Europe: A Natural HistoryA tale of cave bears and comet strikes and a hundred million years of history by the bestselling author of Here on Earth: “Marvelous.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) In Europe: A Natural History, world-renowned scientist, explorer, and conservationist Tim Flannery applies the eloquent interdisciplinary approach he used in his ecological histories of Australia and North America to the story of Europe. He begins 100 million years ago, when the continents of Asia, North America, and Africa interacted to create an island archipelago that would later become the Europe we know today. It was on these ancient tropical lands that the first distinctly European organisms evolved. Flannery teaches us about Europe’s midwife toad, which has endured since the continent’s beginning, while elephants, crocodiles, and giant sharks have come and gone. He explores the monumental changes wrought by the devastating comet strike and shows how rapid atmospheric shifts transformed the European archipelago into a single landmass during the Eocene. As the story moves through millions of years of evolutionary history, Flannery eventually turns to our own species, describing the immense impact humans had on the continent’s flora and fauna—within 30,000 years of our arrival in Europe, the woolly rhino, the cave bear, and the giant elk, among others, would disappear completely. The story continues right up to the present, as Flannery describes Europe’s leading role in wildlife restoration, and then looks ahead to ponder the continent’s future: with advancements in gene editing technology, European scientists are working to recreate some of the continent’s lost creatures, such as the great ox of Europe’s primeval forests and even the woolly mammoth. |
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User Review - Ma_Washigeri - LibraryThingEasy and entertaining read and lots of interesting stuff. I hadn't heard the name for the european bison - wisent - before but I won't forget it now. I'm still struggling to grasp the different sweeps ... Read full review
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User Review - Dreesie - LibraryThingI was so excited to read this. A natural history of Europe! Also that cover, it's gorgeous! And then I received a digital ARC. Please note: this means no maps (a couple were mentioned to come), no ... Read full review
Contents
Dwarfish Degenerate Dinosaurs | |
Islands at the Crossroads of the World | |
Origins and Ancient Europeans | |
The Midwife Toad | |
Other Temperate Giants | |
Ice Beasts | |
What the Ancestors Drew | |
HUMAN EUROPE 38000 Years Ago to the Future | |
The Balance Tips | |
The Domesticators | |
From the Horse to Roman Failure | |
Emptying the Islands | |
The Great Catastrophe | |
A PostApocalyptic World | |
New Dawn New Invasions | |
Messela Window into the Past | |
The European Great Coral Reef | |
Cats Birds and Olms | |
Europes Extraordinary Apes | |
The Messinian Salinity Crisis | |
The PleistoceneGateway to the Modern World | |
HybridsEurope the Mother of Metissage | |
The Cultural Revolution | |
Of Assemblages and Elephants | |
The Calm and the Storm | |
Survivors | |
Europes Global Expansion | |
New Europeans | |
Animals of Empire | |
Europes Bewolfing | |
Europes Silent Spring | |
Rewilding | |
Recreating Giants | |
Envoi | |
Acknowledgments | |
Endnotes | |
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Common terms and phrases
Africa ancestors ancient animals apes appear areas arrived Asia aurochs bear became become began birds bones carnivores caused cave century CHAPTER Chauvet Cave climate continued created creatures dating deer dinosaurs discovered dogs domestic early elephants entire Europe Europe’s European evidence evolution evolved existed extinct fact fauna fish forest fossils France genetic giant Göbekli Tepe Homo horses human hunting hybridisation hybrids hyena important individuals island Italy killed kind known land largest least lion living look mammals mammoth Mediterranean metres migration million years ago Miocene Nature Neanderthals Nopcsa North America Nummulites occurred once originated perhaps Pleistocene points population preserved reached recent record region relatives remains researchers result revealed rhino rocks Science seems similar species survived toads trees warming western wild wolves woolly World World monkeys
Bibliographic information
| Title | Europe: A Natural History |
| Author | Tim Flannery |
| Publisher | Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019 |
| ISBN | 0802146953, 9780802146953 |
| Length | 288 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Historical Geography Nature / Animals / Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures Nature / Ecology Nature / Fossils Science / Life Sciences / Evolution |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |