The TIME BEFORE HISTORY | 
|  | | | Title: | The TIME BEFORE HISTORY | | Author: | Colin Tudge | | Publisher: | Touchstone | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 06 January, 1997 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0684830523 / 9780684830520 | | List Price: | $17.95 | | You Save: | $1.80 | | Amazon Price: | $16.15 | |
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Customer Reviews:
• A Decent Book On Human Prehistory 02 March, 2001
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.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1F6Q5Q0U6MS5X
• Well.... 30 June, 2002
I really wanted to love this book. I had just finished Jared Diamond's _Guns, Germs, and Steel_ (a must read BTW), and picked this one up because I thought it would discuss the period of time before Diamond's book really got into. I didn't really get what I expected.If you read the book discription on the back cover, it gives the impression that the book would cover human and hominoid development from about 5 million years ago until recent history i.e. 10,000 years ago. There are some good parts in this book. I particularly liked how he gave an overview on how evolution works. He explained things well and I was able to follow pretty easily despite being a complete novice regarding the specifics on the theory. I also liked the section on human evolution and how he explained the possible causes and effects of the spread of Homo sapiens. His discussion on the overkill hypothesis was top notch.However, this book is not without its flaws. One major flaw for me was the fact that the main topic only takes up about half of the book. There is a long chapter on mammal development, and at times he just simply lists creatures haphazardly. It would've been nice to have a chart to identify the possible ancestors of animals that are alive today. A glossary would have been nice as well. I got tired of trying to find the first time he mentioned poikilothermic animals just to name an example. Yeah I know, I could've written down the definition, but is it too much to ask an author to do what most other authors do? A bibliography would've been wonderful too. There didn't seem to be that many references in the text, and I would've liked to see others sources for further reading.The final problem for me was the fact that the book wasn't really about what the description on the back cover says. For example, the first chapter is a detailed description on how the climate and atmosphere works on earth with a warning about excess CFC's and the depleting ozone. Next he describes the different types of mammals and proceeds to seemingly describe every one that lived in the past and present. There are so many names and descriptions that they kind of all blend together. There is a chart, but it isn't detailed enough for you to really follow the author. Finally, the last chapter is a plea for humanity to be careful and not kill off any more animal species. Now before people start assuming that I am anti-conservationist let me clarify. I love animals as much [messed] up. However, reading about those topics is not why I bought this book. I bought it to read about the devlopment of Homo sapiens in the past, not a "save the ozone and don't kill the animals" plea, which really took up about a third of the book.To summarize: If you're looking for a strict account on human evolution then I wouldn't buy this book. There is too many other topics that the author focuses on and really doesn't give that subject the just amount of pages in this book.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3I9JB0QS2B4GN
• An Extraordinary, Awesome, Stimulating Read! 04 January, 2001
Colin Tudge is a very concerned man. Here, he constructs one of the most complete pictures of human evolution's course. Drawing on geology, meteorology and biology in setting a framework, Tudge explains how and to what extent Homo sapiens emerged from Africa to override the planet. That's a hefty task, particularly in less than four hundred pages. Especially given that he allocates ten per cent of those pages to assessing the future. Tudge's concern about human impact on the environment is the theme of his other works, but this one rests on a solid foundation of evolutionary biology. Tudge Dances Through Time in explaining the movements of continents and the impact of that mobility on life forms. Movement, an adventure life normally avoids, is forced by changes in environment. In seeking to stay with the familiar, life migrates in response to change. With environments continually shifting, life must adapt to survive. Humans have broken the pattern, invading the globe's many environments. We are the most adaptable species to emerge. The price of our adaptation has been the extinction of many species, particularly large prey animals and birds. On every continent large birds and mammals ceased leaving fossil remains shortly after the appearance of Home Sapiens on the scene. The timing is too consistent to be purely coincidental and the ensuing patterns of human behaviour show we remain essentially ignorant of our impact on Nature's balance. We shouldn't be surprised at his finding. Today we face decimated cod and salmon populations. Whales remain under assault in the face of a 'moratorium' on their killing. The number of populations exterminated due to our occupation of their habitat is beyond counting. Tudge's concern is valid and it must be hoped infectious given the background he provides. Those who grizzle about Tudge being "wordy" are misleading you. He's precise with words, although this book must set some kind of record for superlatives. New readers take note: Tudge has one disturbing habit. He will introduce a term [edentates, for example] and never find an alternative thereafter. When you encounter a term you don't know, make certain you understand it before continuing. This habit detracts neither from the worth, clarity of presentation nor value of this fine book. At first read the lack of a Bibliography seemed a flaw. Second thoughts showed that a suggested reading list would likely have doubled the size of the book. Build the bibliography yourself as you encounter authors and titles in the text. If the citations are unfamiliar to you, spend the energy. Tudge is too good an introduction to the topic to ignore.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AJDYDG7YZY9QL
• No References, Alas 20 May, 2003
I liked part of this book, especially some of the new ideas he brings up, but I have been unable to find any references to the ones I have tried to pursue further (such as weather control projects in progress in Israel). This leads me to wonder if some of the parts that contain original and stimulating ideas are actually simply untrue or misrepresentations. For example, he seemed to deliberately misrepresent (or misunderstand) the parallel evolution theory of human origins, so that he could re-present it in more convincing terms as his own original idea.All in all, the fact checking seems weak, (eg, a change of 6 degrees centigrade is equivalent to a change of 36 degress farenheight !?!? Obviously someone with a pocket calculator mindlessly punched numbers into the temperature formula to get that one) and the lack of references for some of his assertions leaves me wondering about their accuracy. This is a real shame, because a few of his ideas are ones I had not encountered before (for example, exposed rock faces having a major effect on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and hence having a major impact on global climate), but I reluctantly have to say that I'm not sure he is a reliable source.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A36JMZ3F7A56Y5
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