Best of
Prehistoric

2012

The Calling


Ken Altabef - 2012
     A restless Wind spirit... A treacherous shaman... A golden walrus... And one courageous young girl. . In the frozen north, a land of deadly weather and unforgiving spirits, the shaman is all that stands in the way of disaster. When Alaana is called upon to become shaman for the Anatatook people she discovers a kaleidoscopic world where everything is alive, where the tent skins whisper at night and even the soapstone pot has tales to tell. She faces vengeful ghosts and hungry demons as she travels the dangerous path to becoming a shaman. And there's just one other problem. Girls aren't allowed to be shamans. This is Book One in an epic fantasy series with a unique arctic setting. All fans of fantasy will enjoy these five novels.

Charles R. Knight: The Artist Who Saw Through Time


Richard Milner - 2012
    Knight (1874–1953) spent a lifetime creating some of the first paintings and sculptures of dinosaurs, mammoths, and cavemen that were both spectacularly beautiful and scientifically accurate. For generations, his work has inspired scientists, artists, and filmmakers all over the world. This richly illustrated celebration of Knight’s artwork gathers together famous and never-before-seen paintings, sculptures, sketches, and murals. In addition to a new biographical essay, it also features excerpts from Knight’s extensive writings about extinct and modern animals. Above all, it provides a refreshing new look at Knight’s lifelong quest to depict the range of animal species, his struggles with failing eyesight, his desire for artistic independence, and his deep sense of kinship with Ice Age cave artists.Praise for Charles R. Knight: “Knight's paintings continue to enchant viewers.” —Los Angeles Times

Breakaway: Clan of the Ice Mountains


C.S. Bills - 2012
    The Warming is coming. The ocean ice they have lived and hunted on for generations is melting, and they must flee to the safety of an unknown land before they all drown. In this powerful tale of survival at the end of an Ice Age, the young hunter, Attu, must choose between saving his clan or saving Rika, the golden-eyed healer he is forbidden to love.Show more Show less --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ki'ti's Story, 75,000 BC


Bonnye Matthews - 2012
    At the same time I encountered the recent DNA research on Neanderthals. I chose to use fiction as a vehicle to speculate on an early peopling of the Americas and the Winds of Change series was born.In February 2013 the Smithsonian Magazine issued an article pushing back the date of the peopling of the Americas, doubling the Clovis First date, and suggesting that peopling occurred via small boats.May 2, 2013, Ki'ti's Story, 75,000 BC, a coming of age story of the People's Wise One, was awarded First Place for Fiction by the Alaska Professional Communicators. The award explanation reads in part: "This book is worthy of first place award for many reasons beyond its ambitious scope and size. The work is highly imagined and even inspired beyond imaginings. This speaks of courage. Although primitive life is presented in real time, we don't lose our sense of historical connection." Judge was Grace Cavalieri, writer/producer: "The Poet and the Poem from the Library of Congress."In June 2013, Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC will launch and with it the travel from what is now China to Mexico and return will take place.

Dinosaur Paleobiology


Stephen Brusatte - 2012
    Scientific understanding of dinosaur anatomy, biology, and evolution has advanced to such a degree that paleontologists often know more about 100-million-year-old dinosaurs than many species of living organisms. This book provides a contemporary review of dinosaur science intended for students, researchers, and dinosaur enthusiasts. It reviews the latest knowledge on dinosaur anatomy and phylogeny, how dinosaurs functioned as living animals, and the grand narrative of dinosaur evolution across the Mesozoic. A particular focus is on the fossil evidence and explicit methods that allow paleontologists to study dinosaurs in rigorous detail. Scientific knowledge of dinosaur biology and evolution is shifting fast, and this book aims to summarize current understanding of dinosaur science in a technical, but accessible, style, supplemented with vivid photographs and illustrations. The Topics in Paleobiology Series is published in collaboration with the Palaeontological Association, and is edited by Professor Mike Benton, University of Bristol.Books in the series provide a summary of the current state of knowledge, a trusted route into the primary literature, and will act as pointers for future directions for research. As well as volumes on individual groups, the series will also deal with topics that have a cross-cutting relevance, such as the evolution of significant ecosystems, particular key times and events in the history of life, climate change, and the application of a new techniques such as molecular palaeontology.The books are written by leading international experts and will be pitched at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers in both the paleontological and biological sciences.Additional resources for this book can be found at: http: //www.wiley.com/go/brusatte/dinosaurpal....

Visions of a Vanished World: The Extraordinary Fossils of the Hunsrück Slate


Gabriele Kuhl - 2012
    Animal communities in the path of these sediment-laden flows were instantly engulfed, the inhabitants "frozen" in the last moment of their lives. Amazingly, many of the creatures lost in this ancient catastrophe were almost perfectly preserved through the eons, fossilized in a thick series of muds now known as the Hunsrück Slate west of the Rhine Valley in western Germany. Excavations there have yielded the most diverse and surpassingly beautiful collection of marine fossils of the Devonian period ever discovered.This book pays tribute to the exquisite fossils of the Hunsrück Slate. Large full-color photographic plates display fossil sponges, brachiopods, clams, starfish, sea lilies, trilobites, worms, sea spiders, sea stars, crustaceans, corals, and many other species. An accessible commentary recounts the discovery of the fossils and explains how the slate was formed, how the animals are preserved, the significance of the fossils, and the controversies that surround them. A special presentation in every way, this book makes an exceptional contribution to the fascinating history of life on Earth.