Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 269 pages
- Published by: University of California Press
- Edition: 1st Edition November 7, 2005
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0520231414
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0520231412
-
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
- Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Paleontologist Martin delivers an energetic and highly entertaining look at one of the most controversial issues in his field of geoscience: overkill, the argument that "virtually all extinctions of wild animals in the last 50,000 years are anthropogenic, that is, caused by humans" and not by climate change. As one of the leading advocates of this theory, Martin uses his own extensive research—as well as amusing insights from his personal life and career—to make his case. He draws on studies from Costa Rica and Madagascar to California and the Grand Canyon, and brings alive on the page such extinct creatures as mammoths, mastodons and the "gentle giant" ground sloths, which he shows were present in North America before the arrival of prehistoric people. He is quite fair in presenting opposing arguments and displays his ability to explain complex concepts in understandable ways. But while Martin is convincing in his reasoning and his suggestions for developing new ecological parks to increase our appreciation of the lost beasts, what is most memorable is his ability to show that "we are half blind if we behold the Grand Canyon without visions" of its extinct species. 17 black and white photos, 12 line drawings.
(Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Once upon a time--say 13,000 years ago--armadillos the size of small cars, sloths the size of bull elephants, and lizards as large as school buses roamed the earth.
Tyrannosaurus rex was toast, but other giant species of mammals, reptiles, and birds populated the planet in staggering numbers. And then
Homo sapiens came along, and one by one these great beasts disappeared. Early humans hunted to excess, destroyed animal habitats, and introduced alien species and diseases into a once pristine wilderness. Sound familiar? This, in the simplest of terms, is paleontologist Martin's controversial "overkill" theory of megafauna extinction, one he has devoted the last 50 years of his life to resolving. Balancing scientific data with scintillating tales of archaeological adventures, Martin presents a sometimes cautionary tale in which he urges the celebration of these extinct marvels as a way of not only appreciating the vast biotic wealth of our planet but also as a means of inspiring today's conservation efforts.
Carol HaggasCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader ReviewsTwilight Of The Mammoths by Paul S. Martin is a book I wanted to read because I wanted to see what the author had to say about the overkill idea. That Ice Age extinctions were caused by human invasion of the New World and not by germs and sudden change in the climate. I have to say he did a good job not only of explaining and defending his hypothesis but at pointing out the weak points in the other theories of how the mass extinctions of the megamammals came about. The book is a solid read but somewhat dry. Lots of data on kill sites, pollen, climate changes and lots of dung. He also takes a few chapters to talk about the idea rewilding the New World. In some ways that has already been going on so we may wish to take a controlling hand in the process. Published in 2005 the information is up-to-date and hard to argue with. But who knows what will be discovered in the years to come?
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