Paleontology: An Illustrated History
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-27 09:52:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：David Bainbridge
- ISBN：0691220921
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
An illustrated look at the art and science of paleontology from its origins to today
Humans have been stumbling upon the petrified remains of ancient animals since prehistoric times， leading to tales of giant dogs， deadly dragons， tree gods， sea serpents， and all manner of strange and marvelous creatures。 In this richly illustrated book， David Bainbridge recounts how legends like these gradually gave rise to the modern science of paleontology， and how this pioneering discipline has reshaped our view of the natural world。
Bainbridge takes readers from ancient Greece to the eighteenth century， when paleontology began to coalesce into the scientific field we know today， and discusses how contemporary paleontologists use cutting-edge technologies to flesh out the discoveries of past and present。 He brings to life the stories and people behind some of the greatest fossil finds of all time， and explains how paleontology has long straddled the spheres of science and art。 Bainbridge also looks to the future of the discipline， discussing how the rapid recovery of DNA and other genetic material from the fossil record promises to revolutionize our understanding of the origins and evolution of ancient life。
This panoramic book brings together stunning illustrations ranging from early sketches and engravings to eye-popping paleoart and high-tech computer reconstructions。
Humans have been stumbling upon the petrified remains of ancient animals since prehistoric times， leading to tales of giant dogs， deadly dragons， tree gods， sea serpents， and all manner of strange and marvelous creatures。 In this richly illustrated book， David Bainbridge recounts how legends like these gradually gave rise to the modern science of paleontology， and how this pioneering discipline has reshaped our view of the natural world。
Bainbridge takes readers from ancient Greece to the eighteenth century， when paleontology began to coalesce into the scientific field we know today， and discusses how contemporary paleontologists use cutting-edge technologies to flesh out the discoveries of past and present。 He brings to life the stories and people behind some of the greatest fossil finds of all time， and explains how paleontology has long straddled the spheres of science and art。 Bainbridge also looks to the future of the discipline， discussing how the rapid recovery of DNA and other genetic material from the fossil record promises to revolutionize our understanding of the origins and evolution of ancient life。
This panoramic book brings together stunning illustrations ranging from early sketches and engravings to eye-popping paleoart and high-tech computer reconstructions。
Reviews
Brian Clegg
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I really wanted to like David Bainbridge's illustrated palaeontology book more than I did in practice。 One of the few criticisms I had of Henry Gee's impressive A Very Short History of Life on Earth was its lack of illustrations。 Here the illustrations are centre stage。 In fact they've taken over the whole show。 Much of Bainbridge's text is interesting， but I found the book almost impossible to read as practically every other time I turned a page， the flow of the writing was broken by large capt I really wanted to like David Bainbridge's illustrated palaeontology book more than I did in practice。 One of the few criticisms I had of Henry Gee's impressive A Very Short History of Life on Earth was its lack of illustrations。 Here the illustrations are centre stage。 In fact they've taken over the whole show。 Much of Bainbridge's text is interesting， but I found the book almost impossible to read as practically every other time I turned a page， the flow of the writing was broken by large captions for illustrations， which felt like they were part of the main text but weren't。 Rather than link the illustrations to the main text， many of them were almost standalone spreads。 As a result， the design simply doesn't work very well。That's a shame， because the text I did manage to read took an interesting course of breaking the chronologically based chapters into sections devoted to specific palaeontologists， from Smith， Anning and Darwin to Clack and Khudi。 （The final chapter deviates a little from this format as there is also a section on the movie versions of King Kong and Jurassic Park， which is entertaining， if not exactly fitting with the rest。） The illustrations have a good range， but the artily subdued tones they are printed in tend to reduce the impact - this would have been better going the full Technicolor。I suspect the structure will make this a difficult book to stick with for someone who hasn't already read a bit on the subject。 As a result， I think it works best to fill in illustrated details on people and discoveries the reader has already encountered elsewhere。 Not a disaster by any means， but it wouldn't have taken much to have made it significantly better。 。。。more
The Inquisitive Biologist
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