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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Iceland History > Item 216
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The TIME BEFORE HISTORY
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by Colin Tudge
Sales Rank: 387871
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List Price: $23.95
$21.55
At Amazon
on 11-27-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 368 pages
Published by: Touchstone; 1st Touchstone Ed edition January 6, 1997
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0684830523
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0684830520
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
With majestic sweep and subtle wit, British science writer Tudge brings an amazing perspective to the story of humanity by telescoping three intertwined dramas: the past 40,000 years, in which Homo sapiens truly got into its stride, set against the five-million-year history of hominids, set against the 3.5 billion years of life preceding the hominids' arrival. Tudge views primates (lemurs, monkeys, apes, humans) as a "fifth column," creeping up on other creatures over an 80-million-year period, rarely dominating but ultimately producing a lineage that evolved into us. He favors the multi-migration model of the "Out of Africa" hypothesis, which holds that Homo ergaster, not Homo erectus, evolved to produce modern Homo sapiens. Drawing on the latest research, he discusses the five mass extinctions that interrupted life on Earth; the drift of continents; the Tibetan plateau as the planet's principal cooling mechanism; the growth of our "all-purpose" brain and its invention of language. Tudge concludes by scanning the next million years, with emphasis on devising sustainable economies, conserving species and feeding the world's population. His eloquent, immensely rewarding synthesis fosters a new appreciation of the interdependence of our fragile biosphere. BOMC, QPB, History Book Club and Library of Science alternates.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Nearly everyone thinks of human history as covering the past 2000 years. Yet, this conventional time period only tells us about the specific activities of human beings after they already controlled the world and mastered its other species; it does not tell us about the changing nature of plate tectonics and their impact on species evolution; it does not encompass the significance of how we separated from other animals in our own evolutionary development, nor of the awesome impact we have had on our environment and other species. Science writer Tudge (The Engineer in the Garden: Genes and Genetics, LJ 2/15/95) begins by putting time into perspective so that we can understand how vast is our past; he helps us see that all evolution is part of a bigger whole-an unfolding process affected by shifting continents, climactic changes, and our own impact on the planet and its ecosystems. He presents an exceptional account of human evolution in a concise yet original manner. He defines our origins in a biological, as well as historical, context and applies the lessons that we should learn from our mistakes as well as our achievements to provide a blueprint for the future. Highly recommended for most libraries.
Gloria Maxwell, Kansas City P.L., Kan.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
Tudge has an interesting book with "The Time Before History." He spends a great deal of the book laying the groundwork for the appearence of the ancestors of humans, with detailed discussions of geology, climate, and the evolution of fauna and flora. The chapter on prehistoric creatures was pretty interesting, and considering the dearth of popular works on extinct mammals make this book a worthwhile read alone. Tudge though is at his best when describing the various types of early humans and protohumans -from the various types of Australopithecines to Homo sapiens - and how they evolved, how they lived, and in some cases, how they spread. Useful are his discussion of ecomorphs and how the generalized ecomorphs of primates favored the development of bipedal, tool-using, intelligent protohumans, and his coverage of the diet of australopithecines and early humans and how this affected our evolution, as well as what we know of these beings. Tudge also provides a lot of interesting theories and information regarding the spread of not only Homo sapiens into the world but Homo erectus before him; also theories as to what happened to the Neanderthals and if they were a seperate species or not are detailed as well. The Tudge book is not perfect though. I think he spends too much time on background prior to discussions of early man. Though interesting, they take up a sizeable section of the book. Some of the asides in the chapter on extinct mammals while interesting are controversial, though he does provide citations for those interested in checking on things. Examples include his mentioning of the theory that giant ground sloths may have been arboreal, that the mastodon genus Cuvieronius may have survived in Central America until several centuries after Christ, and that the dwarf mammoth of Wrangel Island (which survived into historic times, this has been well documented) is actually pictured on a pharaoh's tomb in Egypt, according to some having been illustrated when one was presented as a gift! Still, I wouldn't let some of these controversial statements steer potential readers away from this book. It still provides decent coverage of extinct mammals, concepts in paleontology, and a good coverage of eartly man, his development, and spread around the globe.
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The TIME BEFORE HISTORY
Available from Amazon
Price: $21.55
Updated on 11-27-2008.
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