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Europe: The First 100 Million Years
'Vivid, thrilling, a delight ... Tim Flannery is a palaeontologist and ecologist of global standing, and this is a compelling and authoritative narrative of the evolution of Europe's flora and fauna, from the formation of the continent to its near future ... an exciting book, full of wonder' James McConnachie, Sunday Times
A place of exceptional diversity, rapid change, and high energy, Europe has literally been at the crossroads of the world ever since the interaction of Asia, North America and Africa formed the tropical island archipelago that would become the continent of today.
In this unprecedented evolutionary history, Tim Flannery shows how for the past 100 million years Europe has absorbed wave after wave of immigrant species; taking them in, transforming them, and sometimes hybridising them. Flannery reveals how, in addition to playing a vital role in the evolution of our own species, Europe was once the site of the formation of the first coral reefs, the home of some of the world's largest elephants, and now has more wolves than North America.
This groundbreaking book charts the history of the land itself and the forces shaping life on it - including modern humans - to create a portrait of a continent that continues to exert a huge influence on the world today.
A place of exceptional diversity, rapid change, and high energy, Europe has literally been at the crossroads of the world ever since the interaction of Asia, North America and Africa formed the tropical island archipelago that would become the continent of today.
In this unprecedented evolutionary history, Tim Flannery shows how for the past 100 million years Europe has absorbed wave after wave of immigrant species; taking them in, transforming them, and sometimes hybridising them. Flannery reveals how, in addition to playing a vital role in the evolution of our own species, Europe was once the site of the formation of the first coral reefs, the home of some of the world's largest elephants, and now has more wolves than North America.
This groundbreaking book charts the history of the land itself and the forces shaping life on it - including modern humans - to create a portrait of a continent that continues to exert a huge influence on the world today.
357 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2018
208 people are currently reading
3891 people want to read
About the author
Tim Flannery
132 books388 followersTim Flannery is one of Australia's leading thinkers and writers.
An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, he has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and many books. His books include the landmark works The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages and in 2006 won the NSW Premiers Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year.
He received a Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science and in 2002 delivered the Australia Day address. In 2005 he was named Australian Humanist of the Year, and in 2007 honoured as Australian of the Year.
He spent a year teaching at Harvard, and is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, and the National Geographic Society's representative in Australasia. He serves on the board of WWF International (London and Gland) and on the sustainability advisory councils of Siemens (Munich) and Tata Power (Mumbai).
In 2007 he co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business, and political leaders who came together to confront climate change.
Tim Flannery is currently Professor of Science at Maquarie University, Sydney.
An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, he has published more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific papers and many books. His books include the landmark works The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers, which has been translated into more than 20 languages and in 2006 won the NSW Premiers Literary Prizes for Best Critical Writing and Book of the Year.
He received a Centenary of Federation Medal for his services to Australian science and in 2002 delivered the Australia Day address. In 2005 he was named Australian Humanist of the Year, and in 2007 honoured as Australian of the Year.
He spent a year teaching at Harvard, and is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, and the National Geographic Society's representative in Australasia. He serves on the board of WWF International (London and Gland) and on the sustainability advisory councils of Siemens (Munich) and Tata Power (Mumbai).
In 2007 he co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business, and political leaders who came together to confront climate change.
Tim Flannery is currently Professor of Science at Maquarie University, Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
September 29, 2022
For anyone who needs a little perspective in these days of climatic instability, this book makes for a fascinating and, I found, a strangely comforting read. It details Europe's many evolutions from barren ice-fields to sweltering deserts – and the strange and wonderful creatures that adapted to live in them.
It's incredibly revealing to approach natural history from this deep timeframe, starting way back when Europe was just ‘an island archipelago’ in the Tethys Sea. Who would have thought, for instance, that ‘Europe's oldest and most venerable mammals’ are the humble dormice, which arrived here way back in the Eocene? If you think dormice seem a bit boring, just be grateful it's them and not some of their contemporaries. Among the most alarming that I had never heard of were the entelodonts, popularly known as ‘hell pigs’, which had huge tusks and crocodilian jaws, and for some reason were ‘garishly ornamented with bony warts the size and shape of a human penis’. Yeah, the dormice don't seem that bad now, do they?
To imagine what Europe must have looked and felt like in some of these periods is a wonderful thought experiment. During one hot period around six million years ago, for instance, the entire Mediterranean Sea dried out into
Palm trees and water cypress, of the kind you can now see in Malaysia, once grew across Germany, where the forests were teeming with ‘the greatest venomous snake that has ever existed’ (the three-metre-long Laophis), along with giant tortoises the size of cars. In the Pleistocene, little straight-tusked elephants padded through the forests of Central Europe (as they now do in the Congo), water buffalo wandered the banks of the Rhine, and hippos frolicked in the Thames.
Perhaps they will again. As Europe rapidly warms, it could be that one way of preserving wildlife that's critically endangered in Africa would be to reintroduce it in Europe; this might sound preposterous, but for Flannery it's almost a moral imperative. It is, he says, ‘unacceptable to ask the people of Africa, whose population may reach around four billion by 2100, to live alongside lions and elephants while Europeans refuse to do so’. Already, the reintroduction of species – some by chance, others as part of various ‘rewilding’ projects – has been remarkably successful. There are now more wolves in Europe than in the US, including Alaska.
The final section, about the development of hominids in Europe, is full of new research – this field has obviously changed quite a lot even since I read Chris Stringer's The Origin of Our Species from 2011. It's particularly interesting to see that griphopiths – which represent the last common ancestor of humans and the other great apes – appeared in Europe a million years before they popped up elsewhere, which ‘suggests that our family most likely arose in Europe—and not, as has been long assumed, in Africa’.
Since then, we've changed the face of the continent, and the rest of the world, almost beyond recognition. It's difficult to imagine what the next few hundred years will look like, let alone the next hundred million, except that whatever adaptations life makes to the inevitable climatic and geological upheavals are almost impossible for us to predict. Humans might not be there any more, at least not as a global civilisation – but what might take their place is anyone's guess. My money's on the dormice.
It's incredibly revealing to approach natural history from this deep timeframe, starting way back when Europe was just ‘an island archipelago’ in the Tethys Sea. Who would have thought, for instance, that ‘Europe's oldest and most venerable mammals’ are the humble dormice, which arrived here way back in the Eocene? If you think dormice seem a bit boring, just be grateful it's them and not some of their contemporaries. Among the most alarming that I had never heard of were the entelodonts, popularly known as ‘hell pigs’, which had huge tusks and crocodilian jaws, and for some reason were ‘garishly ornamented with bony warts the size and shape of a human penis’. Yeah, the dormice don't seem that bad now, do they?
To imagine what Europe must have looked and felt like in some of these periods is a wonderful thought experiment. During one hot period around six million years ago, for instance, the entire Mediterranean Sea dried out into
a vast salt plain, more than 4000 metres below sea level at its lowest point, dotted with hypersaline lagoons. The Mediterranean's islands now towered as high as seven kilometres above the salty plain, where temperatures may have reached as high as 80° Celsius…
Palm trees and water cypress, of the kind you can now see in Malaysia, once grew across Germany, where the forests were teeming with ‘the greatest venomous snake that has ever existed’ (the three-metre-long Laophis), along with giant tortoises the size of cars. In the Pleistocene, little straight-tusked elephants padded through the forests of Central Europe (as they now do in the Congo), water buffalo wandered the banks of the Rhine, and hippos frolicked in the Thames.
Perhaps they will again. As Europe rapidly warms, it could be that one way of preserving wildlife that's critically endangered in Africa would be to reintroduce it in Europe; this might sound preposterous, but for Flannery it's almost a moral imperative. It is, he says, ‘unacceptable to ask the people of Africa, whose population may reach around four billion by 2100, to live alongside lions and elephants while Europeans refuse to do so’. Already, the reintroduction of species – some by chance, others as part of various ‘rewilding’ projects – has been remarkably successful. There are now more wolves in Europe than in the US, including Alaska.
The final section, about the development of hominids in Europe, is full of new research – this field has obviously changed quite a lot even since I read Chris Stringer's The Origin of Our Species from 2011. It's particularly interesting to see that griphopiths – which represent the last common ancestor of humans and the other great apes – appeared in Europe a million years before they popped up elsewhere, which ‘suggests that our family most likely arose in Europe—and not, as has been long assumed, in Africa’.
Since then, we've changed the face of the continent, and the rest of the world, almost beyond recognition. It's difficult to imagine what the next few hundred years will look like, let alone the next hundred million, except that whatever adaptations life makes to the inevitable climatic and geological upheavals are almost impossible for us to predict. Humans might not be there any more, at least not as a global civilisation – but what might take their place is anyone's guess. My money's on the dormice.
October 9, 2018
Europe: A Natural History is a non-fiction book by Australian scientist, explorer and conservationist, Tim Flannery. In his introduction he says he aims to “answer three great questions. How was Europe formed? How was its extraordinary history discovered? And why did Europe come to be so important in the world?”
To achieve this, Flannery needs to give the reader a LOT of information. It is quickly apparent that he is an expert in this field, so distilling the wealth of his knowledge into a manageable 300 pages (excluding comprehensive Endnotes and Index) would have been no enviable task. And the information is accessible: relatively easy to follow for a novice, with abundant references should the reader's interest is piqued by a certain topic.
This could all be terribly dry, dusty and maybe a bit boring, but this is Tim Flannery, so readers shouldn’t be surprised to find themselves laughing out loud fairly regularly: “Between 30 million and one million years ago painted frogs abounded in Europe, but then they became extinct. In 1940 biologists collected two adult frogs and two tadpoles in the vicinity of Lake Hula, in what is now Israel. To everyone’s astonishment, they were painted frogs. The larger of the two promptly ate its smaller companion…”
If many of the creatures that Flannery writes about are incredibly bizarre, then no less odd and frequently quirky are some of the people who discover, investigate, study and write about all those rocks, fossils and life forms. For example, Hans Stehlin who “…had become something of a legend for his dogged pursuit of palaeontology, but it seems there was more to his dedication than scientific interest. According to museum folklore he had been thwarted in love, and to forget his misfortune had poured all his energy and passion into his work. Handsome, with a Freud-like beard and piercing eyes, it was also said that he had perfected the death stare. Whenever he required the skeleton of some exotic beast to compare with his fossil bones, he would visit Basel Zoo and stare at the appropriate animal, which would soon thereafter shuffle off its mortal coil.”
As Flannery works through the answers to those questions he poses, he gives plenty of examples, but be prepared also for lots of migration, and not just of people and fauna, but also of flora and ice caps and land masses. And the pronunciation of some of some of those species and genus names may prove a challenge to the tongue and possibly the brain. This is an interesting, informative, often thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful read.
To achieve this, Flannery needs to give the reader a LOT of information. It is quickly apparent that he is an expert in this field, so distilling the wealth of his knowledge into a manageable 300 pages (excluding comprehensive Endnotes and Index) would have been no enviable task. And the information is accessible: relatively easy to follow for a novice, with abundant references should the reader's interest is piqued by a certain topic.
This could all be terribly dry, dusty and maybe a bit boring, but this is Tim Flannery, so readers shouldn’t be surprised to find themselves laughing out loud fairly regularly: “Between 30 million and one million years ago painted frogs abounded in Europe, but then they became extinct. In 1940 biologists collected two adult frogs and two tadpoles in the vicinity of Lake Hula, in what is now Israel. To everyone’s astonishment, they were painted frogs. The larger of the two promptly ate its smaller companion…”
If many of the creatures that Flannery writes about are incredibly bizarre, then no less odd and frequently quirky are some of the people who discover, investigate, study and write about all those rocks, fossils and life forms. For example, Hans Stehlin who “…had become something of a legend for his dogged pursuit of palaeontology, but it seems there was more to his dedication than scientific interest. According to museum folklore he had been thwarted in love, and to forget his misfortune had poured all his energy and passion into his work. Handsome, with a Freud-like beard and piercing eyes, it was also said that he had perfected the death stare. Whenever he required the skeleton of some exotic beast to compare with his fossil bones, he would visit Basel Zoo and stare at the appropriate animal, which would soon thereafter shuffle off its mortal coil.”
As Flannery works through the answers to those questions he poses, he gives plenty of examples, but be prepared also for lots of migration, and not just of people and fauna, but also of flora and ice caps and land masses. And the pronunciation of some of some of those species and genus names may prove a challenge to the tongue and possibly the brain. This is an interesting, informative, often thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful read.
May 5, 2025
یک کتاب جمع و جور و عالی برای شناخت پیدا کردن در مورد تاریخ طبیعی اروپا. اگرچه بخاطر اینکه نویسنده اروپا رو محل تقاطع مهاجرت حیاتوحش میداند، نیمنگاهی هم به گونههای دیگر قارهها و تبادلات گونهای اروپا با آنها دارد.
ایده اصلی کتاب این است که اروپا چگونه اروپا شد؟ این ترکیب جانوری و گیاهی که در قاره سبز شاهد هستیم، تحت تاثیر چه رخدادهایی شکل گرفت و در طول تاریخ زمینشناختی متحمل چه تغییراتی شد.
کتاب در این مسیر، مقدار زیادی اطلاعات زمینشناسی، داستانهایی در مورد اکتشافات و دانشمندان ارائه میدهد و در گونههایی زیادی را که به اروپا رفت و آمد داشتند، حرف میزند.
اما همین میتواند تبدیل به نقطه ضعف کتاب شود. در حجمی بالغ بر دویست و خوردهای صفحه، چنان با اطلاعات و آمار و داستانکها بمباران میشوید که فرصت نفس کشیدن را از خواننده میگیرد. باید هر گونهای را که نام میبرد، گوگل کنید و بخاطر بسپارید، چون حتماً در جای دیگری از کتاب سر برمیآورد.
اگرچه نویسنده با اعتماد به قدرت داستانگوییاش، روایتی بسیار گیرا و متمرکز و لذتبخش خلق کرده است.
یکی از جذابیتهای روایت، این بود که مسیر تکامل انسان در اروپا را نیز در کنار گونههای دیگر روایت کرده بود و با مهارت توانسته بود نوع روابط این گونههای انسانی با محیطشان را نشان بدهد. در واقع نویسنده، انسان به مثابه یک گونه زیستی را جزئی از مسیر تاریخ طبیعی اروپا میبیند و چندین فصل از کتاب را به تکامل او اختصاص میدهد. سپس به دوران تاریخی تا به امروز میپردازد.
و اینجاست که دو فصل آخر کتاب رقم میخورد.
کتاب به سیاق کتابهای زیستمحیطی که در سالیان اخیر نوشته میشوند، نگاهی کاملاً بدبینانه به آینده ندارد. اگرچه در جای جای آن، از آثار ویرانگر تاریخی ما و انقراضهای گونهها توسط انسان میگوید، اما در آخر نیز نور امیدی میتاباند. نویسنده کتاب و روایتش را با معرفی پروژههای "باز وحشیسازی" و بازسازی اکوسیستمهای رهاشده، و همچنین بازمعرفی گونههای جدید به زیستگاههای اروپا، تصویری روشن و امیدوارانه از آینده برای خواننده ترسیم میکند.
ایده اصلی کتاب این است که اروپا چگونه اروپا شد؟ این ترکیب جانوری و گیاهی که در قاره سبز شاهد هستیم، تحت تاثیر چه رخدادهایی شکل گرفت و در طول تاریخ زمینشناختی متحمل چه تغییراتی شد.
کتاب در این مسیر، مقدار زیادی اطلاعات زمینشناسی، داستانهایی در مورد اکتشافات و دانشمندان ارائه میدهد و در گونههایی زیادی را که به اروپا رفت و آمد داشتند، حرف میزند.
اما همین میتواند تبدیل به نقطه ضعف کتاب شود. در حجمی بالغ بر دویست و خوردهای صفحه، چنان با اطلاعات و آمار و داستانکها بمباران میشوید که فرصت نفس کشیدن را از خواننده میگیرد. باید هر گونهای را که نام میبرد، گوگل کنید و بخاطر بسپارید، چون حتماً در جای دیگری از کتاب سر برمیآورد.
اگرچه نویسنده با اعتماد به قدرت داستانگوییاش، روایتی بسیار گیرا و متمرکز و لذتبخش خلق کرده است.
یکی از جذابیتهای روایت، این بود که مسیر تکامل انسان در اروپا را نیز در کنار گونههای دیگر روایت کرده بود و با مهارت توانسته بود نوع روابط این گونههای انسانی با محیطشان را نشان بدهد. در واقع نویسنده، انسان به مثابه یک گونه زیستی را جزئی از مسیر تاریخ طبیعی اروپا میبیند و چندین فصل از کتاب را به تکامل او اختصاص میدهد. سپس به دوران تاریخی تا به امروز میپردازد.
و اینجاست که دو فصل آخر کتاب رقم میخورد.
کتاب به سیاق کتابهای زیستمحیطی که در سالیان اخیر نوشته میشوند، نگاهی کاملاً بدبینانه به آینده ندارد. اگرچه در جای جای آن، از آثار ویرانگر تاریخی ما و انقراضهای گونهها توسط انسان میگوید، اما در آخر نیز نور امیدی میتاباند. نویسنده کتاب و روایتش را با معرفی پروژههای "باز وحشیسازی" و بازسازی اکوسیستمهای رهاشده، و همچنین بازمعرفی گونههای جدید به زیستگاههای اروپا، تصویری روشن و امیدوارانه از آینده برای خواننده ترسیم میکند.
April 4, 2024
It would be well worthwhile assaying the behaviors, diets and reproductive patterns of Europe’s wild animals to determine just how greatly human hunting and habitat alteration have changed them.
This reader found Flannery's endeavor uneven, unclear towards a distinct objective and often frustrating. Given there is a series of these approaches (Australia and North America being the other targeted areas) perhaps it was time for some levity, but the ongoing citation of a time machine literary device and the somewhat glib situations tended to blur the confidence of this recognized authority. The geological and meteorological aspects were dazzling but the digressions on hybridization and the many guises of hominid less so. The curious inviolability of migration is uniquely riveting (and perhaps a needed catalyst for my finally reading Darwin) but there was almost an earful of speculation, which is obvious--with qualification. Perhaps again, I needed the rhapsody on Deep Time which keeps me humble.
This reader found Flannery's endeavor uneven, unclear towards a distinct objective and often frustrating. Given there is a series of these approaches (Australia and North America being the other targeted areas) perhaps it was time for some levity, but the ongoing citation of a time machine literary device and the somewhat glib situations tended to blur the confidence of this recognized authority. The geological and meteorological aspects were dazzling but the digressions on hybridization and the many guises of hominid less so. The curious inviolability of migration is uniquely riveting (and perhaps a needed catalyst for my finally reading Darwin) but there was almost an earful of speculation, which is obvious--with qualification. Perhaps again, I needed the rhapsody on Deep Time which keeps me humble.
September 16, 2018
I felt some connection with this fascinating treatise into what made and makes Europe from a natural history, geographic, fauna and impact of man perspective. I read this book while in the Flinders Ranges where some of the rocks are 500 million years old so matched the timespan included in Flannery’s latest work. The author makes what could have been a very dry subject into an enjoyable romp full of unusual characters who put together the various pieces of the puzzles that deciphered what grew and lived when, what climatic conditions existed and how the landmass changed. A brilliant book full of unusual facts, written in a Bill Bryson style, this was an enjoyable read.
May 28, 2020
Fantastic read on natural history! The timelines are great (38,000 years ago: "Europe is colonised by humans from Africa forming a hybrid human- Neanderthal population.") Amazing facts on everything from the very first mammals of Europe to more recent humans. I particularly found a section interesting on how and when humans turned cows into milk factories. This book is a collection keeper. A time capsule work that tells THE story.
March 18, 2019
What a fun book!
We emerge from a time machine to see islands where today there is a massive continent. Some parts of the land host dinosaurs, made smaller by islandisation, and leather-winged avians grown bigger for the same reason, like the moa; other parts are mountains composed of sea snail shells. We're looking at Albania and Romania, of the far past.
The animals found here, including crocodiles and large turtles, went on to live in Australia and nearby islands for thousands more years, until people arrived on first one shore and then another where they left behind massive deposits of turtle bones. This is a clear sign that the lands were once joined and sheltered a common ancestor of each creature.
As well as such unusual sights, we are shown the eccentric and moneyed early palaeontologists, what mad ideas they produced, where they were right. The Tethys Sea had been to the south, warm and full of ammonites, and the Bering Sea had been a cold neighbour to the north, full of coccolithophores laying down calcium to form limestone. The fossils thus stored were a source of endless fascination to the wealthy and new fields of study were emerging. The Turgei Strait kept Europe apart from Asia so at the time they shared few animal species. But volcanic islands rising above sea made stepping stones, and these were crossed.
Something I hadn't previously heard was that rivers flowed from Africa to Europe at times, bringing fish and frogs. Another migration corridor (cold and dark much of the year) was a land bridge almost to the North Pole called the De Geer Corridor, from Europe to America. While Europe is not known to have sent species out from its islands at that time, says the author, some creatures used it on the route from Asia to America during the late age of dinosaurs. Amphibians are Europe's living fossils. Salamandrids evolved in Europe 90 million years ago and went to America as the dinosaurs died out, later to Asia. One nice tale is about the midwife toad on Majorca, first described from fossils then rediscovered in a valley where the survivors escaped introduced rats and dogs. With protection the species is being successfully reintroduced to other sites.
We also learn of the Hula painted frog, thought extinct for a million years before being picked up in Israel in 1940. The species vanished again but now lives in a nature reserve. Up to then, the only painted frogs were in a museum. Relatives, the ancient tailed frog species, are in Africa, New Zealand and North America.
That's by Page 42. I could go on producing these fascinating facts all day with this book to hand. I find 'Europe' well written and clear, to a keen naturalist, though not perhaps a school student, due to long scientific terms given to species or processes. The author does explain as he goes but a basic knowledge of natural sciences from geology to botany and zoology is assumed. For me the pages are full of interest. Chapter 7 looks at the meteor (or bolide) impact 66 million years ago and shocked quartz; the iridium layer was first identified in Italy's Apennines. Chapter 8 shows us a world of ferns, shouldered aside by tree seeds sprouting and un-nibbled by giant herbivores. Chapter 9 - due to a series of climate changes the European landmass was unifying and deep in old forest, just right for giant herbivores which invaded from North America. We meet Dr Jerry Hooker, whose career to date has yielded tiny fossils that have created much of our knowledge of the fauna of the lands. With invasions from all lands, the local fauna were devastated. And Asian animals went to America, including the horse, dog, camel.
We are told that while the oldest known bat fossils are in Australia, no likely ancestors lived there. The origin of bats is thus a mystery even today. I'm glad there is something left to discover. Chapter 10 - the fossil pit at Messen, a carbon-dioxide belching lake at earlier times. And so on, a rich tapestry of places, people and fossil hunting. Even oil drillers in the Arctic Sea have contributed. We see extinctions caused by climate changes and caused by a mass invasion of species. As the author is Australian we consistently get the Aus - NZ viewpoint, such as the world's oldest songbirds having originated in Australia, which adds a rounded dimension to a book on Europe and adds even more fun facts. Including the tree species which thrived, moved and died out or replaced others. Then we learn of the largest hedgehog ever to exist, grabbing a fawn. The fun never stops.
Oh, and everything you know about where apes and humanoids evolved and apes being superior to monkeys? Think again after reading the events of 17 -13 million years ago. Africa moving north allowed monkeys, which had evolved first in Asia and moved, to enter Europe and then isolated them for a time; by the time apes were found in Africa they had existed in Europe for a million years. Finds from history, from war years, from 2017, along with DNA analysis, CT scans and computer modelling are helping us to discover more, faster, than ever before. The bipedal footprints left on a Cretan beach are one recent find. A handy chart is at the end of that chapter. And then come the Ice Ages.
I just had to mention that hybrids of brown bears and polar bears account for 8.8% of the brown bear genome. In this chapter, we're told Haldane's rule finds male hybrid mammals less fertile than female - certainly true of the mule. But where hybrids survive and are fertile, they bring new useful genes that assist species survival in changing times or new habitats. This is by way of introducing us to the concepts in an upcoming chapter on a Neanderthal-human family in Romania and the Denisovans, which spread to Asia, blending with humans.
I'll just mention that the final section is called Europe's Silent Spring, which is not cheerful; but the book ends with rewilding and possibly re-creating ancient environments and beasts. Maybe the time machine user will see a mammoth-like beast on the steppe in the future.
I did not get a map in my ARC but space is earmarked for one at the start of each section, which would help. As would some illustrations or photos, but these may be in the final version. 'Europe' is admirably suited to students of ecology, geology, botany, zoology, prehistory and history; the later chapters to geopolitics and conservation.
Notes P329 - 356 in my e-ARC. As first initials were used instead of names I was unable to say how many women's names were present, apart from Flora and Europa. The author may be a palaeontologist, but I'm sure he'd agree with me that this book is not a dry recital of lists, and a good step in making science books more accessible to the populace would be, in my opinion, giving first names to scientists, which would also enable women to be seen and credited for their work.
I downloaded an e-copy from Net Galley (but I'll have to get my own). This is an unbiased review.
We emerge from a time machine to see islands where today there is a massive continent. Some parts of the land host dinosaurs, made smaller by islandisation, and leather-winged avians grown bigger for the same reason, like the moa; other parts are mountains composed of sea snail shells. We're looking at Albania and Romania, of the far past.
The animals found here, including crocodiles and large turtles, went on to live in Australia and nearby islands for thousands more years, until people arrived on first one shore and then another where they left behind massive deposits of turtle bones. This is a clear sign that the lands were once joined and sheltered a common ancestor of each creature.
As well as such unusual sights, we are shown the eccentric and moneyed early palaeontologists, what mad ideas they produced, where they were right. The Tethys Sea had been to the south, warm and full of ammonites, and the Bering Sea had been a cold neighbour to the north, full of coccolithophores laying down calcium to form limestone. The fossils thus stored were a source of endless fascination to the wealthy and new fields of study were emerging. The Turgei Strait kept Europe apart from Asia so at the time they shared few animal species. But volcanic islands rising above sea made stepping stones, and these were crossed.
Something I hadn't previously heard was that rivers flowed from Africa to Europe at times, bringing fish and frogs. Another migration corridor (cold and dark much of the year) was a land bridge almost to the North Pole called the De Geer Corridor, from Europe to America. While Europe is not known to have sent species out from its islands at that time, says the author, some creatures used it on the route from Asia to America during the late age of dinosaurs. Amphibians are Europe's living fossils. Salamandrids evolved in Europe 90 million years ago and went to America as the dinosaurs died out, later to Asia. One nice tale is about the midwife toad on Majorca, first described from fossils then rediscovered in a valley where the survivors escaped introduced rats and dogs. With protection the species is being successfully reintroduced to other sites.
We also learn of the Hula painted frog, thought extinct for a million years before being picked up in Israel in 1940. The species vanished again but now lives in a nature reserve. Up to then, the only painted frogs were in a museum. Relatives, the ancient tailed frog species, are in Africa, New Zealand and North America.
That's by Page 42. I could go on producing these fascinating facts all day with this book to hand. I find 'Europe' well written and clear, to a keen naturalist, though not perhaps a school student, due to long scientific terms given to species or processes. The author does explain as he goes but a basic knowledge of natural sciences from geology to botany and zoology is assumed. For me the pages are full of interest. Chapter 7 looks at the meteor (or bolide) impact 66 million years ago and shocked quartz; the iridium layer was first identified in Italy's Apennines. Chapter 8 shows us a world of ferns, shouldered aside by tree seeds sprouting and un-nibbled by giant herbivores. Chapter 9 - due to a series of climate changes the European landmass was unifying and deep in old forest, just right for giant herbivores which invaded from North America. We meet Dr Jerry Hooker, whose career to date has yielded tiny fossils that have created much of our knowledge of the fauna of the lands. With invasions from all lands, the local fauna were devastated. And Asian animals went to America, including the horse, dog, camel.
We are told that while the oldest known bat fossils are in Australia, no likely ancestors lived there. The origin of bats is thus a mystery even today. I'm glad there is something left to discover. Chapter 10 - the fossil pit at Messen, a carbon-dioxide belching lake at earlier times. And so on, a rich tapestry of places, people and fossil hunting. Even oil drillers in the Arctic Sea have contributed. We see extinctions caused by climate changes and caused by a mass invasion of species. As the author is Australian we consistently get the Aus - NZ viewpoint, such as the world's oldest songbirds having originated in Australia, which adds a rounded dimension to a book on Europe and adds even more fun facts. Including the tree species which thrived, moved and died out or replaced others. Then we learn of the largest hedgehog ever to exist, grabbing a fawn. The fun never stops.
Oh, and everything you know about where apes and humanoids evolved and apes being superior to monkeys? Think again after reading the events of 17 -13 million years ago. Africa moving north allowed monkeys, which had evolved first in Asia and moved, to enter Europe and then isolated them for a time; by the time apes were found in Africa they had existed in Europe for a million years. Finds from history, from war years, from 2017, along with DNA analysis, CT scans and computer modelling are helping us to discover more, faster, than ever before. The bipedal footprints left on a Cretan beach are one recent find. A handy chart is at the end of that chapter. And then come the Ice Ages.
I just had to mention that hybrids of brown bears and polar bears account for 8.8% of the brown bear genome. In this chapter, we're told Haldane's rule finds male hybrid mammals less fertile than female - certainly true of the mule. But where hybrids survive and are fertile, they bring new useful genes that assist species survival in changing times or new habitats. This is by way of introducing us to the concepts in an upcoming chapter on a Neanderthal-human family in Romania and the Denisovans, which spread to Asia, blending with humans.
I'll just mention that the final section is called Europe's Silent Spring, which is not cheerful; but the book ends with rewilding and possibly re-creating ancient environments and beasts. Maybe the time machine user will see a mammoth-like beast on the steppe in the future.
I did not get a map in my ARC but space is earmarked for one at the start of each section, which would help. As would some illustrations or photos, but these may be in the final version. 'Europe' is admirably suited to students of ecology, geology, botany, zoology, prehistory and history; the later chapters to geopolitics and conservation.
Notes P329 - 356 in my e-ARC. As first initials were used instead of names I was unable to say how many women's names were present, apart from Flora and Europa. The author may be a palaeontologist, but I'm sure he'd agree with me that this book is not a dry recital of lists, and a good step in making science books more accessible to the populace would be, in my opinion, giving first names to scientists, which would also enable women to be seen and credited for their work.
I downloaded an e-copy from Net Galley (but I'll have to get my own). This is an unbiased review.
November 26, 2018
I received an e-book copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you!
Tim Flannery's Europe describes the natural story of the European continent in its many senses. There is the geological history, the history of biological life - of both flora and fauna - over the millennia, even a brief history of the humankind's ventures into Europe over the course of human evolution. The final chapters describe the latest events in Europe's natural history, namely, the extinctions of subsequent animal species living in Europe.
The subject matter is very interesting, and there are many separate fragments of the book that I found very engaging and intriguing. However, as a whole, the book doesn't quite work for me. It might be partly the fault of the e-book, which had no maps or illustrations that could help the reader to better imagine the issues one is reading about. But I also thought that the book could be a little chaotic at times, and the progression from one topic to another wasn't always intuitive. In particular, I found the part of the book devoted to Neanderthal and early human presence in Europe lacking -- especially since I have recently read Karin Bojs's "My European Family", treating on the same subject in much greater detail.
And then, towards the end, in a discussion on wisent's near-extinction in Europe, Flannery writes that prior to World War One, wisents were protected by Polish kings, but given the hardships of WW One, people started to hunt wisents down for their meat. And I'm like ... but at that time Poland hadn't had kings since 1798? Like... wtf? And maybe it's just shorthand for tsars and whatnot, or maybe it's just jumping over the entire nineteenth century, but-- if this is a mistake I caught because I'm familiar with this particular subject, there might be many more such omissions and shorthands that I didn't catch in this book. Well, hopefully there aren't, but now I can't be sure.
TL;DR is that it's an interesting book and a good primer but you might want to check out the facts in independent sources if you want to share some tidbits with your friends.
Tim Flannery's Europe describes the natural story of the European continent in its many senses. There is the geological history, the history of biological life - of both flora and fauna - over the millennia, even a brief history of the humankind's ventures into Europe over the course of human evolution. The final chapters describe the latest events in Europe's natural history, namely, the extinctions of subsequent animal species living in Europe.
The subject matter is very interesting, and there are many separate fragments of the book that I found very engaging and intriguing. However, as a whole, the book doesn't quite work for me. It might be partly the fault of the e-book, which had no maps or illustrations that could help the reader to better imagine the issues one is reading about. But I also thought that the book could be a little chaotic at times, and the progression from one topic to another wasn't always intuitive. In particular, I found the part of the book devoted to Neanderthal and early human presence in Europe lacking -- especially since I have recently read Karin Bojs's "My European Family", treating on the same subject in much greater detail.
And then, towards the end, in a discussion on wisent's near-extinction in Europe, Flannery writes that prior to World War One, wisents were protected by Polish kings, but given the hardships of WW One, people started to hunt wisents down for their meat. And I'm like ... but at that time Poland hadn't had kings since 1798? Like... wtf? And maybe it's just shorthand for tsars and whatnot, or maybe it's just jumping over the entire nineteenth century, but-- if this is a mistake I caught because I'm familiar with this particular subject, there might be many more such omissions and shorthands that I didn't catch in this book. Well, hopefully there aren't, but now I can't be sure.
TL;DR is that it's an interesting book and a good primer but you might want to check out the facts in independent sources if you want to share some tidbits with your friends.
March 28, 2019
42nd book for 2019.
A remarkably ambitious environmental history of Europe covering a period of time when miniature dinosaurs lived on islands in Transylvania till the present day.
A very enjoyable and well written book.
5-stars.
A remarkably ambitious environmental history of Europe covering a period of time when miniature dinosaurs lived on islands in Transylvania till the present day.
A very enjoyable and well written book.
5-stars.
August 5, 2023
Very good author. I keep reading and loving all his books.
December 18, 2021
Nigdy nie przypuszczałbym, że czytanie o ruchach płyt tektonicznych sprawi mi tyle frajdy. Świetnie napisana (i przetłumaczona!). Idealny balans między przyjemną i ambitną lekturą.
February 29, 2020
A triumph of Natural History that spans from 100 million years ago all the way to a peek into the future. Any book that stuffs that span of time into 357 pages is going to be densely packed with fascinating information.
It also has only a small section for images, so having google handy to look up unfamiliar beasts works quite well while reading this book.
It's a very open-minded approach and introduced me to a whole new way of looking at conservation with a very long term view. Fascinating.
Had to dedicate blocks of 20 mins of reading time (in multiple amounts) to it, because I found it took quite a bit of concentration to absorb the small amount of it that I feel I did.
Quite an eye-opener and a really great read. Will be considering getting my own secondhand copy after returning this one to the library so I can have a more indepth look at the many pages of footnotes.
It also has only a small section for images, so having google handy to look up unfamiliar beasts works quite well while reading this book.
It's a very open-minded approach and introduced me to a whole new way of looking at conservation with a very long term view. Fascinating.
Had to dedicate blocks of 20 mins of reading time (in multiple amounts) to it, because I found it took quite a bit of concentration to absorb the small amount of it that I feel I did.
Quite an eye-opener and a really great read. Will be considering getting my own secondhand copy after returning this one to the library so I can have a more indepth look at the many pages of footnotes.
January 8, 2019
"Europe: A Natural History": Физико- и биогеографската история на Европа, през погледа на австралийския териолог и палеонтолог Тим Фланъри. От заключения между Азия, Африка и Сев. Америка европейски архипелаг преди 100 милиона години, до съвремието и близкото бъдеще, в което измирането, интродукцията, реинтродукцията и биотехнологиите ще продължат да прекрояват облика на континента, в чиято история, единственото сигурно нещо, винаги е била промяната.
Много жива и увлекателна проза от Фланъри. Чудесна книга. Препоръчвам!
Много жива и увлекателна проза от Фланъри. Чудесна книга. Препоръчвам!
January 12, 2022
Lots of useful information presented in a breezy style at just the right pace. (A little too europe-lovin' for my taste, however.) Flannery had to juggle millions of years of data and many opinions, historical and present, and for the most part did that well. There are a couple of obvious errors, but they don't detract from the scientific information.
March 6, 2019
From fossils to the future...
Starting roughly 100 million years ago, Flannery sets out to tell the story of Europe – how it formed, the species that have lived, survived or become extinct in it, the rise of humanity, and the possible future impacts of our current galloping climate change. Along the way, he tells us of the many men and women who have contributed to uncovering this history or who have in some way affected it.
There’s so much in this fascinating book that it’s hard to know how to summarise it in a few hundred words. It gives a panoramic view, bringing together and linking all the bits of natural history that are often covered separately, such as the formation of the continent, or current rewilding projects, or the origins of humanity. It’s surprisingly compact, considering its huge scope, and yet never feels superficial or rushed. And Flannery is a master of the art of converting scientific information into language easily understandable by the non-scientist.
Flannery starts by explaining how the landmass formed and changed over time and how this impacted on the development and spread of species, or conversely on their isolation to single geographic areas. He explains the various climate changes over the aeons – why they happened and how they affected both environment and fauna. He describes the various land corridors that have existed at points between what are now separate continents, and the flow of species along these. I was reading a review copy without maps, but it indicated that maps will be available in the final version – I didn’t find the lack of them seriously affected my understanding of what he was describing, but they would undoubtedly be an enhancement.
Personally I’m very human-centric, so I found the sections where he discussed the early hominids, the Neanderthals and the early humans particularly interesting. Flannery seems to have a good deal of admiration for the Neanderthals, seeing them not in any way as a lower form of species to humanity. In fact, he often gives the impression that in some ways he thinks they were superior in terms of intelligence and innovation, and that humanity’s main advantage, and the reason why we survived and they didn’t, is that humans can exist on foods other than meat, which enabled us to adapt better to changing environments. There’s a fascinating chapter on hybridisation between pale-skinned European Neanderthals and the early black African humans to create the first European humans. He doesn’t specifically say so, but I got the distinct feeling that he thinks the infusion of Neanderthal DNA was advantageous to the humans. Certainly he suspects that female Neanderthal mothers may have passed tips to their hybrid offspring on how to survive in the cold European climate, such as cave-dwelling. Apparently indigenous Europeans (and their descendants throughout the diaspora) still have a small but significant percentage of Neanderthal DNA.
Once into the human phase of history, he shows how man began to impact on the environment and on other species, hunting some to extinction, destroying the habitats of some through farming, and domesticating some as farm animals or working animals. He talks of the European reliance on the cow as a source of food, and how that advantaged those with high lactose tolerance. He discusses the domestication of dogs, horses, cats, and explains how repeated selection and breeding of those with the most suitable temperaments for living domestically eventually changed them fundamentally from their wilder forebears. And he shows how human activities led to the introduction of species from (and to) other regions of the world, sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally, and often with unforeseen effects on indigenous species.
As well as being a naturalist, Flannery is a renowned name in the field of climate change, so his final section looks to a future where change is happening so fast some species are unlikely to be able to adapt quickly enough to survive without human intervention. However, it’s not all bleak – the warming of Europe allows scope for reintroduction of species who emigrated during the ice ages, and Flannery sees this as a possible means of survival for some of the species who will be under threat in warmer parts of the world. He makes a strong case for Europe reintroducing some of the large species from Africa, including the predators, arguing that it’s unfair for Europeans to expect a turbulent, growing Africa to have to bear all the risks and costs of preserving these species if we are all to enjoy the benefits of their survival. He’s less clear about his support for the reintroduction of extinct species, possible now with genetic science, but suggests that society should form a view on this (presumably, though he doesn’t say so, before the mad scientists make the decisions for us). Thankfully, he draws the line at the idea of reintroducing the Neanderthal, although the survival of Neanderthal DNA makes this possible, concluding that the genetic manipulation of humans is immoral. I can only hope the wider scientific community agrees with him on that one.
As always with these science-based books, I feel I’ve give only a superficial flavour of this one, concentrating on the bits that most interested me. But I found the whole thing fascinating, bringing together lots of disparate bits of things I’ve read about over the years into one coherent whole. Flannery writes clearly and entertainingly, including lots of anecdotes about the scientists and naturalists who’ve contributed to the sum of knowledge over the centuries, which helps to break up the more sciency stuff. And he’s meticulous about differentiating things that are known from those that are theorised but not yet proven, and from his own occasional speculations. An excellent read, informative and enjoyable – highly recommended!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Atlantic Monthly Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Starting roughly 100 million years ago, Flannery sets out to tell the story of Europe – how it formed, the species that have lived, survived or become extinct in it, the rise of humanity, and the possible future impacts of our current galloping climate change. Along the way, he tells us of the many men and women who have contributed to uncovering this history or who have in some way affected it.
There’s so much in this fascinating book that it’s hard to know how to summarise it in a few hundred words. It gives a panoramic view, bringing together and linking all the bits of natural history that are often covered separately, such as the formation of the continent, or current rewilding projects, or the origins of humanity. It’s surprisingly compact, considering its huge scope, and yet never feels superficial or rushed. And Flannery is a master of the art of converting scientific information into language easily understandable by the non-scientist.
Flannery starts by explaining how the landmass formed and changed over time and how this impacted on the development and spread of species, or conversely on their isolation to single geographic areas. He explains the various climate changes over the aeons – why they happened and how they affected both environment and fauna. He describes the various land corridors that have existed at points between what are now separate continents, and the flow of species along these. I was reading a review copy without maps, but it indicated that maps will be available in the final version – I didn’t find the lack of them seriously affected my understanding of what he was describing, but they would undoubtedly be an enhancement.
Personally I’m very human-centric, so I found the sections where he discussed the early hominids, the Neanderthals and the early humans particularly interesting. Flannery seems to have a good deal of admiration for the Neanderthals, seeing them not in any way as a lower form of species to humanity. In fact, he often gives the impression that in some ways he thinks they were superior in terms of intelligence and innovation, and that humanity’s main advantage, and the reason why we survived and they didn’t, is that humans can exist on foods other than meat, which enabled us to adapt better to changing environments. There’s a fascinating chapter on hybridisation between pale-skinned European Neanderthals and the early black African humans to create the first European humans. He doesn’t specifically say so, but I got the distinct feeling that he thinks the infusion of Neanderthal DNA was advantageous to the humans. Certainly he suspects that female Neanderthal mothers may have passed tips to their hybrid offspring on how to survive in the cold European climate, such as cave-dwelling. Apparently indigenous Europeans (and their descendants throughout the diaspora) still have a small but significant percentage of Neanderthal DNA.
Once into the human phase of history, he shows how man began to impact on the environment and on other species, hunting some to extinction, destroying the habitats of some through farming, and domesticating some as farm animals or working animals. He talks of the European reliance on the cow as a source of food, and how that advantaged those with high lactose tolerance. He discusses the domestication of dogs, horses, cats, and explains how repeated selection and breeding of those with the most suitable temperaments for living domestically eventually changed them fundamentally from their wilder forebears. And he shows how human activities led to the introduction of species from (and to) other regions of the world, sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally, and often with unforeseen effects on indigenous species.
As well as being a naturalist, Flannery is a renowned name in the field of climate change, so his final section looks to a future where change is happening so fast some species are unlikely to be able to adapt quickly enough to survive without human intervention. However, it’s not all bleak – the warming of Europe allows scope for reintroduction of species who emigrated during the ice ages, and Flannery sees this as a possible means of survival for some of the species who will be under threat in warmer parts of the world. He makes a strong case for Europe reintroducing some of the large species from Africa, including the predators, arguing that it’s unfair for Europeans to expect a turbulent, growing Africa to have to bear all the risks and costs of preserving these species if we are all to enjoy the benefits of their survival. He’s less clear about his support for the reintroduction of extinct species, possible now with genetic science, but suggests that society should form a view on this (presumably, though he doesn’t say so, before the mad scientists make the decisions for us). Thankfully, he draws the line at the idea of reintroducing the Neanderthal, although the survival of Neanderthal DNA makes this possible, concluding that the genetic manipulation of humans is immoral. I can only hope the wider scientific community agrees with him on that one.
As always with these science-based books, I feel I’ve give only a superficial flavour of this one, concentrating on the bits that most interested me. But I found the whole thing fascinating, bringing together lots of disparate bits of things I’ve read about over the years into one coherent whole. Flannery writes clearly and entertainingly, including lots of anecdotes about the scientists and naturalists who’ve contributed to the sum of knowledge over the centuries, which helps to break up the more sciency stuff. And he’s meticulous about differentiating things that are known from those that are theorised but not yet proven, and from his own occasional speculations. An excellent read, informative and enjoyable – highly recommended!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Atlantic Monthly Press.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
February 11, 2021
Це історія того, як змінювались географія, клімат, флора і фауна Європи в останні 70 мільйонів років (відколи на карті взагалі з'явилось щось схоже на Європу). Книжка цікава і гарно написана, і з неї я дізнався значно більше нового, ніж очікував. Наприклад, про весь період від вимирання динозаврів до появи первісних людей, який рідко десь згадують; про те, як Середземне море повністю висохло, а Чорне було озером; про різноманітність тварин у ті часи, коли сучасні люди вперше прийшли у Європу - тут бродили не тільки мамонти і шаблезубі тигри, але й носороги, бегемоти, гігантські версії оленів, ведмедів тощо. Усі вони, плюс наші родичі неандертальці, вимерли досить швидко після приходу людей (Фланнері має досить чітку позицію у дискусії про "причини вимирання мегафауни"). Автор палеонтолог, тому умовно сучасні теми - нові вимирання, вторгнення видів з інших континентів, потенційне повернення турів і мамонтів через гібридизацію та генну інженерію - він покриває менше, ніж хотілось би, але достатньо, щоб зацікавити на пошук інших джерел.
December 16, 2019
Very nice book. There's been phases where I was thinking "Does he really need to mention every single species ever lived in this epoch?" and at times the quick change of topic from one species to another was a bit confused and sometimes disappointing. Definitely would have liked it to be more in-depth and less broad. Oh, and more pictures. Definitely more pictures. But overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I've learned a lot, so definitely recommend if you're interested in paleontology and natural history.
April 15, 2019
Fascinating. Very well researched with some very current findings. Amazing amounts of changes
October 12, 2022
A wonderful book that reignited my interest in a fascinating subject area
May 25, 2019
As a broad overview of the natural history of a continent, this book is excellent. I read a lot of books similar to this or books that touch on some aspect of the geology of Europe or palaeontological discoveries in Europe but I have learned only bits and pieces along the way.
My favorite parts are the early beginnings of Europe as an archipelago of islands that were off and on connected with each other or off and on connected with various bits of other land masses that later became continents. Did you know there were small-sized, island-living versions of many common dinosaurs? I did not know this and these discoveries were made many years ago.
I also liked Flannery's discussion of current efforts to re-wild parts of Europe and bring back some of the larger land mammals that are either threatened or are extinct on the continent. Again, much of this I was unaware of and I found it an interesting discussion of what is currently taking place.
My only quibble is that there are times that I feel some of Flannery's fluffing it up a little bit by being too one-sided in his opinions about various theories. I can't cite specific examples because I returned the book to the library and did not note the pages or the specific references...
Regardless of that, it is still a well-written book and I recommend to anyone who has an interest in natural history and the sciences.
My favorite parts are the early beginnings of Europe as an archipelago of islands that were off and on connected with each other or off and on connected with various bits of other land masses that later became continents. Did you know there were small-sized, island-living versions of many common dinosaurs? I did not know this and these discoveries were made many years ago.
I also liked Flannery's discussion of current efforts to re-wild parts of Europe and bring back some of the larger land mammals that are either threatened or are extinct on the continent. Again, much of this I was unaware of and I found it an interesting discussion of what is currently taking place.
My only quibble is that there are times that I feel some of Flannery's fluffing it up a little bit by being too one-sided in his opinions about various theories. I can't cite specific examples because I returned the book to the library and did not note the pages or the specific references...
Regardless of that, it is still a well-written book and I recommend to anyone who has an interest in natural history and the sciences.
January 1, 2025
Well-written and very accessible overview of the natural history of Europe, primarily focused on zoology but also covers geological, ecological, and botanical history. It is both natural history in the sense of plants, animals, ecology, and geology today and also the history through time, how such things came to be and the influences they had on the rest of the world, what influences the rest of the world had on Europe over time, and how we know what we know about European natural history of the past and present.
Section one is twelve chapters covering Europe from its birth 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period through 34 million years ago (which is the end of the Eocene Epoch). This is when Europe was a tropical archipelago. Flannery covered the geological birth of Europe and the evolution of the first endemic European fauna, some of which survives today. Fascinating coverage of the extremely colorful Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás and his discoveries of Cretaceous Europe such as the turtle Kallokibotion bajazidi (member of a now extinct group of early turtles, the last members having gone extinct in Australia 45,000 years ago) and a number of island dinosaurs variously described as runty, primitive, impoverished, and degenerated, such as the small armored dinosaur Struthiosaurus and the “runty” duck-billed dinosaur Telmatosaurus (“just five metres long and weighed 500 kilograms”); not every Mesozoic island resident was small, as in 2002 Hatzeopteryx was discovered, the top predator of the Mesozoic island of Hateg and “perhaps the largest pterodactyl that ever lived.” For those interested, there is additional coverage of Europe’s dwarf dinosaurs and on Baron Nopcsa in _The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World_ by Steve Brusatte which I can highly recommend, and the dwarf dinosaurs are also covered in the excellent _Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology_ by Michael J. Benton.
My favorites topics were the coverage of endemic European fauna as well as “living fossils.” The alytids (“the family that includes the midwife toads”) and the typical salamanders and newts (family Salamandridae) for instance are “relics of Europe’s dawning” and “deserving of special recognition…as precious as the platypus and lungfish” of Australia. Some we just missed (in geological terms at least), as the albanerpetonids (the fourth major lineage of amphibians alongside frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and the worm-like caecilians), “one that originated at the very beginning of the amphibian story” and for 370 million years apparently survived at least to 1.8 million years ago thanks to fossils found in Verona, Italy in 2007. Eocene mammals, like the Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe, were “unique to Europe” and “all were small creatures” like the “duiker-like anoplotheriids and the rabbit-sized dichobunids” (both of which I would have liked more information other than a brief mention).
My favorite were the kogaionids, mammals unique to Europe, having actually survived the end of the Mesozoic, egg-laying mammals that apparently hopped like frogs, part of a fauna of mammals of the tropical forests of post-impact Europe, that “could have survived the bolide impact in burrows and, during the dark chill that followed, by eating small invertebrates such as worms, hoppers and insects, or the seeds left behind in the soil.”
As geology is covered and the history of the Tethys is important in the history of Europe, I highly recommend the very readable _Vanished Ocean: How Tethys Reshaped the World_ by Dorrik Stow, as Tethys once covered large areas of Europe and was an important geological feature well into the Cenozoic.
Section two is nine chapters covering Europe from 34 million years ago and the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch through 2.6 million years ago and the end of the Pliocene Epoch. Europe was becoming cooler, drier, and much closer in geography to what we have today, though Europe still had subtropical to tropical vegetation at first, gradually becoming cooler and drier as sea levels dropped. The first chapter opens with a discussion of la grande coupure or the great cut, how 34 million years ago there was a sharp divide, marking a “fundamental reorganization of the climate – from a predominantly greenhouse world to an icehouse.” It was a time of extinctions, not just because of a climatic shift but a separate wave of extinctions from “the arrival of new mammalian invaders” from outside Europe, with one of the few surviving mammalian lineages the dormouse (members of family Gliridae), rodents that originated in North America, arrived in Europe 55 million years ago, and remaining endemic to Europe for 40 million years until finally spreading to Africa 23 million years, today “Europe’s oldest and most venerable mammals, though their current diversity is the merest vestige of their former glory.”
Lots in this section. Topics covered include the arriving mammalian invaders, such as the entelodonts or “hell pigs” from Asia 37 million years ago, the Arcto-Tertiary Geoflora, chalicotheres, the arrival of elephants in Europe 16.5 million years ago (deinotheres and mastodons), the cervines (which includes red deer, American elk, fallow deer, and the extinct Irish elk), “arguably Europe’s greatest mammalian success story” as they “first appeared about 10 million years ago – in Europe,” Rudapithecus (from Hungary 10 million years ago, the oldest known “large-brained ape”), the Messinian Salinity Crisis, when the Mediterranean Sea dried out, something that had profound effects on the global climate, and the uniquely European giant tortoise Titanochelon, “the size of a small car,” that managed to hang on in Spain till about two million year ago but like the continent’s crocodiles and alligators, were “all carried off by the increasing chill, though it seems possible the arrival of Homo erectus from Africa might have also played a role in the extinction.”
Section three is ten chapters on the Ice Ages, 2.6 million years ago to 38,000 years ago, the time of the great glaciers covering the land, of Neanderthals, and Ice Age megafauna. Again, so many great topics covered in this section, including the cycles of glaciation, the giant hyena (Pachycrocuta brevirostris, arriving in Europe 1.9 million years ago from Africa), a surprising and lengthy section on understanding the role of hybrids and hybridization in understanding Ice Age megafauna (particularly with bears and elephants), the rise and fall of Homo erectus and then Neanderthals in Europe, the beginnings of dogs with the first associations with canines and hominids, a long and detailed look at the large creatures of Europe’s warmth-loving ice age faunal assemblage (“the straight-tusked elephant, two rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus, and a water buffalo”), the “core fauna” of Europe during the cold phases, “the woolly mammoth, woolly rhino, saiga, muskox and the arctic fox,” and a discussion of the mammoth steppe.
Some very interesting passages on Ice Age cave art. For additional information I recommend _Color: A Natural History of the Palette_ by Victoria Finlay which covered Ice Age cave art in the chapter on ochre and the chapter on black and brown. I also recommend my current read as I write this review, _The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists_ by Gregory Curtis. Since I am apparently recommending lots of books in this review, another book that had great coverage of Neanderthals and Denisovans is _The World Before Us: How Science is Revealing a New Story of Our Human Origins_ by Tom Higham, a book I really enjoyed.
Section four is thirteen chapters on Human Europe, beginning 38,000 years and continues “to the Future” as the author discusses current trends and possible futures of European natural history. Flannery covered everything from the first modern humans in Europe through Roman times, the Middle Ages, the 20th century, all the way up to today with discussions of the challenges of industrial agriculture, the abandonment of farming communities, and the promises of rewilding and even de-extinction. Discussions of such topics as how ice age megafauna extinctions led to such things as a transformation of entire ecosystems by the demise of large herbivores and the phenomenon of meso-predator release (when the next class size down from apex predators proliferates, which can have a huge impact on small mammals and birds that are important as pollinators and seed dispersers), the dwarf mammals of Mediterranean islands such as miniature elephants and hippos, the history of game reserves in Europe, the historic times story of various large mammals (particularly wild horses, the aurochs, wisent, ibex, wolves, bears, the Barbary macaque, and Iberian lynx, “the largest carnivore unique to Europe”), the story of London plane trees (noting that plane trees flourished in Europe 85 million years ago and are “one of Europe’s living fossils”), the arrival and story of several introduced species (such as the muskrat and raccoons), and stories of rewilding such as at Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands.
Has extensive endnotes, an index, several maps, and a section of color plates. No complaints, though a few of the more to me obscure extinct organisms I would have liked far more than I got. The major ones like woolly mammoths had lengthy coverage of which I have no issue with. I loved how the author showed Europe past and present has unique organisms and today has living fossils of which the continent’s inhabitants should be proud. Coverage of the conservation of such animals as ibex and wisent was quite good. Though large mammals seemed to be the star, again and again Flannery discussed the smaller fauna such as toads and salamanders.
Section one is twelve chapters covering Europe from its birth 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period through 34 million years ago (which is the end of the Eocene Epoch). This is when Europe was a tropical archipelago. Flannery covered the geological birth of Europe and the evolution of the first endemic European fauna, some of which survives today. Fascinating coverage of the extremely colorful Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás and his discoveries of Cretaceous Europe such as the turtle Kallokibotion bajazidi (member of a now extinct group of early turtles, the last members having gone extinct in Australia 45,000 years ago) and a number of island dinosaurs variously described as runty, primitive, impoverished, and degenerated, such as the small armored dinosaur Struthiosaurus and the “runty” duck-billed dinosaur Telmatosaurus (“just five metres long and weighed 500 kilograms”); not every Mesozoic island resident was small, as in 2002 Hatzeopteryx was discovered, the top predator of the Mesozoic island of Hateg and “perhaps the largest pterodactyl that ever lived.” For those interested, there is additional coverage of Europe’s dwarf dinosaurs and on Baron Nopcsa in _The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World_ by Steve Brusatte which I can highly recommend, and the dwarf dinosaurs are also covered in the excellent _Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology_ by Michael J. Benton.
My favorites topics were the coverage of endemic European fauna as well as “living fossils.” The alytids (“the family that includes the midwife toads”) and the typical salamanders and newts (family Salamandridae) for instance are “relics of Europe’s dawning” and “deserving of special recognition…as precious as the platypus and lungfish” of Australia. Some we just missed (in geological terms at least), as the albanerpetonids (the fourth major lineage of amphibians alongside frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and the worm-like caecilians), “one that originated at the very beginning of the amphibian story” and for 370 million years apparently survived at least to 1.8 million years ago thanks to fossils found in Verona, Italy in 2007. Eocene mammals, like the Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe, were “unique to Europe” and “all were small creatures” like the “duiker-like anoplotheriids and the rabbit-sized dichobunids” (both of which I would have liked more information other than a brief mention).
My favorite were the kogaionids, mammals unique to Europe, having actually survived the end of the Mesozoic, egg-laying mammals that apparently hopped like frogs, part of a fauna of mammals of the tropical forests of post-impact Europe, that “could have survived the bolide impact in burrows and, during the dark chill that followed, by eating small invertebrates such as worms, hoppers and insects, or the seeds left behind in the soil.”
As geology is covered and the history of the Tethys is important in the history of Europe, I highly recommend the very readable _Vanished Ocean: How Tethys Reshaped the World_ by Dorrik Stow, as Tethys once covered large areas of Europe and was an important geological feature well into the Cenozoic.
Section two is nine chapters covering Europe from 34 million years ago and the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch through 2.6 million years ago and the end of the Pliocene Epoch. Europe was becoming cooler, drier, and much closer in geography to what we have today, though Europe still had subtropical to tropical vegetation at first, gradually becoming cooler and drier as sea levels dropped. The first chapter opens with a discussion of la grande coupure or the great cut, how 34 million years ago there was a sharp divide, marking a “fundamental reorganization of the climate – from a predominantly greenhouse world to an icehouse.” It was a time of extinctions, not just because of a climatic shift but a separate wave of extinctions from “the arrival of new mammalian invaders” from outside Europe, with one of the few surviving mammalian lineages the dormouse (members of family Gliridae), rodents that originated in North America, arrived in Europe 55 million years ago, and remaining endemic to Europe for 40 million years until finally spreading to Africa 23 million years, today “Europe’s oldest and most venerable mammals, though their current diversity is the merest vestige of their former glory.”
Lots in this section. Topics covered include the arriving mammalian invaders, such as the entelodonts or “hell pigs” from Asia 37 million years ago, the Arcto-Tertiary Geoflora, chalicotheres, the arrival of elephants in Europe 16.5 million years ago (deinotheres and mastodons), the cervines (which includes red deer, American elk, fallow deer, and the extinct Irish elk), “arguably Europe’s greatest mammalian success story” as they “first appeared about 10 million years ago – in Europe,” Rudapithecus (from Hungary 10 million years ago, the oldest known “large-brained ape”), the Messinian Salinity Crisis, when the Mediterranean Sea dried out, something that had profound effects on the global climate, and the uniquely European giant tortoise Titanochelon, “the size of a small car,” that managed to hang on in Spain till about two million year ago but like the continent’s crocodiles and alligators, were “all carried off by the increasing chill, though it seems possible the arrival of Homo erectus from Africa might have also played a role in the extinction.”
Section three is ten chapters on the Ice Ages, 2.6 million years ago to 38,000 years ago, the time of the great glaciers covering the land, of Neanderthals, and Ice Age megafauna. Again, so many great topics covered in this section, including the cycles of glaciation, the giant hyena (Pachycrocuta brevirostris, arriving in Europe 1.9 million years ago from Africa), a surprising and lengthy section on understanding the role of hybrids and hybridization in understanding Ice Age megafauna (particularly with bears and elephants), the rise and fall of Homo erectus and then Neanderthals in Europe, the beginnings of dogs with the first associations with canines and hominids, a long and detailed look at the large creatures of Europe’s warmth-loving ice age faunal assemblage (“the straight-tusked elephant, two rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus, and a water buffalo”), the “core fauna” of Europe during the cold phases, “the woolly mammoth, woolly rhino, saiga, muskox and the arctic fox,” and a discussion of the mammoth steppe.
Some very interesting passages on Ice Age cave art. For additional information I recommend _Color: A Natural History of the Palette_ by Victoria Finlay which covered Ice Age cave art in the chapter on ochre and the chapter on black and brown. I also recommend my current read as I write this review, _The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists_ by Gregory Curtis. Since I am apparently recommending lots of books in this review, another book that had great coverage of Neanderthals and Denisovans is _The World Before Us: How Science is Revealing a New Story of Our Human Origins_ by Tom Higham, a book I really enjoyed.
Section four is thirteen chapters on Human Europe, beginning 38,000 years and continues “to the Future” as the author discusses current trends and possible futures of European natural history. Flannery covered everything from the first modern humans in Europe through Roman times, the Middle Ages, the 20th century, all the way up to today with discussions of the challenges of industrial agriculture, the abandonment of farming communities, and the promises of rewilding and even de-extinction. Discussions of such topics as how ice age megafauna extinctions led to such things as a transformation of entire ecosystems by the demise of large herbivores and the phenomenon of meso-predator release (when the next class size down from apex predators proliferates, which can have a huge impact on small mammals and birds that are important as pollinators and seed dispersers), the dwarf mammals of Mediterranean islands such as miniature elephants and hippos, the history of game reserves in Europe, the historic times story of various large mammals (particularly wild horses, the aurochs, wisent, ibex, wolves, bears, the Barbary macaque, and Iberian lynx, “the largest carnivore unique to Europe”), the story of London plane trees (noting that plane trees flourished in Europe 85 million years ago and are “one of Europe’s living fossils”), the arrival and story of several introduced species (such as the muskrat and raccoons), and stories of rewilding such as at Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands.
Has extensive endnotes, an index, several maps, and a section of color plates. No complaints, though a few of the more to me obscure extinct organisms I would have liked far more than I got. The major ones like woolly mammoths had lengthy coverage of which I have no issue with. I loved how the author showed Europe past and present has unique organisms and today has living fossils of which the continent’s inhabitants should be proud. Coverage of the conservation of such animals as ibex and wisent was quite good. Though large mammals seemed to be the star, again and again Flannery discussed the smaller fauna such as toads and salamanders.
April 18, 2021
Amazing book! Scientific, entertaining and easy to read and understand by anyone. It's the perfect mix of geology, palaeontology and biology for me. Loved it!
Thanks, Josef, for the book!
Thanks, Josef, for the book!
July 15, 2019
I think this is the first time I've ever given a book 5 stars, but this one is worth it. It crams 100 million years of evolution and geological change into a few hundred pages, but still makes you feel that it's been quite a journey. I didn't realise that Europe was a fragmented collection of islands and archipelagos until a few tens of millions of years ago, that sea levels dropped so far at times that a land bridge formed between Europe and North America, and as for the Messinian salinity crisis ... Nor did I know that hyenas were common in Europe until a few thousand years ago, or that the golden jackal is currently sweeping across the continent. At the end there's a brief but thought-provoking discussion of rewilding to bring it up to the present day.
My only criticism is that a bibiography would have been handy, but there are some challenging messages in here. I couldn't put it down.
My only criticism is that a bibiography would have been handy, but there are some challenging messages in here. I couldn't put it down.
May 8, 2020
Easy 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 of time, with plate tectonics, ancient animal races, ice ages and recent history. I thought for a while that more and better timelines might help but I've seen lots of timelines before and it never seems to sink in so hopefully this narrative will leave a more lasting trace. And I love the suggestion we might rewild Europe not just with bears and wolves, but with wisent, lions and forest elephant. We have beavers coming to a wildlife trust enclosure in Derbyshire this year - perhaps only the start!
October 13, 2018
Very interesting trip through history, from almost the year dot. Written in an engaging and informal style, it is very readable. Flannery covers so much material that it is impossible to believe it is without errors, and when covering topics that fall within my expertise I did find some minor problems. Read it with a grain of salt, but enjoy heading into this time machine.
September 23, 2021
In dit geweldige boek over de eerste 100 miljoen jaar van ons continent stelt de auteur 3 vragen:
- How was Europe formed?
- How was this extraordinary history discovered?
- Why did Europe come to be so important in the world?
En wat een boeiende antwoorden volgen hierop. Beginnend bij de "tropische archipel", langs de vorming van het continent, door de ijstijden, in het gezelschap van de eerste mensachtigen en zo verder langs de meer nabije geschiedenis en eindigend in 2.300 AD vertelt Tim Flannery ons over de boeiende evolutie van ons werelddeel, met een kleine hoopvolle blik naar de toekomst. Dat gaat zowel over de geologische verschuivingen van continenten en gesteenten (wisten jullie dat de top van de Matterhorn Afrikaans is?), als over de wel immense, zij het traag vorderende, klimaatswisselingen. Dat gaat over al die soorten dieren die er waren in al die miljoenen jaren, oervormen van dieren die er nog zijn, vormen die al lang niet meer bestaan, dieren die uit kwaadaardige sprookjes lijken weggelopen, gigantische dieren, zeer kleine uitgaven van dieren die wij net als zeer groot kennen, (geloof me, Google is je vriend wanneer je dit boek leest), ach, wat heb ik mijn wel zeer beperkt geheugen vaak verfoeid, waarom onthou ik dit alles niet tot in de eeuwigheid? En dit boek gaat over de mensen die dit verleden ontdekten, vaak toevallig, vaak zijn het idealisten of zonderlingen of extremisten.
Het feit dat wij allen zo verschillend zijn, ik ben (was) donker van haar, maar ik heb o.a. een rosse dochter, een erg blonde nicht, of het feit dat wij zoveel verschillende langschappen hebben, dat Europa zo heterogeen is, heeft de maken met het feit dat wij op een kruispunt liggen, neen, het kruispunt zijn, voor volkeren, dierensoorten, van verschuivende continenten.
Dit is een fantastisch boek over onze fantastische wereld, helder geschreven, soms ook gewoon grappig. Ook wordt er verwezen naar de niet altijd even fraaie rol van de mens, de opkomst van de mens valt vaak samen met het wegvallen van dierensoorten, een enkele keer wordt de vergelijking gemaakt tussen wat toen een snelle klimaatsverandering was (in geologische termen) en dat het nu 30 keer sneller gaat.
Een geweldig boek dus, en bij deze mens een geweldig slecht geheugen!
- How was Europe formed?
- How was this extraordinary history discovered?
- Why did Europe come to be so important in the world?
En wat een boeiende antwoorden volgen hierop. Beginnend bij de "tropische archipel", langs de vorming van het continent, door de ijstijden, in het gezelschap van de eerste mensachtigen en zo verder langs de meer nabije geschiedenis en eindigend in 2.300 AD vertelt Tim Flannery ons over de boeiende evolutie van ons werelddeel, met een kleine hoopvolle blik naar de toekomst. Dat gaat zowel over de geologische verschuivingen van continenten en gesteenten (wisten jullie dat de top van de Matterhorn Afrikaans is?), als over de wel immense, zij het traag vorderende, klimaatswisselingen. Dat gaat over al die soorten dieren die er waren in al die miljoenen jaren, oervormen van dieren die er nog zijn, vormen die al lang niet meer bestaan, dieren die uit kwaadaardige sprookjes lijken weggelopen, gigantische dieren, zeer kleine uitgaven van dieren die wij net als zeer groot kennen, (geloof me, Google is je vriend wanneer je dit boek leest), ach, wat heb ik mijn wel zeer beperkt geheugen vaak verfoeid, waarom onthou ik dit alles niet tot in de eeuwigheid? En dit boek gaat over de mensen die dit verleden ontdekten, vaak toevallig, vaak zijn het idealisten of zonderlingen of extremisten.
Het feit dat wij allen zo verschillend zijn, ik ben (was) donker van haar, maar ik heb o.a. een rosse dochter, een erg blonde nicht, of het feit dat wij zoveel verschillende langschappen hebben, dat Europa zo heterogeen is, heeft de maken met het feit dat wij op een kruispunt liggen, neen, het kruispunt zijn, voor volkeren, dierensoorten, van verschuivende continenten.
Dit is een fantastisch boek over onze fantastische wereld, helder geschreven, soms ook gewoon grappig. Ook wordt er verwezen naar de niet altijd even fraaie rol van de mens, de opkomst van de mens valt vaak samen met het wegvallen van dierensoorten, een enkele keer wordt de vergelijking gemaakt tussen wat toen een snelle klimaatsverandering was (in geologische termen) en dat het nu 30 keer sneller gaat.
Een geweldig boek dus, en bij deze mens een geweldig slecht geheugen!
October 16, 2021
This is an extraordinary book. It provides a compelling view of Europe's history from the perspective of a time scale that is difficult to comprehend and yet deeply significant. Whilst perhaps not overtly setting out to do so, it forces a recognition that our lives are just one tiny blink in the extraordinary history of our planet.
The tale of geological change, climatic change, mega fauna, extinctions, migration and extermination is heady stuff indeed.
I was particularly struck to read of the precision of science in being able to determine the inbred origin of a Neanderthal whose remains were uncovered - mother a half sister etc. It was fascinating to learn that Neanderthals were light skinned, blue eyed, red haired and probably very intelligent. It was also fascinating to learn that those of us with European origins have hybrid origins with the Neanderthal and I think I am right in concluding our whiteness is due to our Neanderthal DNA - how ironic for the white supremeists! And how challenging from a theological perspective to recognise that there was a whole species of human that became extinct other than for the hybrid DNA in we Europeans. How does that concept fit with notions about special creation or a god's love for mankind?
But I digress. This is one of the most thought provoking and engaging books I have read for some time. Highly recommended.
The tale of geological change, climatic change, mega fauna, extinctions, migration and extermination is heady stuff indeed.
I was particularly struck to read of the precision of science in being able to determine the inbred origin of a Neanderthal whose remains were uncovered - mother a half sister etc. It was fascinating to learn that Neanderthals were light skinned, blue eyed, red haired and probably very intelligent. It was also fascinating to learn that those of us with European origins have hybrid origins with the Neanderthal and I think I am right in concluding our whiteness is due to our Neanderthal DNA - how ironic for the white supremeists! And how challenging from a theological perspective to recognise that there was a whole species of human that became extinct other than for the hybrid DNA in we Europeans. How does that concept fit with notions about special creation or a god's love for mankind?
But I digress. This is one of the most thought provoking and engaging books I have read for some time. Highly recommended.
September 19, 2019
Flannery occasionally gets side-tracked by the topic of "Those Wacky Paleontologists and the Wacky Things They Do", but this is a comprehensive and highly readable survey of 100 million years of Europe's natural history. It's a full meal of geology, paleontology, and ecology, with some late-dinner anthropology on the side.
Flannery succeeds -- in a way I haven't seen since Carl Sagan was writing -- in drawing out the sheer scale of 100 million years of history. Europe was literally a different world then; you could steal the map and the descriptions of creatures and drop it into a science fiction or fantasy story, and it would sound just like a carefully constructed alien world or fantasy kingdom. (I may do just this someday in an RPG campaign.)
Flannery lovingly digs into this world, showing how the interactions of climate, plate tectonics, and life changed the landscape and the creatures living in it. He also shows how the role humans have played on this vast stage is both significant, and very recent.
This book is a mind-expander, and you will not look at the map of Europe in the same way when you're done.
Flannery succeeds -- in a way I haven't seen since Carl Sagan was writing -- in drawing out the sheer scale of 100 million years of history. Europe was literally a different world then; you could steal the map and the descriptions of creatures and drop it into a science fiction or fantasy story, and it would sound just like a carefully constructed alien world or fantasy kingdom. (I may do just this someday in an RPG campaign.)
Flannery lovingly digs into this world, showing how the interactions of climate, plate tectonics, and life changed the landscape and the creatures living in it. He also shows how the role humans have played on this vast stage is both significant, and very recent.
This book is a mind-expander, and you will not look at the map of Europe in the same way when you're done.
May 18, 2020
As a lover of all things geoscientific, this was a riveting read for me. It is very easy to grow used to the landscape and not think about how it has changed (or been changed) over time and how those changes have affected the things that live in it today. 'Europe' puts that into perspective, and leaves the reader with a new level to their envisioning of the continent. This book is to be commended for its carefully curated fact-sharing, which allows it to tell a long and wide-ranging tale in just over 300 pages. Less commendable are the rather numerous instances of odd sentence structure and sudden tonal shifts. I frequently found myself tripping over an over-long or poorly constructed statement just as I was relaxing into a steady and enjoyable reading pace. This jarring experience happened often enough over the course of the book that it truly affected the overall readability and warranted the loss of a full star from my rating.
February 29, 2020
Probably this is more than you ever wanted to know about the natural history of Europe.
If you’re a big fan of the midwife toad, Europe: A Natural History is for you.
In fact, if you’ve always been intrigued by the story of the European aurochs (prehistoric Eurasian ox), Flannery is a must-read.
I am not demeaning the book. It is easy enough to read, although densely packed with facts about species, ecosystems, tectonic plates, taxonomy, prehistoric climates, and such.
The tale of the history of humans in Europe is in the book, with probably a reasonable (limited) emphasis that fairly illuminates Flannery’s balanced effort to describe the environmental, flora, flora, and hominid factors that have interacted in the history of the continent.
It has dinosaurs, too.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
If you’re a big fan of the midwife toad, Europe: A Natural History is for you.
In fact, if you’ve always been intrigued by the story of the European aurochs (prehistoric Eurasian ox), Flannery is a must-read.
I am not demeaning the book. It is easy enough to read, although densely packed with facts about species, ecosystems, tectonic plates, taxonomy, prehistoric climates, and such.
The tale of the history of humans in Europe is in the book, with probably a reasonable (limited) emphasis that fairly illuminates Flannery’s balanced effort to describe the environmental, flora, flora, and hominid factors that have interacted in the history of the continent.
It has dinosaurs, too.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews