Paleontology, Ian Tattersall
Paleontology, Ian Tattersall
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Paleontology
A Brief History of Life

Author: Ian Tattersall

Narrator: Brett Barry

Unabridged: 6 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/15/2010


Synopsis

Ian Tattersall, a highly esteemed figure in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and paleontology, leads a fascinating tour of the history of life and the evolution of human beings.Starting at the very beginning, Tattersall examines patterns of change in the biosphere over time, and the correlations of biological events with physical changes in the Earth's environment. He introduces the complex of evolutionary processes, situates human beings in the luxuriant diversity of Life (demonstrating that however remarkable we may legitimately find ourselves to be, we are the product of the same basic forces and processes that have driven the evolutionary histories of all other creatures), and he places the origin of our extraordinary spiritual sensibilities in the context of the exaptational and emergent acquisition of symbolic cognition and thought.Concise and yet comprehensive, historically penetrating and yet up-to-date, responsibly factual and yet engaging, Paleontology serves as the perfect entrée to science's greatest story.

About Ian Tattersall

Ian Tattersall is Curator Emeritus in the Division of Anthropology of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The author of many books, including the widely praised Masters of the Planet, he is often interviewed about human evolution in the media and speaks around the world. He is the winner of numerous awards, and lives in Greenwich Village.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on May 19, 2014

Paleontology A Brief History of Life by Ian Tattersall It is difficult for human beings to grasp the very long time scales and complicated processes that are responsible for the evolution of life on Earth. “Paleontology,” by Ian Tattersall, is intended to be a brief introduction, something like a fi......more

Goodreads review by Emanuele on October 27, 2021

It's a short, agile guide to, well, paleontology; it's engaging, well-researched and up-to-date. Unfortunately I was let down by some factors, one at least independent of the book itself, namely the Audible reader, who put too little time between the chapters and the internal divisions (thus blurrin......more

Goodreads review by David on April 27, 2019

I listened to this as an audiobook, though goodreads says such an edition doesn't exist. I actually liked this book a great deal. I'm pretty certain it is an introductory textbook, which means it uses the field's terminology, and doesn't fell obligated to stick to crowd pleasing topics. I like this......more

Goodreads review by Dave on December 14, 2014

A nice introduction to paleontology and the evolution of life on Earth. However, the ending is too much accommodating to religion and the Templeton organization, in my opinion. Not surprising considering that the Templeton organization financed and published the book.......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on June 18, 2024

Interesting inferences and the reasons behind them about several species and how they lived.......more