Clan of the Cave Bear

Story of a Cro Magnon girl raised by Neanderthals. Pre-historic fish-out-of-water with lots of lore about how these people would make tools and weapons and clothing; hunting and recognizing plants. I especially love the plant lore, realizing that a lot of "weeds" today could be foods if we paid attention. I've read it several times - a good winter read for me.

Spellbinding book series! Every time a new one was released, I read the previous books again first! I recommend this series!!!

My favorite series. Lost them but for 2, and I have been ordering a hard cover of the ones I don't have. So happy to find them again! I only wish that it never ended.

This series has completely blown me away! I am currently on the last book "The land of painted caves" from this series and I am sad and thrilled at the same time. I really do not want it to end. I have been dedicated to these books for weeks now.

This entire series is spellbinding, incredibly well written, and researched. The ongoing tale takes us back in time to the end of the Ice Age and convinces us that we are experiencing everything that the story characters do as we develop a feeling of intimacy and understanding for them as their lives unfold. I am in my mid 80's have loved reading for my entire life. This series is as good as it gets from the beginning with Clan of the Cave Bear to the end of the sixth book. I have read and cherish owning them all.

By far, one of my most favorite series, with a high possibility of being my most favorite series. My father has raved about this series for as long as I can remember, so I finally got him to settle down about it when I found and read all books, the final installment was one that he had not read before, so he was also thrilled. It is a fantastic journey through time, with thick characters and plot lines that keep you turning the page. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

This is a marvelous book; it deals with Ice Age and the coexistence of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. It is the first volume of a powerful series. Fortunately for Spanish reading public all of them are translated and available. Ms Auel gives the reader a vivid and lucid reconstruction of a long forgotten era. Ayla is a Cro-Magnon orphaned by an earthquake and adopted by a Neanderthal female, from this point on, a strange world unfolds. It's a discovery trip for Ayla and the reader. At the same time allows us a deep insight into "otherness". In a present world that is shrinking and cultural differences arise every minute, Ms Auel's work show the human common traits that make us kin to every other human being, even if it is as distant related as a Neanderthal. Don't miss this experience. Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Sumamente interesante, el libro te crea una imagen de como pudo haber sido la vida durante la edad de piedra. Te describe con sumo detalle las personas, sus vestidos, hogares, herramientas y todo el entorno incluyendo flora y fauna. Cuando inicias el libro, no te detienes y quieres leer capitulo tras capitulo para saber como la pequeña huerfana logra sobrevivir a cada peligro en un mundo tan hostil. Este solo libro me impulsó a comprar toda la serie.

I read this book for the first time more than 10 years ago, and I found it fascinating. I have read it again from cover to cover at least twice since then. It is very well researched, and I couldn't put it down. I wish I knew where Ms. Auel got all the information she did on the herbs and plants that she describes in her book, that the characters (Iza and Ayla) use for medicine. Some of them (like the willow bark) I know for a fact were used, and I wonder if all of the other herbs and plants really work the way she describes... Guess I'll have to check on herb and plant books for that matter! In any case, I also read the other books of the series (The Valley of Horses, The Mammoth Hunters and Plains of Passage), and I regularly check to see if Ms. Auel has published another book of this series. Hurry Ms. Auel, there are a lot of us waiting to hear what happened to Ayla.

Although this book kind of falls apart if you try to look at it as a realistic view of how human life was 35,000 years ago, If you view it simply as a fantasy novel it turns into a very good book.The story is not especially original (outsider is adopted into a society, big changes start to occur, etc...), but it is carried off very well. But where the book really stands out is in the detailed, sometimes almost too detailed, picture of the world. The author clearly knows the world, the animals, the plants, the conditions exceptionally well, and only rarely does she really go overboard in the detailing of this information.Although at times the structure is kind of awkward, especially when characters are thinking, it is a fascinating, absorbing and hard-to-put-down book with likeable, understandable characters.I definately recommend this book to everyone.