Extinct

by Alex West and Anton Gill

Book Overview

Did you know that 99.9% of all species that have ever existed on Earth are now extinct? This book, based on a major British television series, follows the stories of 6 of these creatures: the mammoth,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0752261622
• ISBN13: 9780752261621
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: MacMillan UK
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.8" x 10.7"

Customer Reviews

A very good book on Holocene extinctions

This book explains the nature and causes of post-Ice Age (Holocene) extinctions by focusing on six now-vanished creatures. Based on a British television series, the authors examine the cases of the Columbian Mammoth, the saber-toothed cat, the Irish Elk, (all earlier than 500 B.C.) ,the dodo, (1700s), the Great Auk (1844) and the thylacine, (Tasmanian Tiger (1936). It is readily apparent that the hand of man and his actions is strongly implicated in the last three extinctions, and probably the firsr three, as well. However, the roles of changing climate, impact of exotic creatures, changing habitat, food supply, and other factors are also addressed. The book is delightfully impartial, presenting facts, and letting the reader draw his or her own conclusions from them. The text is well-written and easily understood. The photographs and re-creations of tha animals' appearances are truly remarkable and form a high point of the book. Interesting inserts explain the computer animation and research behind such efforts. The role of the extinction process has always been of interest to me, and I feel this one of the better books on the topic. I would recommend it highly to all readers. Even children will be fascinated by the stories and pictures.