making the journey from a YEC perspective into an acceptance of evolutionary science can be a painful and difficult experience. But in light of the overwhelming evidence for evolution, it is a journey believers must be willing to make. This book can be very useful in smoothing that path. ... Read more

Product Description
The Encyclopedia of Paleontology is designed to address the shortage of general reference works on both vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology and to serve the needs of students and lay persons interested in the field. As the encyclopedia aims to provide basic information, the majority of the 350 entries are devoted to explanations of paleontological concepts and techniques, examinations of the evolutionary development of particular organisms and biological features, profiles of major discoveries, and biographies of leading scientists. Each entry includes an essay and a further reading list. An international team of 200 leading experts in the field has prepared the illustrations and the essays, which range from concise descriptions to comprehensive discussions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great breadth and depth, suited for paleo fanatics and college libraries
This is 1400+ pages packed with information on a myriad of topics in paleontology, with articles about notable paleontologists, prehistoric environments and habitats, climate, geology, biology, morphology, and various groups of organisms. You won't find full articles on individual species, but certain species can be found within chapters that cover a wider group such as a genus or family, for example. Or maybe not.

This set is not comprehensive. Instead, it is a rather large smattering of widely diverse articles -- and I suspect its creation was fully dependent on the whims and availability of its many contributing authors. No complaints from me, I enjoy reading any well written book on prehistoric life that isn't dino-centric.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I illustrated the Chelicerates chapter, and my illustration of coal forest chelicerates was selected for the cover of Volume One. I'd prefer that the entire encyclopedia focused on life in the coal forest...but perhaps that's not relevant to this review!

With a hefty price tag of nearly $400 dollars, or roughly half that amount if purchased at Amazon's bargain and used book sources, I can't imagine anyone other than total paleo fanatics, the very wealthy, or college libraries purchasing this book. It would surely be the gift of a lifetime for a student with a deep interest in prehistoric life.

the most comprehensiveencyclopedia onpaleontology
undoubtly amost importantscientific work.very rarely i encountered such a book-very clear explanation -cohen ... Read more

Product Description

This volume was cited as Best Seller in Geology according to Library Journal Academic Newswire, November 2006!

The most relevant contributions on Mexican Paleontology are described by specialists. Diverse aspects of almost every fossil group are reviewed. Information on recent advances of important localities is provided.

This book will offer updated information useful to the fields of stratigraphy, sedimentology, tectonics, paleobiogeography, paleoclimatology and evolution. The first comprehensive source of information about Mexican fossils in English.

A very important added value to this book is the rather extensive bibliography of almost 1000 references related to the central topic, invaluable information which by itself constitutes a tribute to the memory of pioneer contributions by researchers that have worked in Mexico for the past two centuries

Product Description
A crucial task for paleontologists and paleobiologists is the reconstruction of the appearance, movements, and behavior of extinct vertebrates from studies of their bones or other, more rarely preserved parts. A related issue is the boundary between the scientific evidence for reconstruction and the need to resort to imagination. In this book, sixteen paleontologists and biologists discuss these questions, review the current status of functional studies of extinct vertebrates in the context of similar work on living animals, and present a broad philosophical view of the subject's development within the framework of phylogenetic analysis. The authors describe and debate methods for making realistic inferences of function in fossil vertebrates, and present examples where we may be confident that our reconstructions are both detailed and accurate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Expanding Earth Reference
I was quite amazed that this author wrote fairly about the expanding earth hypothesis.Normally authors treat it as a passing fancy and bad science.I bought the book specifically for insight into this area and there are a dozen or more pages dedicated to this area.Congrats to the author for an "unbiased" view of expanding earth which in my opinion is absolutely correct.

Review of Transaction
Book was received in good time and in excellent condition.I am still reading the book, so cannot comment on it.The transaction was all I could wish. ... Read more

Product Description

The so-called “Bone Wars” of the 1880s, which pitted Edward Drinker Cope against Othniel Charles Marsh in a frenzy of fossil collection and discovery, may have marked the introduction of dinosaurs to the American public, but the second Jurassic dinosaur rush, which took place around the turn of the twentieth century, brought the prehistoric beasts back to life. These later expeditions—which involved new competitors hailing from leading natural history museums in New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh—yielded specimens that would be reconstructed into the colossal skeletons that thrill visitors today in museum halls across the country.

Reconsidering the fossil speculation, the museum displays, and the media frenzy that ushered dinosaurs into the American public consciousness, Paul Brinkman takes us back to the birth of dinomania, the modern obsession with all things Jurassic. Featuring engaging and colorful personalities and motivations both altruistic and ignoble, The Second Jurassic Dinosaur Rush shows that these later expeditions were just as foundational—if not more so—to the establishment of paleontology and the budding collections of museums than the more famous Cope and Marsh treks. With adventure, intrigue, and rivalry, this is science at its most swashbuckling.

Customer Reviews (3)

Gotta read this book!!
For anyone interested in dinosaurs, paleontology, and/or history of science, this book is a must read. It reveals little known facts about the people, institutions, and techniques responsible for the first mounted sauropod dinosaurs in the United States and even the world. These characters are both ruthless and entertaining in the feverish race to be the first and to rewrite the history of paleontology. I highly encourage everyone to add "The Second Jurassic Dinosaur Rush" to the personal libraries.

Like a time machine
An exhaustively researched history of a formative time in Vertebrate Paleontology. Beyond being an entertaining record of the successes and frustrations of these early workers in the field, this book serves as an excellent resource for both modern paleontologists and the interested public to understand how the discipline was shaped. From discovery to display, we learn how a surplus of scientific curiosity, the tenacity to brave threatening weather and landscape, skill in the field, and an extraordinary amount of luck must combine to haul these beasts back by wagon and rail to the laboratories of the nation's great museums where they are brought back to life. A quote from Yale paleontologist Richard Swann Lull sums it up, "The old-time expeditions were staged in the real West, at a time when lack of means of transportation... together with the very intimate contact every fossil hunter must have with his physical surroundings- with fatigue, heat and cold, hunger and thirst- made the search for the prehistoric a real adventure suited to red-blooded men."

Having worked at several of the institutions and field areas featured within, and with senior generations of paleontologists who knew personally the major characters, this book has provided me with fascinating context and closer ties to the genesis of paleo as we know it today.

Wonderful Reading
The book is great and I am hooked.It's chock full of information, easy
to read and presented in a style I personally like.Treating the
characters as people who have histories, personal lives and opinions is
great.A behind the scenes look at turn of the century paleontology and a
must read for anyone interested in paleontology and dinosaurs. ... Read more

Product Description
The Wild West provided the setting for some famous battles, but the gunfight at O.K. Corral doesn't hold a candle to the Bone Wars. Following the Civil War, the (Re-)United States turned its attention to the unexplored territories between the Mississippi and the Pacific. The railroads led the way, and to build them we blasted through mountains and leveled valleys and exposed rock that hadn't seen the light of day for millions of years. This is the story of Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, two scientists who found and fought for those bones, and the artist Charles R. Knight who almost single-handedly brought dinosaurs back to life for an awestruck public. Guest starring Chief Red Cloud and hundreds of his Indian Braves, the gun-totin' and gamblin' Professor John Bell Hatcher, colossal and stupefying Dinosauria of the New World, and featuring special appearances by The Cardiff Giant, P.T. Barnum, Buffalo Bill Cody, Ulysses S. Grant, Alexander Graham Bell, and a plentiful supporting cast of Rogues and Gallants from the Eastern Scientific Establishment and The Old West, the colorful supporting cast makes for a rich blend of history, adventure, science, and art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Paleontologists Battle it out in the old west!
The title sold me! Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunderlizerds is a fun and informative read about Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh who sabotage each others digs and reputations. I only knew a little about these two Paleontologists (more about Marsh) before reading, like the huge collection of bones they obtained.There are also some cameos from other well known historical figures like Buffalo Bill Cody, P.T. Barnum, famous artist Charles R. Knight (The Lost World Painting ) and many more. This graphic novel was entertaining and I felt sorry for Drinker Cope at the end. I went on to read more about them and early Paleontology, so I would give this book thumbs up for re-sparking my interests even though it's fictionalized a bit. I picked it up at the 2008 MOCCA convention in New York and Jim Ottaviani was fun to talk with. Kevin Cannon was a nice fellow as well. I liked the Sepia colored art work and layout. An enjoyable read! Thanks for the story Jim!

Hoping for more
This is a mostly made up version of the famous "Bone Wars" between Marsh and Cope and would have been more interesting if they had stuck to the facts (see "The Gilded Dinosaur" by Mark Jaffe). More art work of the dinosaurs would have been a bonus. One of the few dinosaur books I've given away rather than kept.

Could have been much, much better
Ottaviani has good ideas and an interesting narrative sense, and his attempts to bring to popular notice via graphic novels some of the less well-known people in the recent history of science are certainly laudable, but his execution never seems to be up to his intentions. Here he recounts the history of the infamous "Bone Wars" of the late 19th century between rival American paleontologists Othniel Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, which greatly entertained and greatly annoyed their colleagues (and sold lots of papers for James Gordon Bennett). The competition was virulent, with vituperative personal attacks, "salting" of scientific digs, bribery of workers, spying, and violations of Indian lands. Marsh, the first American professor of paleontology (at Yale), could be brilliant, but also was capable of dynamiting sites to keep other researchers from exploring them. Cope, probably the better scientist of the two, was also brash, melodramatic, and a bit paranoid. Together, the two men gave American paleontology a bad reputation elsewhere in the world that took several generations to undo. Ottaviani's story isn't nearly that clear, however. The book would have benefitted from a "dramatis personae" at the front, to give the reader a sporting chance at following things.

Fun book
this is longer than i expected(~165 pgs), but in a good way: perfect for a preteen to get into but not finish in 1 sitting. i love the sepia graphics but just wish there was a fling of color once in a while (its all sepia toned between the colorful covers). overall, very nice.

Believe It Or Not - The Bone Wars
In the graphic novel Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards, Jim Ottaviani and the folks at G.T. Labs take on E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh and the Bone War.In the last third of the 1800's, geologists were exploring the West, and two of those geologists, Cope and Marsh, were looking for dinosaur bones.These rivals discovered and named many of the most famous dinosaurs while carrying on the most famous [sometimes violent] feud in geology.Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards is a fine book, but didn't impress me to the level that the earlier graphic novels Fallout and Suspended In Language did.I still highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, the old West, dinosaurs, and is willing to give the graphic novel format a try. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Paleontology of the Green River Formation, with a review of the fish fauna
This is the one indispensable book for any serious collector of the beautifully preserved fossil fish from the Eocene age lacustrine formations of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.Numerous drawings and photographs accompany the inciteful conclusions drawn by Lance Grande, the author.Rare and common fossil species are described and detailed data is presented to allow differentiation between closely related species.
Published in 1980, this volume was followed up in the next two years in the American Museum of Natural History "Novitates."Novitates numbers 2728 and 2730 by Grande contain priceless updates to the knowledge of the Green River fauna provided by this main volume.
... Read more

Product Description

The Chesapeake Miocene will always be considered a paleontological treasure. Given the richness and accessibility of the Maryland and Virginia Miocene shell beds, it seems remarkable that very few people have ever described new species from these strata over the past 185 years. Until now. Integrating elements from paleontology, geology, environmental science, and ecology, Molluscan Paleontology of the Chesapeake Miocene assembles previous research and the authors’ experience into a synoptic field guide.

The most complete compendium of Miocene species created since 1904, this long-awaited resource lists nearly 500 species. It contains illustrations of 260 species, including more than 60 not found in any previous book and 26 newly discovered. It describes Chesapeake molluscan faunas in terms of local geology, paleoceanography, and marine paleobiology. Organized by stratigraphic geology, the book covers fossils of the Eastover, St Mary’s, Choptank, and Calvert Formations. It illustrates 24 collecting sites and fossil exposures, showing details of in situ specimens, along with maps of 4 Miocene paleoseas and detailed stratigraphic columns for Maryland and northern Virginia. The text is accompanied by a CD-ROM with color illustrations of the forty known species of ecphora shells. Armed with these, you should be able to identify the species found in the amazingly rich shell beds of the Chesapeake Bay area.

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Gran Barranca in Patagonia exposes the most complete sequence of middle Cenozoic paleofaunas in South America. It is the only continuous continental fossil record of the Southern Hemisphere between 42 and 18 million years ago, when climates at high latitudes transitioned from warm humid to cold dry conditions. This volume presents the geochronology of the fossil mammal sequence and a compilation of the latest studies of the stratigraphy, sedimentology, mammals, plants, invertebrates and trace fossils. It is also the first detailed treatment of the vertebrate faunal sequence at Gran Barranca, providing important new evidence about biotic diversity and evolution in the native species. A revised taxonomy allows a reevaluation of the origination and extinction of herbivorous mammals, marsupials, and xenarthrans, and the earliest occurrence of rodents and primates in southern latitudes. Academic researchers and advanced students in vertebrate paleontology, geochronology, sedimentology and paleoprimatology will value this wealth of new information. ... Read more

Product Description
The gorgons ruled the world of animals long before there was any age of dinosaurs.They were the T. Rex of their day until an environmental cataclysm 250 million years ago annihilated them—along with 90 percent of all plant and animal species on the planet—in an event so terrible even the extinction of the dinosaurs pales in comparison. For more than a decade, Peter Ward and his colleagues have been searching in South Africa’s Karoo Desert for clues to this world: What were these animals like? How did they live and, more important, how did they die?

In Gorgon, Ward examines the strange fate of this little known prehistoric animal and its contemporaries, the ancestors of the turtle, the crocodile, the lizard, and eventually dinosaurs. He offers provocative theories on these mass extinctions and confronts the startling implications they hold for us. Are we vulnerable to a similar catastrophe? Are we nearing the end of human domination in the earth’s cycle of destruction and rebirth? Gorgon is also a thrilling travelogue of Ward’s long, remarkable journey of discovery and a real-life adventure deep into Earth’s history.Amazon.com Review
In Gorgon, geologist Peter Ward turns his attention reluctantly away from the asteroid collision that killed all the dinosaurs and instead focuses on a much older extinction event. As it turns out, the Permian extinction of 250 million years ago dwarfs the dino's 65-million-year-old Cretaceous-Tertiary armageddon. Ward's book is not a dry accounting of the fossil discoveries leading to this conclusion, but rather an intimate, first-person account of some of his triumphs and disappointments as a scientist. He draws a nice parallel between the Permian extinction and his own rather abrupt in research focus, revealing the agonizing steps he had to take to educate himself about a set of prehistoric creatures about which he knew almost nothing. These were the Gorgons, carnivorous reptiles whose ecological dominance preceded that of the more pop-culture-ready dinosaurs.

They would have had huge heads with very large, saberlike teeth, large lizard eyes, no visible ears, and perhaps a mixture of reptilian scales and tufts of mammalian hair.... The Gorgons ruled a world of animals that were but one short evolutionary step away from being mammals.

With characteristic enthusiasm, Ward transports readers with him to South Africa's Karoo desert, where he participated in field expeditions seeking fossils of these fearsome creatures. He suffers routine tick patrols, puff-adder avoidance lessons, stultifying thirst, and the everyday humiliations of being the new guy on a field team. Besides telling a fascinating paleological story, Gorgon lets readers feel a bone-hunter's passion and pain. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Nice and easy reading
Nice account of the hunt for fossils in the Karoo desert in south africa in the search of an explanation for the Permian/Triassic extinction. Combining down to earth paleontology, some explanations on the Permian/Triassic extinction, a description of the political transition in south Africa and a humble account of personal experience as a paleontolog the books makes an easy and nice reading.

So-so
Science books are pretty much susceptible to their times, and the early 2006 discovery of a huge crater in Antarctic Wilkes Land, which may have been four to five times the size of the K-T Impactor, seems to have given great credence to the belief that it was the primary, if not sole, cause of the P-T extinction event. Furthermore, unlike the K-T Impactor, there is growing evidence that the P-T Impactor may have actually broken the continent of Australia off from Antarctica, and led to the breakup of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland. Given this turn of events, it might seem that Ward's book should be simply tossed on the heap of outdated science books, for he is not a great essayist in the manner of a Stephen Jay Gould, whose often wrong posits on evolution did not kybosh his ability to effectively communicate ideas, nor is Ward anywhere in a class with the magisterial Loren Eiseley, whose `hidden personal essay' format preceded Gould's, and whose work is one of the great English language prose corpuses of the last century, even if his decades old ideas on evolution are several generations removed from relevance.

Yet, here is where idiot luck comes in. While Ward is no prose stylist, and one almost feels he is a primitivist or idiot savant banging away at keyboards, he made one very smart decision in writing this book, or, at least, a fortuitous one, which was to make this book less about `hard science', and more about the soft stuff in between. Gorgon focuses far more on the personalities of scientists, the desires for relevance, the politics of the South African lands where the Karoo Desert digs that constitute this book's Ground Zero take place, and his own personal family ups and downs. Thus, what was a squooshy weakness before the Antarctic discovery, becomes the book's saving grace after it....Last year, I read a much more well written book called Snowball Earth, by Gabrielle Walker, which was everything this book wanted to be. It provided a provocative theory of an almost wholly glaciated earth a half billion years before this ancient impact, and it did so in a lively, engaging style that presented both its theory and personalities in an engaging, well-written style. This book, unfortunately, barely touches upon its own titular subject, which is really the reason most layfolk would buy it. We get too little of the gorgonopsians and too much of filler. This book won't be of much use in a decade or two, and Ward does not have a great future in science writing the way Walker does, but this book did give more than a few moments of pleasure in its slow meandering, which again recapitulated its ideas about drying Permian rivers, and will leave at least a few dried beds within that will occasionally urge me to rethink its lost waters. If this goes against my usual criteria for recommending a book, so be it. If a man can't be willfully dissonant, on rare occasions, does his usual consistency have any virtue? As for Mr. Ward, he can thank me at a later date.

Barely readable
The age of the creatures that predated the dinosaurs--the protomammals and their ilk--is a fascinating and little-known chapter in the history of life on earth, and I was interested in learning more about these creatures. So I bought this book.

I shouldn't have.

Not only did I learn nothing, the book is truly painful to read. Ward's style swings from jaw-poppingly boring "what I did on my summer vacation" accounts rendered in grindingly banal prose to incomprehensible science jargon, sometimes in the same paragraph.

Along the way, he manages to get in some cheap shots at colleagues, congratulate himself for having solved the mystery of the dinosaurs' extinction--and, oh, by the way, having figured out what killed the Gorgons and their kin, too--and indulge in a bit of handwringing over apartheid in South Africa, where he did his digging.

Which is laudable, certainly, but what it has to do with paleontology is beyond me.

But most perturbing is that at no point does the reader learn anything of substance about the creatures themselves. Nope, nothing. Zip. Nada. Bubkes. Don't believe me? Take a look at the index. The actual Gorgons--the gorgonopsids--the creatures for whom the book is named--appear on--wait for it--11 pages. Out of 288 pages, they merit mention on 11.

The interested layperson would do a heck of a lot better to read Robert Bakker's "The Dinosaur Heresies," which is far more accessible, far better written, far more significant, and far less smug. And by the way, you'll also learn more about the protomammals in Bakker's book than you will in "Gorgon."

If I want badly written and indulgent memoirs, I'll read the New Yorker. Since I'm still interested in learning more about the Gorgons, I guess I'll keep looking.

Now I want to be a geologist
I ordered this book used but it came in perfect condition. I had been reading a library copy but it was two weeks overdue. This book has captured my intrest like no other non-fiction book ever has. I want to be a geologist or a paleontolgist now!

Monsters of the Permian
By now, almost everyone must be familiar with the discovery of the iridium concentrations at the K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) boundary, and the Chicxulub impact crater, first reported in 1981, that appears to exactly the right age and the right size to have terminated most of the life on Earth, sixty-five million years ago.The author of "Gorgon" began his career with field work on the proof of the quick and terrible extinction at the K-T boundary--the death knell of the dinosaurs.

However, Dr. Ward found himself more and more intrigued by an even great extinction event that occurred 250 million years ago at the boundary of the Permian and the Triassic (P/T).Was it caused by another comet or meteor strike?Did the elimination of 95 % of Earth's marine life and 70% of all land species proceed as quickly as at the K-T termination, or did it take place in pulses over a much longer period of time?

According to the author (and others), there is no credible, unambiguous evidence for an impact as is the case for the K-T extinction.What is more likely is that massive greenhouse gas emissions reduced oxygen availability, ultimately resulting in the collapse of marine ecosystems, and most of the land-based systems as well.This was possibly caused by volcanic eruptions on the supercontinent of Pangea, in what is now Siberia (the Siberian Traps).

In the final chapter of his book, "Resolution," the author puts forth two interesting observation-based theories:(1) the abundance of oxidized, reddish rock in the Triassic beds above the P/T boundary (about 50 million years worth) implies "...the oxygen in our atmosphere plunged to very low levels as it became tied up in the rocks...so low, in fact, that any poor human...would very quickly suffer from altitude sickness, even at sea level."; (2) on land at least, the near extinction of animals that didn't use oxygen efficiently, including most but not all of the mammal-like reptiles that dominated the Permian."Heat [greenhouse effect] and asphyxiation [were] the two agents of the long mysterious mass extinction."

Except for the last chapter, "Gorgon" is light on theory and heavy on field work and proof-of-concept.Here is how geologists, paleontologists, and other scientists interact in the field, braving the heat of South Africa's Karoo Desert, the omnipresent ticks, flies, and puff adders, and the digestive challenges of bad water and mystery-meat pizza.Dr. Ward takes his readers not only on a trip through the lost world of the Permian, but also through an African culture that seems to be on the brink of chaos.He is a sensitive and at times acerbic observer of both present and deep past."Gorgon" is a compelling, thoroughly readable story.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A CLASSIC WORK OF EVOLUTIONARY THEORY, FINALLY TRANSLATED
Otto Schindewolf (1896-1971) was a German paleontologist, also famous as a "saltationist" (i.e., the idea that evolution can proceed in "leaps," and not only gradually, as Darwin had suggested).In this famous work (not translated until this 1993 edition), he states that "The gaps that exist in the continuity of forms, which we always encounter at those very points, are not to be blamed on the fossil record; they are not illusions but the expression of a natural, primary absence of transitional forms."He then adds, "in spite of tireless search, the hoped-for series of connecting forms---the 'missing links' of the cliche---have never been found ... the closed evolutionary lineages we have before us regularly break off as we near their roots.Nothing in the future will change this."

The "poverty of the fossil record" cannot be blamed for this; "there is no longer any reason to resign outselves to some perceived insufficiency of fossil material; rather, we see in the regularly recurring pattern of the fossil record a reflection, incomplete in detail yet on the whole faithful, of the actual situation: a natural lack of intermediate forms and the existence of real gaps between individual types."

The problem is greater than this: "there is no way that there could be transitional forms as they have often been envisaged and required, namely, forms that are intermediate in every aspect.A placenta cannot be absent and present simultaneously; the two circulatory systems leading from the heart cannot be both separate and non-separate ... Intermediate forms in the true sense cannot be expected in these cases; the most one will find are composite types, which combine features of one group with those of another..." and "Gradual, smooth transitions between these two different developmental types are unknown and scarcely even imaginable."

Schindewolf is not a creationist, however: "there is no doubt that the supposition of a bridging between those designs by some kind of evolutionary process presents far fewer intellectual difficulties than does he claim for independent creation of an entire new type."Instead, he proposes that "Evolutionary development is episodic---it proceeds in phases, or in quantum leaps," and that "Macromutations are the determining factors of evolution."

Schindewolf suggests that genetic "monstrosities"---such as the "hopeful monsters" proposed in Goldschmidt's work The Material Basis of Evolution: Reissued (Silliman Milestones in Science)---are a possible solution.Schindewolf supports Goldschmidt's work: "Goldschmidt's inferences completely meet the challenge that fossil material appears to me to pose, and that he, a leading geneticist, has presented a complete interpretation that does justice to the tangible, historical phylogenetic data."

Stephen Jay Gould wrote the introduction to this edition.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in evolutionary theory.

A great introductory book
This book is a great introduction to paleontology. My 14 year old daughter is reading it, but it is good for any person who is interested in learning more at the beginning level. ... Read more