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After Man: A Zoology of the Future
Dougal Dixon's work of speculative anthropology blends science and fantasy in a stunning zoology of the future. Looking 50 million years into the future, this text explores the possible development or extinction of the animal world through the eyes of the time-traveller.
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
April 16, 2011
Speculative...Non-Fiction? 50 million years in the future, mankind is long extinct and the planet's fauna has evolved into some spectacular new shapes, often with way, way too many teeth.
The animals range from adorable (extra-long weasel) to nightmarish (ostrichbat) and the full color art shows each one from a variety of angles or in its habitat like a sci-fi Audubon plate. The accompanying text explains what branch the new species descended from and the features and behaviors that make it suited for the environment it lives in. Not only did I learn about these imaginary creatures, but I learned stuff about real animals, like why things that live in grasslands are all very fast. There's no shelter because the land won't support many trees, so if you live there you have to be ready to run for your life. I never put that together before.
As for the concept behind the animals, some of these critters totally have their heads pasted on -- llama with the head of a rabbit, I'm looking at you -- but others are thoughtful extrapolations, a subtle blending of several animals, and the final product really makes sense. You can look at these animals and figure out their life story just by their body shape, their coloration, their special adaptations. It's pretty cool.
Perhaps the best part of this book is turning the page, getting a glimpse of some half-squirrel/half-porcupine thing and thinking, "Oh, come on, like that would ever happen!" But it has happened. The porcupine? The echidna? Got 'em. We're surrounded by amazing creatures millions of years old and we accept them without question. It's only the new ones that freak us out (OMGWTFFURRYLOBSTER), so, once I figured that out, this book pretty much renewed my wonder of evolution and its infinite diversity.
Four stars. I found some of the author's assumptions to be questionable, but this is a great resource if you write science fiction. The pictures will start your mind whirring, and the book's brief introduction to DNA, evolution, natural selection, food chains, and the history of life on earth -- basically all the variables that influence the way living things evolve and adapt to their environment -- gives you all the tools you need to build your own animals. Or just ignore the text and look at the pictures.
The animals range from adorable (extra-long weasel) to nightmarish (ostrichbat) and the full color art shows each one from a variety of angles or in its habitat like a sci-fi Audubon plate. The accompanying text explains what branch the new species descended from and the features and behaviors that make it suited for the environment it lives in. Not only did I learn about these imaginary creatures, but I learned stuff about real animals, like why things that live in grasslands are all very fast. There's no shelter because the land won't support many trees, so if you live there you have to be ready to run for your life. I never put that together before.
As for the concept behind the animals, some of these critters totally have their heads pasted on -- llama with the head of a rabbit, I'm looking at you -- but others are thoughtful extrapolations, a subtle blending of several animals, and the final product really makes sense. You can look at these animals and figure out their life story just by their body shape, their coloration, their special adaptations. It's pretty cool.
Perhaps the best part of this book is turning the page, getting a glimpse of some half-squirrel/half-porcupine thing and thinking, "Oh, come on, like that would ever happen!" But it has happened. The porcupine? The echidna? Got 'em. We're surrounded by amazing creatures millions of years old and we accept them without question. It's only the new ones that freak us out (OMGWTFFURRYLOBSTER), so, once I figured that out, this book pretty much renewed my wonder of evolution and its infinite diversity.
Four stars. I found some of the author's assumptions to be questionable, but this is a great resource if you write science fiction. The pictures will start your mind whirring, and the book's brief introduction to DNA, evolution, natural selection, food chains, and the history of life on earth -- basically all the variables that influence the way living things evolve and adapt to their environment -- gives you all the tools you need to build your own animals. Or just ignore the text and look at the pictures.
August 9, 2020
Stunning. Need it as an album in my living room.
July 26, 2007
This is a terrific book. It is also, sadly, one of the most underappreciated contributions to the explosion in popular literature on evolution. The illustrations in this book are spectacular, as are the phylogenetic speculations Dixon undertakes. Yet it is the ingenuity of Dixon in viewing the world of the future that is so mindblowing. Examing ecosystems of the world 65 million years from now and the animals that could inhabit them, this work tells a nice story at the same time pushing the boundaries of evolutionary biology. It is in works such as these that one comes to appreciate that "creative science" is not an oxymoron or a derogatory term. Indeed, it is tempting to indulge solely in the pictures and the descriptions of the organisms, but the analysis that follows is just as fascinating now as it was for me in elementary school. This book is truly money and time well spent.
November 4, 2017
I am unreasonably giddy that I found this book on a local Craigslist-esque site! In perfect condition, this 1981 Dutch translation looks barely read.
Usually I try to pass on Dutch translations, because the prose tends to be a little clunky, and even worse when fictional terminology gets translated; in that case it often gets downright silly. This translation, however, hardly suffers from any of that clunky sillyness, it reads as the biology textbook it is meant to be.
After a few pages on the teachings of evolution, we get treated to a whole lot of speculative zoology. And it is marvelous! The creatures are alien enough to be interesting and fun, but still recognizable so it hardly ever gets silly. Note the hardly-there are a few really weird ones in the bunch, but not enough to distract. And to be quite honest, we're already surrounded by silly animals; platypuses, octopi, kangaroos... There's really no need for me to frown over a few outlandish designs here and there. All his evolutionary decisions are carefully calculated and written out next to each full-page illustration, you'll almost believe it, he describes it so well.
Dixon has a distinct style; long limbs, outstretched ears, and sometimes the faces get a little unnerving. Google his name, you'll understand what I mean. But it's all so lovely.
Usually I try to pass on Dutch translations, because the prose tends to be a little clunky, and even worse when fictional terminology gets translated; in that case it often gets downright silly. This translation, however, hardly suffers from any of that clunky sillyness, it reads as the biology textbook it is meant to be.
After a few pages on the teachings of evolution, we get treated to a whole lot of speculative zoology. And it is marvelous! The creatures are alien enough to be interesting and fun, but still recognizable so it hardly ever gets silly. Note the hardly-there are a few really weird ones in the bunch, but not enough to distract. And to be quite honest, we're already surrounded by silly animals; platypuses, octopi, kangaroos... There's really no need for me to frown over a few outlandish designs here and there. All his evolutionary decisions are carefully calculated and written out next to each full-page illustration, you'll almost believe it, he describes it so well.
Dixon has a distinct style; long limbs, outstretched ears, and sometimes the faces get a little unnerving. Google his name, you'll understand what I mean. But it's all so lovely.
November 22, 2008
I love this book. This is a journey to an Earth fifty million years in the future, when humanity is long gone and other creatures have been left free to evolve to adapt to natural conditions in the same way their remote ancestors did before we came on the scene.
Dougal Dixon presents a magnificent panorama of a world which, formerly shaped by humanity, has, with our exit on the universal stage, worked its remaining life into a vast, complex biota. Fifty million years from now the continents have continued their long march across the globe, and while the continents we know now are more or less recognizable in that far future time, they are distorted, some of them having slammed together to eliminate seas (the Mediterranean Sea is gone for just that reason), others beginning to rift into smaller sections (Africa has a new, giant island off her eastern shores, and the bulk of southern Africa is a good deal slimmer than in our day, thanks to that process), while new island groups have appeared in the world's oceans. And with these changes new groups of animals have evolved, some of them like nothing we know now.
Two groups of mammals, the rabbits and the rodents, survived humanity and became seedstock for the evolutionary process. Now, fifty million years later, deer- and antelope-like animals, descendants of rabbits, haunt the plains of the temperate woodland regions, while large, powerful carnivores such as the falanx and ravere, descendants of the rats that once swarmed our cities, prey upon the descendants of the rabbits and other large game. These "new rats" now fill the niches once occupied by now-extinct ferrets, stoats, weasels, wolverines, and other mustelids.
In the undergrowth of the temperature woodlands are such creatures as the tusked mole; the testadon, a strange descendant of the hedgehog; and the oakleaf toad, who sports on its back an outgrowth that looks very like an oakleaf, giving the little toad protective camouflage. The odd descendants of squirrels, geese, shrews, mice, and the like round out the faunal suite dwelling in the world's temperate regions.
Wetlands areas are home to creatures such as the long-necked reedstilt, whose striped fur makes it nearly invisible among the reeds of its swampy habitat. Dining on fish, it darts its head down into the water to catch its swift-moving prey; with fifteen cervical vertebra -- most mammals only have seven -- its neck is more than long enough for the task. This animal's teeth take the ancient primitive reptilian form, all the same length and shape, sharply pointed for the task of catching fish.
The world's coniferous forests are home to large herbivores whose ancestors in our world were antelopes. They sport a wide variety of horny headware that serve as sexual and species recognition signals, weapons, and food-getting tools. Other animals in the conifer forests include large-toothed borers who gnaw their way deep into the trunks of trees and nest there, numerous birds many of which have gorgeous plumage, weasel-like carnivores that prey on smaller animals, and the spine-tailed squirrel with its dark body and black-and-white striped tail, the latter bearing a tremendous number of sharp, stiff spines that the squirrel uses the way porcupines of our time did their spiky tails.
And so it goes through all the major divisions of habitats and niches on that world of fifty million years hence. After we were gone, those creatures that survived us radiated into countless new taxa which then filled niches emptied out because of our impact on the Earth. Tundra and polar regions, deserts, tropical grasslands, tropical forests, islands and island continents, and the oceans, lakes, and rivers all exhibit magnificent biotae, rich and diverse beyond anything we know today. The detailed, beautifully illustrated catalog of Earth's life fifty million years from now is followed by a section on the evolution of the distribution of Earth's land-masses, the process of evolution and the destiny of Earthly life, a detailed glossary, an index, and acknowledgements. The catalog is preceded by introductions by Desmon Morris and the author; evolution; the history of life; an overview of life after man.
With its gorgeous illustrations, this book is equally fit for the coffee-table and the scientific section of your library. Writing with dry wit and profound humor, Dougal Dixon is perhaps the finest writer of speculative biology today.
Dougal Dixon presents a magnificent panorama of a world which, formerly shaped by humanity, has, with our exit on the universal stage, worked its remaining life into a vast, complex biota. Fifty million years from now the continents have continued their long march across the globe, and while the continents we know now are more or less recognizable in that far future time, they are distorted, some of them having slammed together to eliminate seas (the Mediterranean Sea is gone for just that reason), others beginning to rift into smaller sections (Africa has a new, giant island off her eastern shores, and the bulk of southern Africa is a good deal slimmer than in our day, thanks to that process), while new island groups have appeared in the world's oceans. And with these changes new groups of animals have evolved, some of them like nothing we know now.
Two groups of mammals, the rabbits and the rodents, survived humanity and became seedstock for the evolutionary process. Now, fifty million years later, deer- and antelope-like animals, descendants of rabbits, haunt the plains of the temperate woodland regions, while large, powerful carnivores such as the falanx and ravere, descendants of the rats that once swarmed our cities, prey upon the descendants of the rabbits and other large game. These "new rats" now fill the niches once occupied by now-extinct ferrets, stoats, weasels, wolverines, and other mustelids.
In the undergrowth of the temperature woodlands are such creatures as the tusked mole; the testadon, a strange descendant of the hedgehog; and the oakleaf toad, who sports on its back an outgrowth that looks very like an oakleaf, giving the little toad protective camouflage. The odd descendants of squirrels, geese, shrews, mice, and the like round out the faunal suite dwelling in the world's temperate regions.
Wetlands areas are home to creatures such as the long-necked reedstilt, whose striped fur makes it nearly invisible among the reeds of its swampy habitat. Dining on fish, it darts its head down into the water to catch its swift-moving prey; with fifteen cervical vertebra -- most mammals only have seven -- its neck is more than long enough for the task. This animal's teeth take the ancient primitive reptilian form, all the same length and shape, sharply pointed for the task of catching fish.
The world's coniferous forests are home to large herbivores whose ancestors in our world were antelopes. They sport a wide variety of horny headware that serve as sexual and species recognition signals, weapons, and food-getting tools. Other animals in the conifer forests include large-toothed borers who gnaw their way deep into the trunks of trees and nest there, numerous birds many of which have gorgeous plumage, weasel-like carnivores that prey on smaller animals, and the spine-tailed squirrel with its dark body and black-and-white striped tail, the latter bearing a tremendous number of sharp, stiff spines that the squirrel uses the way porcupines of our time did their spiky tails.
And so it goes through all the major divisions of habitats and niches on that world of fifty million years hence. After we were gone, those creatures that survived us radiated into countless new taxa which then filled niches emptied out because of our impact on the Earth. Tundra and polar regions, deserts, tropical grasslands, tropical forests, islands and island continents, and the oceans, lakes, and rivers all exhibit magnificent biotae, rich and diverse beyond anything we know today. The detailed, beautifully illustrated catalog of Earth's life fifty million years from now is followed by a section on the evolution of the distribution of Earth's land-masses, the process of evolution and the destiny of Earthly life, a detailed glossary, an index, and acknowledgements. The catalog is preceded by introductions by Desmon Morris and the author; evolution; the history of life; an overview of life after man.
With its gorgeous illustrations, this book is equally fit for the coffee-table and the scientific section of your library. Writing with dry wit and profound humor, Dougal Dixon is perhaps the finest writer of speculative biology today.
May 9, 2013
After my grandma moved out (I think?) of her own house into a nursing home, we got to look through her stuff and I ended up with this book. And let me tell you: it was fucking fantastic.
I still think of it as one of the greatest illustrated zoology books even if this is highly speculative, fantasy zoology - but it's so much FUN. LOOK at this damn book. Look at those pictures. Look at how nightmarish and imaginative it all is.
I loved it as a kid and I find it very interesting even in the present day.
I still think of it as one of the greatest illustrated zoology books even if this is highly speculative, fantasy zoology - but it's so much FUN. LOOK at this damn book. Look at those pictures. Look at how nightmarish and imaginative it all is.
I loved it as a kid and I find it very interesting even in the present day.
June 18, 2024
A lovely book which, through its pleasing inventions, manages to re-enchant the cold science of evolution. I would have been happy with a whole book on Batavia but that's me.
Dixon occupies two philosophical positions simultaneously; one is a deep view of life history in which there can be nothing "unnatural", as catastrophe and extinction are as much a part of life's inherent nature as long periods of apparent fecundity. This is in part the world-view of the book in which the Anthropocene man-caused mass extinctions are only one part in a long story, and no more or less than any other form of extinction.
The other view is one of deep shame and anthro-autophobia, a visceral hatred for man and his works. Some of this seems bound to the age from which the book came; Dixons apocalypse, like that of the first Mad Max movie, is simply a resource war caused by overpopulation and exploitation. A nightmare more specific to the 70s. Todays would probably be robots or a virus.
Its also likely that forms of man would survive, even without technology. We are, after all, quite good at survival.
But, which I think, accurate, these criticisms are largely meaningless. The duality between a deep view of history in which man is nothing special and an androcentric view which highlights man, not in magnificence, but as a kind of unnatural hyper-monster, is a natural and irresolvable polarity for a brief and tenuous human mind gazing on vast reaches of time. I cannot resolve it so I should not complaint that Dixon cannot. I can at least recognise it though, and perhaps thereby avoid the conflict between irreconcilable and unrecognised emotions driving me towards a view of my own species as some kind of science-fiction monster.
Dixon occupies two philosophical positions simultaneously; one is a deep view of life history in which there can be nothing "unnatural", as catastrophe and extinction are as much a part of life's inherent nature as long periods of apparent fecundity. This is in part the world-view of the book in which the Anthropocene man-caused mass extinctions are only one part in a long story, and no more or less than any other form of extinction.
The other view is one of deep shame and anthro-autophobia, a visceral hatred for man and his works. Some of this seems bound to the age from which the book came; Dixons apocalypse, like that of the first Mad Max movie, is simply a resource war caused by overpopulation and exploitation. A nightmare more specific to the 70s. Todays would probably be robots or a virus.
Its also likely that forms of man would survive, even without technology. We are, after all, quite good at survival.
But, which I think, accurate, these criticisms are largely meaningless. The duality between a deep view of history in which man is nothing special and an androcentric view which highlights man, not in magnificence, but as a kind of unnatural hyper-monster, is a natural and irresolvable polarity for a brief and tenuous human mind gazing on vast reaches of time. I cannot resolve it so I should not complaint that Dixon cannot. I can at least recognise it though, and perhaps thereby avoid the conflict between irreconcilable and unrecognised emotions driving me towards a view of my own species as some kind of science-fiction monster.
November 30, 2013
Interesting but for me this was a waste of time. From what I understand, this was pure speculation on the future of evolution from the viewpoint of an 'artist' and not a scientist. There seem to be some very large animals here, but evolution proves that animals are getting smaller. I also fail to comprehend why bats would take to the seas, why certain birds would spend half their day with their mouths open to resemble flowers to better attract insects.
Too much speculation and not enough science. It would be interesting to read a similar book, but updated by credible specialists in this field.
Also why no plants or insects present in this book? It seems as if the artist made all living things of the future to be hideous carnivores with vampire-like teeth. The herbivores were bland and unattractive, not very cute.
Too much speculation and not enough science. It would be interesting to read a similar book, but updated by credible specialists in this field.
Also why no plants or insects present in this book? It seems as if the artist made all living things of the future to be hideous carnivores with vampire-like teeth. The herbivores were bland and unattractive, not very cute.
July 3, 2018
Fascinating, although I was hoping it would have had more substance on the future creatures, rather than on describing the habitats and lead up to the future, all of which is nothing different than current knowledge (the land masses are much different, but the basic habitat breakup is similar, and the climate seems to remain relatively similar as well).
A thought-provoking concept overall.
A thought-provoking concept overall.
December 14, 2020
4.5 / 5
this is the first time i’ve delved into speculative zoology and i loved it. this book pictured what life would evolve to be like millions of years after humans are gone. i’d always found the evolution to be very fascinating and this totally charmed me. a bit of fantasy and science all in one.
some of my favorite creatures were: the oakleaf toad, which used its tongue as bait by making it appear like a worm; the pfrit, a mammal so small and peculiar it can walk on water; the spine-railed squirrel, which uses its tail like a shield; the clatta, a lemur-like animal with an armored tail that allowed it to hang from a tree without risk; the wakka, which is a bipedal animal that only has legs; the cleft-back antelope, which has a unique back which birds can live on; and the night stalker because it’s a terrifying bat thing.
this is the first time i’ve delved into speculative zoology and i loved it. this book pictured what life would evolve to be like millions of years after humans are gone. i’d always found the evolution to be very fascinating and this totally charmed me. a bit of fantasy and science all in one.
some of my favorite creatures were: the oakleaf toad, which used its tongue as bait by making it appear like a worm; the pfrit, a mammal so small and peculiar it can walk on water; the spine-railed squirrel, which uses its tail like a shield; the clatta, a lemur-like animal with an armored tail that allowed it to hang from a tree without risk; the wakka, which is a bipedal animal that only has legs; the cleft-back antelope, which has a unique back which birds can live on; and the night stalker because it’s a terrifying bat thing.
May 18, 2010
Richard Dawkins' "Ancestor's tale" recommended this book in a footnote, so I bought it on a whim. That was an extremely good decision. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. I never thought that evolutionary convergence could be so pretty. If you have an elementary knowledge of zoology or evolutionary biology you will appreciate this book supremely.
My only criticism: It is really hard to find and really expensive. If you find a cheap copy get it quick.
My only criticism: It is really hard to find and really expensive. If you find a cheap copy get it quick.
November 29, 2014
I was a little disappointed that it was so heavy on the speculation, and comparatively light on the science. It focused on birds and mammals, and mostly ignored any other groups, like insects and sea creatures. I had been hoping for something a little more researched. Nevertheless, an engaging glimpse into the author's creativity.
October 1, 2008
Neat pictures and interesting ideas for possible future evolutionary adaptations in various animals, though several of his concepts struck me as simply 'weird for the sake of weird'. Great source of inspiration for sci-fi writers and RPG storytellers/gamemasters, as well.
July 8, 2016
Every biology nerd should read this. What animals would survive man's extinction? How would they evolve in 50 million years? Penguins the size of whales? Antelopes the size of elephants? Predatory running bats the size of dogs? PREDATORY RUNNING BATS THE SIZE OF DOGS? Sign me up!
September 21, 2023
Il mondo sopravvive comunque.
August 1, 2024
En fantastisk prestation av skaparglädje. De flesta av framtidsdjuren avbildade i boken är inte särskilt svåra att föreställa sig. De påminner ofta om ett djur vi känner, exempelvis ekorren, förklädd med egenskaper från ett annat djur, exempelvis igelkotten. Ett "nytt" hybriddjur har då skapats som är starkt grundat i dagens natur, med beteenden som läsaren lätt kan se framför sig. Bokens berättartakt är skickligt strukturerad - den kreativa intensiteten ökar mot slutet när tropikerna avhandlas med alla sina sällsamma djurarter. Här lär man sig om spännande koncept som allopatrisk (geografiskt isolerade djur) artbildning och hur lediga ekologiska nischer på exempelvis en tom ögrupp leder till en explosion av nya systerarter. För västerlänningen som inte ser apor och pungdjur i sin vardagliga natur blir det som att möta utomjordingar när man får se dessa djurgruppers märkliga arvingar.
Denna är lite speciell för mig då jag lånade den första gången på Stadsbiblioteket vid cirka tolv års ålder. Nu läser jag den med nya ögon och upplever att jag bättre förstår hur vår värld och dess varelser kommit till. Dougal Dixon är inte ett namn alla känner till inom science fiction, kanske för att hans skapelser är grundade mer i verklig vetenskap än fantastik. Men jag hoppas att vi ändå minns hans namn och arv i framtiden, för han såg längre in i den än de flesta kan sägas ha gjort. Ringar på vattnet.
10/10, födde sin egna genre, tidlös
Denna är lite speciell för mig då jag lånade den första gången på Stadsbiblioteket vid cirka tolv års ålder. Nu läser jag den med nya ögon och upplever att jag bättre förstår hur vår värld och dess varelser kommit till. Dougal Dixon är inte ett namn alla känner till inom science fiction, kanske för att hans skapelser är grundade mer i verklig vetenskap än fantastik. Men jag hoppas att vi ändå minns hans namn och arv i framtiden, för han såg längre in i den än de flesta kan sägas ha gjort. Ringar på vattnet.
10/10, födde sin egna genre, tidlös
December 4, 2021
The pictures are very nice
January 16, 2020
A really interesting idea, well executed. The explanations of the ecosystems and the way they were filled seem plausible to me (a complete amateur, to be fair) and the illustrations, which range from uncanny valley to outright horror, have enough cohesiveness to suggest a real world.
October 5, 2025
Was für ein "fantastische" Sachbuch 😅
September 20, 2008
There were a handful of books I checked out of the local library at least twice a year when I was a boy. These were books I didn't have, but wished I did. Among them were a book of dragons, Don Glut's All New Dinosaur Dictionary, and Dougal Dixon's After Man.
Eventually, I found Glut's dictionary at a 2nd-hand bookstore during high school. I remember being delighted, standing in front of a self with three paperback remainders staring back at me. (It was winter, and I remember cold rain soaking into my coat.) The dragon book I found on a trip, though the specifics of that discovery remain cloudy. This past weekend, I finally found After Man at the Touhy Half-Price Books.
After Man is a self-titled zoology of the future. It postulates what animal life might look like 50 million years from now. After humanity drives itself to extinction (lack of resources is the book's main reason for our demise), life has a chance to repopulate the world. Rats and rabbits evolve to become the major predators and prey, filling the spot for deer and large cats/wolves. Antelope become the new elephants and rhinos. Penguins grow huge and fill the niche left empty by the extinct whales. Weird critters abound.
How could I have not fallen in love with this book as a child? It was full of monsters and mutations that could spark any red-blooded, creature-loving boy's imagination. I remember making my own version of the book, although where those drawings are now, I'll never know. (I recall the conceit of future-deer growing moose-like antlers and evolving big front legs to hold up the massive racks.)
Of course, there is a level of implausibility to some of Dixon' ideas, but they really are no more or less implausible than some of the animals that live around us now. In my opinion, it ranks with Barlowe's Expedition as one of the great books of imaginary global zoologies.
Eventually, I found Glut's dictionary at a 2nd-hand bookstore during high school. I remember being delighted, standing in front of a self with three paperback remainders staring back at me. (It was winter, and I remember cold rain soaking into my coat.) The dragon book I found on a trip, though the specifics of that discovery remain cloudy. This past weekend, I finally found After Man at the Touhy Half-Price Books.
After Man is a self-titled zoology of the future. It postulates what animal life might look like 50 million years from now. After humanity drives itself to extinction (lack of resources is the book's main reason for our demise), life has a chance to repopulate the world. Rats and rabbits evolve to become the major predators and prey, filling the spot for deer and large cats/wolves. Antelope become the new elephants and rhinos. Penguins grow huge and fill the niche left empty by the extinct whales. Weird critters abound.
How could I have not fallen in love with this book as a child? It was full of monsters and mutations that could spark any red-blooded, creature-loving boy's imagination. I remember making my own version of the book, although where those drawings are now, I'll never know. (I recall the conceit of future-deer growing moose-like antlers and evolving big front legs to hold up the massive racks.)
Of course, there is a level of implausibility to some of Dixon' ideas, but they really are no more or less implausible than some of the animals that live around us now. In my opinion, it ranks with Barlowe's Expedition as one of the great books of imaginary global zoologies.
July 2, 2015
This is a stunning book with a firecracker of a "what-if" premise: human beings have disappeared from the earth, either left it or died out, and over hundreds of thousands of years evolution continues on its normal path without human interference. Continents move, climate patterns shift, some genera of creatures die while others take their place, all demonstrating the laws of natural selection which are at the front of the book. It's this work that founded the field of speculative biology, or speculative zoology, leading other artists and scientists to create their own worlds with their own unique forms of life, such as Saiad, SpecWorld, Furaha, even Avatar's forested moon Pandora.
After Man's illustrations are similar to those what you'd find in a, early 20th century zoology folio, with handwritten captions and stiff depictions of the animals at rest and in action -- think James Audubon. Several artists contributed, and while some are better than others (compare the lively swimming monkey to the goofy-looking giantala and posset) all are evocative and make the creatures look as if they could really exist. The landscape depictions of biorealms at the start of each chapter are well done also.
I do question why the author chose to elevate some genera over others for no good reason, such as hoofed rabbits replacing ungulates and artiodactyls, while some species merely take the places of others -- flightless guinea fowl mimicking present-day grouse, for example. But then there's also a giant flightless bat which walks on its stunted wings and hunts with sonar, and a penguin grown to whale-size. What more can you ask?
The follow-up to this book, Man After Man, I did not like at all, mainly because of the atrocious illustrations, and in fact I returned it to get my money back.
After Man's illustrations are similar to those what you'd find in a, early 20th century zoology folio, with handwritten captions and stiff depictions of the animals at rest and in action -- think James Audubon. Several artists contributed, and while some are better than others (compare the lively swimming monkey to the goofy-looking giantala and posset) all are evocative and make the creatures look as if they could really exist. The landscape depictions of biorealms at the start of each chapter are well done also.
I do question why the author chose to elevate some genera over others for no good reason, such as hoofed rabbits replacing ungulates and artiodactyls, while some species merely take the places of others -- flightless guinea fowl mimicking present-day grouse, for example. But then there's also a giant flightless bat which walks on its stunted wings and hunts with sonar, and a penguin grown to whale-size. What more can you ask?
The follow-up to this book, Man After Man, I did not like at all, mainly because of the atrocious illustrations, and in fact I returned it to get my money back.
July 18, 2019
3.5 stars
Now that I've finally read After Man, I have some mixed feelings. I did love seeing Dixon's ideas on how animals might look in the far future, and there were some wonderful illustrations with great creature designs(and a few ugly ones!). And although some of the science in it may be outdated by now, it's well worth reading for anyone who likes to design their own fantasy creatures, since there is great information on how animals' traits are suited to their habitats.
But although I'm definitely not a scientist, I am rather skeptical about some of the evolutionary designs here. For one thing, how would those folds in the testadon's shell open and close all the time without wearing out when they are all part of a single plate and not overlapping ones like on an armadillo? Also, some of the convergent evolution forms just look too close to their current-day, unrelated equivalents to be believable. Some examples: the Bardelot(pretty much just a saber-toothed polar bear), the Distarterops, the Desert Leaper, and the Vortex. If the Distarterops at least had a different color or a different nose or didn't have walrus tusks I could more easily believe that it was descended from rats and not the walruses that it looks nearly identical to.
It also seems like Dixon occasionally ran out of name ideas. There are some fantastic creature names here(Reedstilt, Zarander, Gigantelope, Ravene), but others that are nowhere near as imaginative: Flightless Guineafowl, Modern Beaver, Long-Legged Quail, etc.
But aside from all this, After Man has a terrific concept, (mostly) creative designs, and some lovely Audubon-esque artwork. I wouldn't bother reading everything about evolutionary science and the different biomes again, but I'll certainly keep my copy around and browse through it a few more times!
Now that I've finally read After Man, I have some mixed feelings. I did love seeing Dixon's ideas on how animals might look in the far future, and there were some wonderful illustrations with great creature designs(and a few ugly ones!). And although some of the science in it may be outdated by now, it's well worth reading for anyone who likes to design their own fantasy creatures, since there is great information on how animals' traits are suited to their habitats.
But although I'm definitely not a scientist, I am rather skeptical about some of the evolutionary designs here. For one thing, how would those folds in the testadon's shell open and close all the time without wearing out when they are all part of a single plate and not overlapping ones like on an armadillo? Also, some of the convergent evolution forms just look too close to their current-day, unrelated equivalents to be believable. Some examples: the Bardelot(pretty much just a saber-toothed polar bear), the Distarterops, the Desert Leaper, and the Vortex. If the Distarterops at least had a different color or a different nose or didn't have walrus tusks I could more easily believe that it was descended from rats and not the walruses that it looks nearly identical to.
It also seems like Dixon occasionally ran out of name ideas. There are some fantastic creature names here(Reedstilt, Zarander, Gigantelope, Ravene), but others that are nowhere near as imaginative: Flightless Guineafowl, Modern Beaver, Long-Legged Quail, etc.
But aside from all this, After Man has a terrific concept, (mostly) creative designs, and some lovely Audubon-esque artwork. I wouldn't bother reading everything about evolutionary science and the different biomes again, but I'll certainly keep my copy around and browse through it a few more times!
February 25, 2017
I found it very hard to treat this book seriously. Despite knowing that the author is a scientist I could not help but see his “predictions” as baseless and purposefully strange. Dixon seems to confuse that while there is an almost inexhaustible potential for weirdness in evolution the pragmatic nature of day-to-day life prevents the more outrageous adaptations, i.e., a plethora of horns to dig up tubers from the ground. Likewise, he seemed to delight in stretching modern animals to fantastical new shapes with disregard for biological mechanics, i.e., making simian-like predators gallop on their knuckles! The best thing I can say for this book is that Dixon does manage to introduce an interesting theory on the co-evolution of plants and animals but apart from that I would stay away from this book.
October 18, 2018
I’ve been trying to get ahold of this book for about ten years so thank you to Breakdown Press for bringing it back.
This is a wonderful book stuffed with beautiful artwork. But the true wonder of it is that Dixon’s vision of future life is believable and grounded in scientific fact. His descriptions make you. Relieve that these animals really could arise after human are extinct.
As a work of fiction it is comparable to other works of “future history” such as Olaf Stapledon’s “Last and First Men” in terms of scale. But the scientific grounding of the text means I’d recommend it to students of biology for how it breaks down the theories behind evolution.
I hope that in the future Breakdown Press also republishes Dixon’s other similar books such as “Man after Man: An Anthropology of the Future” as they have done an excellent job of bringing us this book.
This is a wonderful book stuffed with beautiful artwork. But the true wonder of it is that Dixon’s vision of future life is believable and grounded in scientific fact. His descriptions make you. Relieve that these animals really could arise after human are extinct.
As a work of fiction it is comparable to other works of “future history” such as Olaf Stapledon’s “Last and First Men” in terms of scale. But the scientific grounding of the text means I’d recommend it to students of biology for how it breaks down the theories behind evolution.
I hope that in the future Breakdown Press also republishes Dixon’s other similar books such as “Man after Man: An Anthropology of the Future” as they have done an excellent job of bringing us this book.
December 12, 2021
This book is unfortunately highly disappointing and uninteresting.
It does not have any basis in well-founded scientific arguments or thought provoking hypotheses. Instead it seems like it was written by a 5 year-old whose brain was thinking: "what if this one animal did something it was completely and utterly unsuited for." And then the author did exactly that.
The unscientific nature of this book is addressed early though, for those able to read the signs, with gross misnomers such as the 'Age of Reptiles' and 'Age of Man'. Terms that would be better suited for a book written in the 19th century.
But this is just scratching the surface of the numerous oversimplifications and scientific errors in this book.
It does not have any basis in well-founded scientific arguments or thought provoking hypotheses. Instead it seems like it was written by a 5 year-old whose brain was thinking: "what if this one animal did something it was completely and utterly unsuited for." And then the author did exactly that.
The unscientific nature of this book is addressed early though, for those able to read the signs, with gross misnomers such as the 'Age of Reptiles' and 'Age of Man'. Terms that would be better suited for a book written in the 19th century.
But this is just scratching the surface of the numerous oversimplifications and scientific errors in this book.
December 22, 2010
This is a truly fascinating book. I once saw it in a used book store, and I’m sorry I didn’t buy it when I had the chance. (Online copies are quite expensive.) I love the scientific illustrations of creatures yet-to-be.
Some of the author’s guesses about the evolutionary trajectory of modern animals seemed spot on—such as the development of the ubiquitous rat into a hardy predator. What kicks this book down a star is the author’s occasional delving into silliness—such as the cheetah-lemur hybrid.
Some of the author’s guesses about the evolutionary trajectory of modern animals seemed spot on—such as the development of the ubiquitous rat into a hardy predator. What kicks this book down a star is the author’s occasional delving into silliness—such as the cheetah-lemur hybrid.
February 18, 2022
This is probably a 3.5 stars from me. While I love the concept of the book, many of the elements in it were so outdated I can't give it more stars. Especially after the author offhandedly dismissed all of the oceans as something only "specialists" (or weirdoes??) would be interested in :'''D I got so mad at that xD Like, sir, YOU are from the ocean too.
I'd love to see how a book like this would look like if it were written now, with all the new information we have on evolution and biology
I'd love to see how a book like this would look like if it were written now, with all the new information we have on evolution and biology
January 12, 2022
Viena keistesnių ir teigiamai trenktesnių skaitytų knygų. Geologas Dougal Dixon spekuliuodamas evoliucijos teorija bando nuspėti, kokie gi gyviai vaikščios žeme penkiasdešimt milijonų metų po žmogaus išnykimo.
Taigi knygoje aprašomu metu žmogus jau išnykęs (nekeista - dėl paties sukurtos ekologinės katastrofos). Neprisistatantis autorius (gal koks ateivis) pasakoja mums, kokia gi situacija zoologinėje plotmėje susidariusi, kas naujo, kas seno, kas, kaip ir iš kur. Knygos pirmas trečdalis apskritai yra biologijos kurso kartojimas, kas bent jau tokiems neišmanėliams kaip aš buvo pats tas.
Argumentai, pasitelkiami knygoje, gana validūs, kurpiami iš to laikmečio (~1980 m.) mokslinių žinių, o, kadangi didžiuma grindimo statoma grynai ant evoliucijos teorijos, tai turbūt ne per daug ir nusišnekama.
Tiesa, nežinau, ar čia nėra kokios loginės klaidos iš mano pusės, bet knygoje aprašomi gyvūnai labai jau egzotiškai kitoniškai genialiai prisitaikę prie ateities ekosistemos. Tarkim, ant kupros paukščių patelių nešiojami jų patinai-parazitai, mintantys pastarųjų krauju, graužikas savo uodega pavojaus metu idealiai atvaizduojantis vietinę gyvatę, paukščiai sudarę sąjungą su stambiais žolėdžiais, šių kaulinėse ataugose kuriantys lizdus, areale paplitusiomis gėlėmis apsimetantys mėsėdžiai ir pns. Praeina tik 50 limonų metų ir tokie dzyvaj po Saule dedas.
Knygoje daug originalių nuimtos dėžės nuo galvos minčių - įsigalėjusi graužikų diktatūra (jie pakeičia net baltas meškas), žolėdžių polinkis į gigantizną, naujų simbolizių mezgimasis, tolesnis žemynų judėjimas ir dėl to užsidarančios ar atsiveriančios anksčiau atskiros ekosistemos. Knyga gausiai iliustruota puikiais ateities gyvūnų paveikslėliais.
Vienareikšmiškai rekomenduoju šitą biologinės futurologijos šedevrą.
Taigi knygoje aprašomu metu žmogus jau išnykęs (nekeista - dėl paties sukurtos ekologinės katastrofos). Neprisistatantis autorius (gal koks ateivis) pasakoja mums, kokia gi situacija zoologinėje plotmėje susidariusi, kas naujo, kas seno, kas, kaip ir iš kur. Knygos pirmas trečdalis apskritai yra biologijos kurso kartojimas, kas bent jau tokiems neišmanėliams kaip aš buvo pats tas.
Argumentai, pasitelkiami knygoje, gana validūs, kurpiami iš to laikmečio (~1980 m.) mokslinių žinių, o, kadangi didžiuma grindimo statoma grynai ant evoliucijos teorijos, tai turbūt ne per daug ir nusišnekama.
Tiesa, nežinau, ar čia nėra kokios loginės klaidos iš mano pusės, bet knygoje aprašomi gyvūnai labai jau egzotiškai kitoniškai genialiai prisitaikę prie ateities ekosistemos. Tarkim, ant kupros paukščių patelių nešiojami jų patinai-parazitai, mintantys pastarųjų krauju, graužikas savo uodega pavojaus metu idealiai atvaizduojantis vietinę gyvatę, paukščiai sudarę sąjungą su stambiais žolėdžiais, šių kaulinėse ataugose kuriantys lizdus, areale paplitusiomis gėlėmis apsimetantys mėsėdžiai ir pns. Praeina tik 50 limonų metų ir tokie dzyvaj po Saule dedas.
Knygoje daug originalių nuimtos dėžės nuo galvos minčių - įsigalėjusi graužikų diktatūra (jie pakeičia net baltas meškas), žolėdžių polinkis į gigantizną, naujų simbolizių mezgimasis, tolesnis žemynų judėjimas ir dėl to užsidarančios ar atsiveriančios anksčiau atskiros ekosistemos. Knyga gausiai iliustruota puikiais ateities gyvūnų paveikslėliais.
Vienareikšmiškai rekomenduoju šitą biologinės futurologijos šedevrą.
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November 6, 2021When I was like 3 or something, I loved to create little creatures in my head. Getting bored with just imagining them, I decided to draw them on a paper, cut them out, and have a little paper figure I can play with temporary (I still sometimes do it now). Until recently I learned what I was (somewhat doing) was something called Speculative Zoology. I loved the idea that people were also making their own creatures and publishing them for everyone to see. Somewhere I learned that the craze started with this book.
After Man is a speculative zoology project that realistically showed how animal would evolve to meet their niches. The book takes place after the extinction of Man and how animal would evolve in weird ways to meet the niches that the animal that died along with us.
What I loved about the book was how, first of all, it would explain how these idea came to fruition in the first place by explain how evolution worked and using that as a basis for how these animals evolved. I also loved how the author would illustrate their animals
What I didn't like about it was how they never explained the evolution of Fish and Insects. I would've loved to see how bug would evolve then because we have some bugs alive today that look like they hopped right off the pages of this book (maybe that's why there's no insects in this book)
After Man is a speculative zoology project that realistically showed how animal would evolve to meet their niches. The book takes place after the extinction of Man and how animal would evolve in weird ways to meet the niches that the animal that died along with us.
What I loved about the book was how, first of all, it would explain how these idea came to fruition in the first place by explain how evolution worked and using that as a basis for how these animals evolved. I also loved how the author would illustrate their animals
What I didn't like about it was how they never explained the evolution of Fish and Insects. I would've loved to see how bug would evolve then because we have some bugs alive today that look like they hopped right off the pages of this book (maybe that's why there's no insects in this book)
May 8, 2023
a really unique and well researched take on what the earth's creatures could look like in 50 million years. unfortunately it is so well researched that it comes off as pretty dry in the opening and closing, but definitely worth a flip through. someone more scientifically-minded might get a bigger kick out of this than I did!
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