The Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Life Author:Rodney Steel (Editor), Anthony Harvey (Editor) There is at present no comprehensive, up-to-date work available describing the millions of years of life on Earth leading to the emergence of man. There are monographs on many aspects of prehistory, but up to now there has been no straightforward, interdisciplinary reference work that offers specialized knowledge in a form that is attractive and... more » comprehensible to the general reader, as well as offering detailed information for the professional scientist. In 'The Encyclopedia of Prehistoric Life our knowledge of these hundreds of millions of years of life on Earth before recorded history has been set out in a concise and easy to consult form.
This exciting new illustrated work brings together more than 350 entries, written by the world's leading paleontologists, and covers geological periods, paleontological localities, plants, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, the rise of man and morphological topics. There are nearly 300 illustrations, as well as authoritative biographies of pioneer students of geological history such as Darwin, Leakey, Marsh, Osborn and Owen. Such varied subjects as continental drift, the theory of evolution, paleontological techniques and the world's natural history museums are all fully covered.
Once introduced to the astonishing story of prehistoric life, it is difficult to resist the desire to dig (literally as well as figuratively) deeper and deeper into a compulsively addictive subject. Opening the pages of this book may well be the beginning of an enduring fascination with the life of the past.« less