Amazon.com
Did the dinosaurs disappear, or did they merely take flight? In The MistakenExtinction, two eminent paleontologists make a case for the continued existence of dinosaurs, atleast in the form of some relatively diminutive descendants: birds. To prove their point, LowellDingus and Timothy Rowe first review leading theories about the dinosaurs' extinction, pointing tothe shortcomings of each. Instead of dying out, Dingus and Rowe write, the dinosaurs merely evolvedinto another form. For skeptics troubled by such a direct link between their backyard blue jay and thelumbering T. rex, the authors point to problems with the current Linnean system of classifying life.Under a rival system known as cladistics, they contend that it's possible to identify the anatomicalcharacteristics shared by birds and dinosaurs. It's an intriguing hypothesis, and one open toconsiderable debate. Either way, this beautifully illustrated and admirably comprehensive volume hasmuch to offer birders and dinosaur buffs alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Very entertaining!
I'm the type of person who rarely reads books for fun.Most of what I read is for my work or on rare occasions I'll grab a book at the airport if I have a long flight. Half the time I'll get bored with it and won't finish it.I'm not even sure how this book ended up on my shelf but I grabbed it about a week ago when I had to go to the hospital and wait for my mother who was having an operation. I literally had a hard time putting it down. Of course it's not fiction but in some ways it reads like fiction in that it tells a story. At times it presents itself as a murder mystery; "What killed the dinosaurs?". Even though the outcome is given away by the title, it's still a fascinating story.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part covers various theories about the cause of the death of the dinosaurs at the end of the cretaceous. The second part in some ways refutes the first part by coming to the conclusion that dinosaurs never really died at all because birds are part of the dinosaur family. I know this is still somewhat of a contentious debate among some, but the book contains some pretty convincing evidence. It's a bit technical at times but you can always get the general idea of what the author is tying to convey.

Even though this book is chiefly about dinosaurs and birds it covers a lot of stuff not directly related to the main topic but interesting never the less. For instance I did not know about the Phylogenetic system of classification before I read it.This book explains it quite well so that someone like me, who is not well versed in biology can easily understand it.

Thought provoking!
This is an extremely thorough, yet readable treatment of the subject of the evolution of birds and the non-extinction of dinosaurs. The drawings in particular are excellent illustrations of the features of the lineages. The discussion of the evidence for the different causes of the extinction event that took most of the dinosaurs is clear and thorough. This is a must-read if you are interested in these issues!

My Dino Dreams come true!!!
This book rocked so hard it isn't even funny!!I have loved dinosaurs ever since I was a youngster, and still find myself quite fond of those wacky beasts.This book delivers when it comes to dinos. It basically includes two parts: one concerned with the theories of dino extinction(the meteorite-impact hypothesis is given paricular attention-perhaps because one of the authors was involved in research on this hypothesis), the other with dino evolution into birds. Both are written by experts, and more than that they are experts who know how to write in an engaging and easy to understand fashion that the non-expert can understand and appreciate. The prose made the book hard to put down, and the pictures of the biological poetry we call dinosaurs are enough to bring tears to the true dinosaur lovers eyes.So if you like dinosaurs, geology, or I would even say science in general, or are just a curious soul looking for new things to learn I highly recommend this book.

The Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution-Origin of Birds
The Mistaken Extinction:Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds written by Lowell Dingus and Timothy Rowe is a dinosaur book that makes a difference.This is a frank account of how we know what we know about the dinosaurs and how the work can and should be approached. There are issues surrounding a dinosaur extinction as though they are elements in a scientific detective story; following a trail of geologic and paleontologic clues toward a solution. This book show the reader the way of intelligent thinking and the conclusions that make sense.

Over the course of this book, it will become clear that the questions being raised today actually have their roots in the debates that raged within the scientific community in the nineteenth century, when Dawin's theory of evolution first burst upon the scene. This book is divided into two parts.

The Search for the Smoking Gun is part 1.The eight chapters include: The Seductive Allure of Dinosaurs, Earlier Extinction Hypotheses, Contrating Volcanic and Impact Hypotheses, Enormoud Eruptions and Disappearing Seaways, THe Fatal Impact, Direct Evidence of Catastrophe, Patterns of extinction and Survival, and Our Hazy View of Time at the K-T Boundary.

These chapters give the reader adequate background information, to take us back to the time of the murderous extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundry of geological time.Here we find a theory of gradual extinction... a theory that most reseachers favor, but could this be true... there are convincing theories.

Part 2: Dead or Alive has ten chapters and it includes:Living Dinosaurs?, Dinosaurs Challenge Evolution, Dinosaurs and the Hierarchy of Life, The Evolutionary Map for Dinosaurs, Death by decree, The Road to Jurassic Park, Crossing the Boundary, Diversification and Decline, The Real Great Dinosaur Extinction, and The Third Wave.

Here we learn why most researchers now believe that birds and other dinosaurs sprung from the same ancient ancestors, all this stems from one of science's theories... evolution.This book is beautifully illustrated and has plenty of morphoroloigal drawings arising for comparitive anatomy.

I found the book to be a wealth of informationeasily readable and a plethora of detailed compendia on dinosaur facts.This is a book that lays out the extinction of dinosauria with great skill and clairy

Comprehensive and very entertaining!
I originally bought this book for a class I'm taking, coincidentally being taught by one of the authors, Timothy Rowe.Not only does this book include facts and myths about the extinction of dinosaurs, but it makes them comprehendable, and very entertaining by including recent myths such as those presented in popular movies.A total must read for dinosaur fanatics! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not too bad, but dated
This is an excellent overview of the evolutionary history and osteology of the vertebrate taxa, but it is dated, particularly as regards the Archosauromorpha.It's opposition to cladistic practices for formulating phylogenies, is also noteworthy.Thus, you will find that numerous bankrupt taxa and no longer accurate classification schemes still, unfortunately, present themselves in this volume.

One of the few college texybooks I kept.
This book was my textbook for Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution at the University of Rochester back in 1992.The book is very daunting to look at if you just flip through it.However, it does a nice job of introducing concepts and terms to the reader.Its organization is straightforward, starting with the simplest vertebrates and eventually finishing with mammals.Most groups are covered well, considering that the author's cover every group of vertebrates known.The biggest problem I had with the book was the section on dinosaurs, the biggest reason why I took the class. The information on them was limited to a few pages and much of the information was out-dated even in 1992.However, if you are looking for a good book on vertebrates, this is a must have.Just realize that some of the information may not reflect our current understanding since the book is over 10 years old and many new finds have come to light, new ideas have been introduced, and old ideas reexamined.

Best vertebrate paleontology book ever
Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution is the most complete and detailed book on that subject.It is the bible for people whose major interest in on vertebrate paleontology.

I spent 2 weeks chewing on this book...

...the only easily available work that goes to any depth on this intensely interesting subject.A large book of medium thickness with an average of about two drawings per page, including familial relationship diagrams.

Since the late Paleozoic, there have been two significantbranches of terrestrial vertebrates: the diapsids (crocs, dinosaurs, birds)and synapsids (pelycosaurs, theraspids, mammals).Sharing a commonancestry and evolving at times in parallel, nevertheless distinctivefeatures appear early that, though not of immediately apparentsignificance, in fact consign the lines to their separate fates.

Thepelycosaur Dimetrodon, the familiar lizard-like reptile with a sail on itsback that is often reproduced as a toy, and which I have always associatedwith the dinosaurs, is in fact a member of the synapsid line.The bookpoints out how the process on the mandible that reaches up toward thetemporal lobe is the beginning of a shift away from the ancestralquadrate-angular jaw articulation maintained by the diapsids through thebirds.With the additional points of leverage provided, mammals weredestined to become better chewers, able to move their jaws sideways inaddition to up and down.The angular bone and one other bone in themandible, incidentally, become modified to help pick up soundwaves, andeventually migrate to become one of the three bones in the middle ear. (Birds only have one bone in their middle ear, though interestingly, theirhearing appears to be just as acute.)

Mammals continued to refine theirchewing mechanism, introducing improvements to their teeth.Instead ofthe saw of teeth possessed by dinosaurs and early reptiles, the mammalsdeveloped closely occluding teeth that allowed them to grind food moreefficiently.Apparently the price for this matching of the upper and lowerteeth is that mammals cannot replace their adult teeth once lost.

Ifyou are a specialist in one of the larger groups of vertebrates, such asthe dinosaurs or the mammals, the coverage of this book will beunsatisfying.Sometimes I had difficulty determining what the definingcharacteristics that distinguished groups were, so I still can't look at askeleton and know whether it's a pelycosaur or an early theraspid.On arelated note, the relationship diagrams are not cladograms, butold-fashioned family tree type drawings, indicating not only relationshipbut the time period in which the group lived, with a thickening of thelines to show abundance. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

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

Book Description
This book surveys the current debates in evolutionary theory from a paleontological perspective, discussing such controversial topics as punctuated equilibrium, species selection, mass extinctions, and taxonomic diversification of the biosphere.These ideas are critically reviewed and
presented in the context of a broad background: the neodarwinian paradigm of modern evolutionary biology, the potential and limitations of the fossil record as a source of data on organic evolution, and the methodology of evolutionary interpretation of paleontological data.The author argues that
much current research leads us astray, and proposes that another interpretation of the history of the biosphere be adopted--one based on the assumption that there are no general laws, that large-scale historical biological patterns merely reflect a summation of smaller-scale phenomena, and that none
of these components must be neglected in our attempts to explain the larger patterns.Clear and concise, thisbook will be invaluable to scientists and students and accessible to interested lay readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Comprehensive Treatment of a FascinatingField of Study
Dr. Clarkson presents a detailed and informative summary of all major aspects of invertebrate evolution.The book is organized in a step-wise fashion that introduces the reader to the main principles of the field of paleontology (including genetics, populations and micro- and macroevolution) and then moves into detailed descriptions of the various invertebrate phyla.Be aware that this is not your typical coffee table book; rather, it is written at a level best appreciated by those with a biological background or by introductory students in this field.Descriptions are appropriately detailed and concise and are accompanied by a wealth of similarly detailed drawings and images. I particularly enjoyed his chapters on molluscs, echinoderms and crinoids. It is a valuable accompaniment to other books that have been written on the Burgess Shale and early forms of non-vertebrate life.Both the armchair paleontologist and the professional will find this to be a most valuable addition to his or her collection of books on this wonderfully diverse group of ancient animals.

Power of Paleontology
This very fine invertebrate paleontology textbook strikes a nice balance between focus on the paleobiology/taxonomy of the organisms and theoretical topics in the science. The well-crafted illustrations help to make the sometimes intricate details of fossil morphology clear. Clarkson has a knack for bringing forth key details that illuminate ancient organisms (e.g., the hysteresis mechanisms that control the liquid in cephalopod chambers), and he writes with a wry sense of humor (see the Lehmann quotation on p. 245). The importance of convergent evolution is apparent throughout the book, and is one of the main lessons to be learned from the science of invertebrate paleontology. The next edition of this book needs to stop calling the Ediacarans a "fauna" (the term "biota" is preferable, as we are not sure that Ediacarans were indeed animals). I also havequibbles with the higher taxonomy presented in this book for other groups. Overall, however, this is an outstanding presentation of invertebrate paleontology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Same old creationist hogwash...
I really wish creationists would at least have the intellectual vigor to come up with something new. Even if you exclude the usual misquotes and other dishonest arguments, Ferrell's book contains absolutely nothing that hasn't long ago been refuted by mainstream science. Frankly, I found the book to be a sad, pathetic diatribe that seems to have ignored the advances of 20th century science, let alone the discoveries of the 21st century. Even worse, books like this only make Christians look foolish in the eyes of rational people and are a big part of why a majority of young people today reject Christianity as a backwards, crackpot religion run by people who refuse to accept modern science. Ferrell's book isn't just bad, it only hurts the cause of the very people it is aimed at.

WOW! Great reference book - LOTS of information !!
In any book on this subject, you will find ideas you agree with, and ideas you don't. There were a few of the summaries that I felt were fairly accurate, but perhaps a bit oversimplified - however, the author almost always went on to explain his thought process, etc.I also found it helpful to remember that this book (containing a small mountain on information) summarizes and refers to information and quotations from various scientists and authors which are given other places, (i.e. the website, or the three-part series).

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject. I identified very strongly with the author, and it sounds like his story is similar to mine.I had to search through oceans of data and mountains of books to find similar information when I had my own questions on the subject years ago.

While it is perhaps not the most professionally produced book I have ever read, I have done considerable research in this area, and I found no blatant binaccuracies. I also felt that the typeset was readable, and had no problem with the bolding, etc. as the author explains this in a "key" in the book's Preface.There is certainly no question as to the author's viewpoint. In many ways, I could identify with the "passion" of his arguments, as I have been through the same struggle myself.

Besides, where else can you get so much good, solid information for so cheap ??

Stopped reading after the "introduction"
"Stellar evolution is based on the concept that nothing can explode and produce all the stars and worlds. Life evolution is founded on the twin theories of spontaneous generation and Lamarckism (the inheritance of acquired characteristics);--yet, although they remain the basis of biological evolution, both were debunked by scientists over a century ago."

When so you see so many lies crammed into such a short paragraph you realize there's not much point in reading further. I did skim a
little further and was treated to wonderfully imaginitive tall tales like this:

"It is not commonly known that *Charles Darwin, while a naturalist aboard the Beagle, was initiated into witchcraft in South America by nationals. During horseback travels into the interior, he took part in their ceremonies and, as a result, something happened to him. Upon his return to England, although his health was strangely weakened, he spent the rest of his life working on theories to destroy faith in the Creator."

If you are morbidly curious and have a strong stomach, you don't have to spend a cent to read this sub-Hovind nadir in the history of crationist "literature", the whole thing is available online at the ironically titled evolution-facts.org site.

Awesome-concise-intelegent-TRUTH
If you are willing to know what real science, evolution and creation teach and believe this is the place for enlightenment.
Using the professionals of Evolution to state the facts about the facts it is an awesome narrative type of research that can help make one to know the reality of why we have been so dumbed down to believe in this false religion that has so many defeated in there right to evolve into a true superior creature.
A MUST READ for the HUMAN RACE

Creationist point of view: a very annoying, unreadable style
This review is based strictly on the National Enquirer-style of type set, which made this book unreadable for me.At least one-third of it is either bolded, italicized, or underlined.I tried to read it anyway, but got the impression the author felt I was too stupid to decide what was important, so was leading me around by the literary nose, hence the font style.Further, everything was so crammed together, it was difficult to see where one topic ended and another started.I bought this book based on two enthusiastic recommendations.The style was so juvenile, however, that I would be embarrassed to hand this to a non-Christian trying to get a view of creation science.TryGenesis Flood by Dr John Whitcomb or In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (7th Edition) by Dr Walt Brown instead.

I have no idea of the content. ... Read more

Book Description
One of the most successful books on the flaws in evolutionary theory. The third edition includes two new chapters on astronomy and archaeology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (58)

No creationist argument too stupid for inclusion
Huse has compiled a large array of creationist arguments. Apparently no argument was so stupid or so thoroughly discredited that it was turned away. Huse was apparently unable or unwilling to critically analyze the material himself. Credit is given to his various creationist sources, many times to Duane Gish and Henry Morris. This is the old school "Creation Science" creationism of the 1970s and 1980s, not your modern hoity-toity high-brow (by comparison) "Intelligent Design" creationism in disguise.

As one expects in a creationist book, Huse quote-mines with abandon, taking comments from real scientists out of context and twisting them to fit. Watch out for those deadly ellipses.

No argument turned away! It's all in here. Radioactive dating is not accurate: page18 (page numbers from Baker Books reprint of 1988) Earth's magnetic field is decaying: page 21. Exponential population growth would have flooded the globe with humans: page 27 (because it is inconceivable that human population numbers would have been held in check by disease and predation). Discussion of Biblical "kinds": page 38. Absence of transitional fossils: page 41. that one was shot down over 140 years ago. The bombardier beetle: pages 77-80.

Some things in the book are so stupid they are astounding. On page 43, Huse states that according to evolutionary theory, humans descended from birds. Wowie zowie, that's stupid! On page 109-110, Huse presents the duck-billed platypus and insists that scientists claim it as a transitional form between birds and mammals. How can Huse criticize evolution when he clearly does not even understand it? (Brief educational moment: the "duck-bill" of the platypus is a unique adaptive structure, and bears no relation to the actual bill of a duck.)

Pages 16-18: Human and dinosaur fossil footprints found alongside each other. This one is so stupid that even other creationists have criticized it.And that's saying something.

Chapter 7 lists scientists who believe in Biblical creationism, including (page 119) Dr. Dennis Gabor, "The 1971 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in science." The what? Gabor won a Nobel for physics, not for peace. And the topic was holography, so even if Gabor supported creationism (I don't know or care) why would I look to him for expertise on evolution?

One bright spot: Chapter 8 includes a considerate listing of scientific issues on which a literal reading of the Bible differs from the evolutionary viewpoint. Anyone with enough honesty to track down the evidence and put some effort into understanding what it really means can use this as a guide for rejecting a literal reading of the creation myths in the book of Genesis.

Finally, what is the single stupidest argument for creationism? Huse includes it on page 45. Usually it is presented with monkeys, but Huse uses coelacanth for variety. I will paraphrase, "If we are descended from coelacanth, why are there still coelacanth?"

Another load of tosh!
Although I have a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from conventional schools, I do not consider myself a stereotypical hard-boiled scientist. I do not immediately discount unconventional theories, I am open to spiritual ideas, and I am not an atheist. I did purchase and begin to read this book with a completely open mind; I was genuinely curious about what this "Intelligent Design" stuff was all about.

I was utterly disappointed to find that this book is a bunch of ignorant tripe, full of poorly-supported opinions argued with possibly the WORST logic skills I have been astonished to encounter.

If you are interested in how life has come into being and how it came to be the way it is today, by all means, I suggest conventional science as the first step. If you are interested in religion, philosophy, and the spiritual side of nature, I suggest conventional religion as the first step. I must conclude that "Intelligent Design" is a trashy attempt to disguise the latter as the former, which ends up being horrible at presenting either.

This is such irritating trash. I was completely incapable of finishing even the first chapter, and I am a compulsive reader who will read almost anything (like the cereal box, over and over, or even trashy supermarket tabloids when I am waiting in line!). I could not even bear to donate it to the library, as I usually do with books I've finished, because I could not bear the thought of passing it on. I had to dump it into the recycle bin.

Seven Areas Where Organic Evolution Fails
September 12, 2006 --- Scott M. Huse has written a compact (about 210 pages) book (The Collapse of Evolution) that explores these seven areas where (atheistic) organic Evolution fails when faced with facts and logic:1. biology (DNA and biogenesis do not support Darwin's Evolution or neo-Darwinian Evolution); 2. geology (several examples of radioactive dating and problems with the Geologic Column are presented, along with other arguments); 3. astronomy (includes extremely improbable cases of life coming to earth from our solar system; 4. physics; 5. mathematics (mathematical proofs, using well-established probability theory, that demonstrate why Evolution is either extremely improbable or impossible (less than 1 chance in 10^50 (1050)); 6. archaeology; and 7. anthropology (this section includes the hyped, false "ape-man" specimens during the last several decades.)

My own background includes:B.S. in biology, minor in chemistry; MBA (business and economics); over 20 years experience in Information Technology; and a few courses in statistics.Mathematics and logic can be used to test hypotheses in science and other areas of intellectual pursuit.If a hypothesis (Evolution is a set of them, and not yet a theory) fails tests of logic and math, then it is disproved.Scott Huse's chapter 5 on mathematics gives proofs using probabilities.Unfortunately for those who love Evolution, their set of hypotheses (often called "the theory of Evolution") depends on chance (no Intelligent Design or Designer) and natural selection. Here is an example that I have constructed.If there are 100 billion (1 x 10^11) trials per second for 30 billion years (1 x 10^18 seconds), the total trials would be 1 x 10^29.If you wanted to put together a molecule of only 50 atoms and you had only 8 atoms (such as O, N, K, C, H, . . .) to select from in the substrate, then the probability that this series of atoms could be selected by chance is 1 in 8^50 (8 to the 50th power) or 1 in 1.427 x 10^45.Clearly the 10^29 trials are not enough chance selections to make the 1 in 1.427 x 10^45 (10 to the 45th power.)

This book is a readable summary of several arguments against "the theory of Evolution" with some reasonable arguments for Creationism.I gave it 5 stars for the superb scope and logical examples; would have liked to have given 4 1/2 stars because of undocumented stand on "6 literal days of creation" and related topics.(A "day" in Genesis chapter 1 could be a 24-hour day or a period of time such as an eon or era.)Even with a few shortcomings, this is a very good book that exposes "the theory of Evolution" as nothing more than a set of unproved hypotheses.

Truly, "Collapse" is appropriate.
Scott Huse has meticulously and piercingly researched this subject of creation science and evolution, and this book is truly a breakthrough in accessibility to the average reader and in bringing all this invaluable information to the public.
Huse calmly points out flaws, impossibilities, and contradictions in every area of origin-studies. As much as is possible, Huse tries to see both sides. Fortunately for the world, one of the sides is right about everything.
In summaries:
Chapter 1: Biology, the stunning degree of intricacy and complexity of animals present and past, and the impossibility of double-convergence in a theory of evolution without a mechanism.
Chapter 2: Geology, the assumptions made in establishing the field and geologic column/radioactive dating, old-earth and young-earth theories, Flood theory.
Chapter 3: Astronomy, uniqueness of earth, possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Chapter 4: Physics, Laws of thermodynamics.
Chapter 5: Mathematics, incredibly small chances of the smallest step towards evolution.
Chapter 6: Archaeology, Confirmations of Biblical places, events, lack of any fossil record supporting evolution.
Chapter 7: Anthropology, "Ancient men", hoaxes, and misinterpretations.
Chapter 8: Commonly Cited "Proofs" of Evolution, no viable evidence.
Chapter 9: Scientists who believe in Biblical Creationism, showing that it IS scientific and not nearly so unknown as modern educators would say it is.
Chapter 10: Biblical Considerations, comparison of the two religions
Appendices: These are helpful resources and other sources and such.
Huse's writing is convincing, and he leaves no holes in his reasoning.
This type of book is why creationists utterly destroy honest evolutionists in any serious debate about the subject.
If you're looking for a book to argue more for Christianity and less against evolution, you may want to check out "A Scientific Approach to Christianity", by Robert W. Faid. It has more convincing evidence FOR Christianity than against evolution (warning: it supports the old-earth and extended creation-week philosophy).

Man As God Created Him
This is just one of many excellent books that further the evidence of divine intervention in the creation of the universe.It will not satisfy all the critics who so badly want to disbelieve in the finer workings of a majestic hand of God, but at least it will help to disprove the notion of "time and chance". ... Read more

Amazon.com
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.

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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

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.

"Why do we do what we do?"
I used to do a bit of Fossil Hunting about 30 years ago and read a fair bit about fossils and the Fossil Record. Most of what I did was searching for Belemnites,shark teeth,and hopefully some bones in Cretaceous marl and an adjacent stream bed in New Jersey.At that time there were great discussions going on as to what caused the great extinction of the huge creatures that roamed the earth.The Cretaceous Period was 60-120 million years ago. I can't recall any discussions about creatures the size of lions roaming around 250 million years ago called Gorgons;and a possible extinction at the end of the Permian Period. So,when I saw this book ,I figured it would make interesting reading.
As other reviewers have already stated,the book is pretty short on data and provides very little proof. However,it is well worth reading for anyone who has ever searched for fossils and all the mud,muck,heat,cold,wet and just plain hard dirty work that is involved. However,the rewards come when your hunches or bull work pay off;and you find something good.What a thrill it is, when you unearth a fossil and realize that this thing lived over 100 million years ago and has been waiting there for you to find.
I found this book to be a great read and shows how people can devote years of their lives pursuing an interest or obsession.
It is well written and the author reveals himself and his associates ;and I think that is more what one should look for in this book ; rather than the answer;because the search will continue and the theories will be put forward and debated as long as there are people with the desire to find those answers.Just imagine,if every question could be answered,what a dull world it would be.The excitement of the journey often surpasses the destination.

Eye-opening
As a high school student who doesn't particularly care about much anything and who reads fantasy books right and left-- i was skeptical about this book. i found it on the bargain shelf and thought "what the hell?". Just having finished Seabiscuit, i was on a bit of a roll with the whole non0fiction genre. i was caught completely unprepared by this book; it was nothing i expected. instead of some dry account about an extinction long ago, i found a book that read like a novel. it had a point. it had pitfalls and triumphs. i found i couldn't put it down. would he find the cause of the extinction? would he survive the desert climate and roiling political situations? i got sucked into his real-life story and read it during english, calculus, history, biology, etc. you catch the drift. the sedimentary drift that is. despite it's mostly personal accounts, the book possesses surprisingly good insights and background about both the extinction and paleontology in general.
if i had to sum it up in one word: fascinating. definitely worth the wasted school periods...

Worth the Effort
The author was a bit self indulgent in his personal observations (I could do without the mudwrestling) but there is some good stuff here too.I learned something about the Permian extinction, the geology of South Africa, and some of the techniques in the modern paleontologist's toolbox.I learned more than I needed to about the life of this particular paleontologist in the field, but so be it.An easy and informative read. ... Read more

Book Description
Everyone wonders what tomorrow holds, but what will the real future look like? Not decades or even hundreds of years from now, but thousands or millions of years into the future. Will our species change radically? Or will we become builders of the next dominant intelligence on Earth- the machine?These and other seemingly fantastic scenarios are the very possible realities explored in Peter Ward's Future Evolution, a penetrating look at what might come next in the history of the planet. Looking to the past for clues about the future, Ward describes how the main catalyst for evolutionary change has historically been mass extinction. While many scientist direly predict that humanity will eventually create such a situation, Ward argues that one is already well underway--the extinction of large mammals--and that a new Age of Humanity is coming that will radically revise the diversity of life on Earth. Finally, Ward examines the question of human extinction and reaches the startling conclusion that the likeliest scenario is not our imminent demise but long term survival--perhaps reaching as far as the death of the Sun!Full of Alexis Rockman's breathtaking color images of what animals, plants and other organisms might look like thousands and millions of years from now, Future Evolution takes readers on an incredible journey through time from the deep past into the far future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Bleak yet convincing
This book is very depressing. It paints a picture nobody wants to view. Some of the prose in this book is poorly written, and there are some minor factual errors. It also makes a convincing case that an extinction level event is taking place around us. I don't feel that all of the reviews of this book are being fair.

The supporting artwork for the book is stunning. Alexis Rockman uses delicate lines and bright colors to bring the prose to life. Oddly, the majority of the artwork is not illustrations of future species. Instead the pictures diagram and explore life history and human influence.

Many parts of the book had me second-guessing the author's conclusions, or looking up things on the web. That's the sign of a great popular science book. This is not written for biologists, but it's significantly more scientifically grounded than most books on future evolution.

interesting, readable, and quite convincing
I really liked this book.It's very easy to read for a non-scientist like myself.Ward is not nice or gentle in his look at the future.His reasoning for the predictions he makes are convincing to me, although unpleasant.This is not mere sci-fi like The Future Is Wild tv series.Rockman's artwork is a great addition to the work, as well.I learned a lot about past life on earth and mass extinctions and about the curent ecological situation reading this book.I highly recommend it.

Future De-evolution
I am not fully sure where to begin. I have never really felt compelled to write a review but this book did indeed compel me to, and not to discuss how much I liked it. This one book has made me decide that I will not leave any good reviews for good books because people will take care of that. However, I do not think enough people leave reviews telling just how horrible some books are.

After getting through the second paragraph of the preface I knew I was probably not going to like this book. The only reason I read it all the way through was that I have a personal feeling that any book started should be finished. This book challenged that feeling with every page I progressed into it.

Since it was the preface that first gave me doubts then it is with the preface that I will begin. This book begins with _Professor_ Ward (and I address him as such because he seems to place so much value on being addressed in the proper manner) telling a story that sets the stage for the rest of the book. It also, though I do not think it was intentional, serves to show that Ward fully believes that his vision of the future of evolution is the one true version and that all others, who have put forth more "radical" futures to evolution (i.e. Dixon), are doing nothing more than playing at fantasy and are fools for behaving thus.

As I continued to read I began to wonder just how it was the Ward was able to hold a professorship given the absolute lack of education he seemed to have. There are numerous portions of this book that give me the impression that Ward has not read any serious scientific literature in at least 20 years. As a simple example, page 29, "...The dominant form of the Mesozoic, exemplified by... iguanodons and duck-billed dinosaurs, was bipedal." If you were to open any modern day dinosaur book you would find that iguanodons and the duck-billed dinosaurs are portrayed as quadrupeds. This has been the standing belief for at least 15 years. I first read about it in Robert Bakker's book (1986) and it was considered fairly common knowledge even then.

Ward's ignorance of modern science continued throughout the book. Page 104, "...scientists and doctors waged a campaign of eradication against bacterial illness, using the then newly developed antibiotic drugs. The result was a mass extinction of bacteria... Smallpox, rabies, typhoid, rubella, cholera: the ancient scourges of humankind were wiped out." For the record, only cholera is a bacterium, the rest are all viruses and as such they are treated against using vaccines and not by administering antibiotics. It is also worth noting that none of these was ever "wiped out" though smallpox might have been considered such at one point. Another display of ignorance, page 164, "...what if a 100% fatal disease such as HIV..." HIV is not 100% fatal; no recorded disease is 100% fatal, at least a single organism in the population will have an immunity that is the whole point of evolution. In fact HIV in and of itself is not fatal at all, it is the secondary infections that can establish once HIV infects a person that are the cause of death in AIDS patients.

I could go on in this manner but the amount of space it would take up and the amount of time it would take me are unacceptable. However I must cite one more "mistake" to move on. If all of Ward's "mistakes" were related to fields that he was not familiar with (though as a scientist I would assume he would have at least passing familiarity with many sciences) then it might be understand able. However, his "mistakes" extend even into basic understandings of math. Page 134, "There are over 4700 species of mammals... the smallest... have an adult weight of 2.5 grams, whereas the largest... weighs about 1.6 x 10^8 grams - a difference of twenty orders of magnitude." Anyone with even a high school level education in math knows that one order of magnitude is equal to one power of ten. So the difference between the weights is only eight orders of magnitude. There is no reasonable way the numbers can be fudged to "accidentally" come up with an additional 12 orders of magnitude. There are only 2 possibilities I can see for Ward adding in those 12 orders of magnitude. The first is that Ward really is completely ignorant of basic math (which I doubt, though it could explain the similar math error I have heard about in _Rare Earth_). The second is that Ward knows full well that his statement is wrong but he actually believes he is significantly more intelligent than his readers and that, as such, they will be too stupid to catch him if he puts something in writing that is just blatantly false. While I can not prove it I am convinced that the second of these statements is the truth.

After I came to this conclusion I began to notice other things that support it. Throughout the book, Ward refers to the works of other people, however, if one were to check the bibliography they would find that only about 40% of those people are actually cited. This is actually a rather old trick that many (unethical in my opinion) scientists resort to when they do not want the reader to learn that the un-cited material has arguments that destroy those of the author. I also found that the vast majority of the material in the book had no follow through. Ward would talk about how new selective pressures would effect human parasites but then not actually discuss either the selective pressures or the effects. Ward proposed that snakes would become one of the best fit species for continued evolution in a human dominated world while totally ignoring his own earlier argument that any animal that man found to be a threat would not be allowed to evolve up. And considering how many people would just as soon kill a snake as look at it I would have to group them into the group that could not evolve because of the (perceived) threat that pose. Again I could go on and on with examples like this.

In all this book is nothing more that Ward going on and on about how great his ideas are and how stupid every one else is. I found this particularly annoying, especially given how critical he is of those who delve into "fantasy" by imagining a world without humans while he himself spouts off so many fantasies of his own in the book. This book is an insult to any educated person or any person that wants an educated view on evolution. There is no real basis for his conclusions and his logic could be picked apart by anyone who has ever taken a basic logic course. If you are totally devoted to Ward or just like being talked down to then go ahead and pick up this book. Otherwise steer clear.

One final thing before closing. I abhor plagiarism. The painting on page 31 of this book is a blatant plagiarism of the Troodon on page 399 of Gregory S. Paul's book _Predatory Dinosaurs_(1989). That Rockman tries to hide this and deny Paul credit by calling it a Velociraptor is reprehensible.

Very pessimistic and very ugly
I didn't like Peter Ward's book on evolution of the future at all. Granted, some of it is original and compelling and he has every right to state his beliefs but I see it as very depressing and almost angst-ridden. Its basically Ward thumbing his nose at other futurists such as Dougal Dixon whom he feels are unrealistic and overly optimistic.

Ward basically believes that human beings are extinctionless(uh huh) and that in the future we will reduce this beautiful planet to a nightmarish wasteland like something out of a post-apocalyptic Australian film. There will only be two enviorments for species to live in. One are the monstrous urban areas, the other are hideous farm-like pastures stretching as far as the eye can see.

Ward not only does not have much faith in humanity's ability to evolve both technologically, ideologically and biologically, he doesn't seem to have much faith in Nature itself. For instance, he boldly proclaims that never again will you see large land animals on the level of mammals and dinosaurs. That's definitely hard to believe. I do agree with his belief that certain animals like rats, snakes and cockroaches are better primed for survival than most. Dixon himself described large rats taking over the role as dominant predators from dogs and wolves in his book After Man. But Ward seems to completely neglect that are still places on earth which are relatively free from human presence such as the deep ocean and the northmost wildernesses where human populations are scant.

All in all, I found Ward's book a mildly interesting but borderline-nihilistic take on humanity and Nature's future on earth. I would recommend Dixon's work over his on any day.

Great illustrations but about it's conclusions....
about where we've been or where we are going. Well, the latter is of course only speculation but as for the former well where we've been evolutionarily---- it's only a lot of speculation as well! Save for two facts (that DNA studies have positively proven MAN is a genealogical cousin to apes and all other mammals, birds, fish, insects and plants and protists on this planet plus those same studies prove that man is many multiple times older than the book of Genesis made the human race look)science has proven very little about human origins. We know nothing about how old most mammal fossils that have no, say, egyptian grave date to confirm their carbon dating date, really are. A neanderthal fossil, for just one example, could be 10,000 years old or 50,000 years old or even half-way to a million years old! No way to tell! Also the extinction of dinosaurs could be 65 million years ago or just 650,000 years ago. This Future Evolution book prints things like the extinction of dinosaurs date as 65 million years like this is a fact that that is when the dinos went extinct (save for birds). Back to the illustrations they are very good but I wish there had been a lot more of them.
... Read more