Prehistoric America: A Journey Through the Ice Age and Beyond

This book joins "Ice Age Mammals of North America" as one of the exceptionally fine recent texts about the vanished large animals living on the North American continent during the Ice Age. Many of these marvelous creatures vanished less than 10,000 years ago, a heartbeat in geological time. You will be particularly struck by the superb, in-full-color computer graphics and photography in the book. The two arts are combined to give astonishing looks at what these animals looked like in their native habitats. If the book contained little more, it would be worth it on this basis alone. But there is much more to recommend the bookAfter a good introduction, this book examines life during the recent glaciation, and into today, by region. Six regions are encompassed. The first is never-glaciated Beringia, consisting of Alaska and the Bering Sea land bridge. Then, in turn, come the northwestern United States coast, the Great Plains, the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin, Florida, and the Eastern forest. The differences, and similairties, between the Ice Age climates and fauna are carefully explored for each area. Certain key animals in each region are analyzed by in-chapter profiles. These descriptions are completely up-to-date, and are accompanied by the excellent graphics previously discussed. Animals reviewed in this manner include two varieties of mammoth, the mastodon, the saber-toothed and scimitar cats, the giant. armadillo-like glyptodont, the giant short-faced bear, which was bigger than a Kodiak bear, and several varieties of ground sloth. You will also learn that quite a few animals survived the extinctions, including the moose, musk ox, grizzly bear, bison, elk, as well as many animals that lived on in Eurasia, but not here, such as the horse, the saiga antelope, cheetah, lion, camel, zebra, and the wisent, or European bison.In the closing chepter, the authors examine the possible reasons for the sudden extinctions of so many large, dominant animals within the span of a few thousand years. These include overkill by man, climatic change, and several other reason. The discussion is timely, thorough and apt. This book will provide many days of enjoyable, provocative reading. Given ongoing changes in weather, loss of wildlife habitat, and the like, are we continuing, and even accelerating these extinctions? This book offers excellent food for thought on such matters, but I will leave the ultimate decision to the reader, upon reflection. Very, very highly recommended to anyone with a high school or greater background, including graduate students and academics. Enjoy, and ponder.