The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives

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Summary: The best book ever on hard to find prehistoric cats!!!!!!!!!
Review: I never expected the book would be such an impressive accumulation of information and pictures. Everything about this book was done with such detail that nothing I've see so far compares to it. The pictures depict not just the details of each prehistoric cat (and the marsupial convergent evolution 'versions') but presents them in scale to the present and extinct cats to give us an clear idea of the size of these animals. Both author and artist have to do a sequel now that a new sabertooth species was just found in Florida.

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Summary: Masterpiece!
Review: I strongly recommend this book for any student of mammology or paleontology.The text is very informative and easy reading. The illustrations are so good and elaborate that I suggest art students working in pencil buy this volume. Unlike some books showing only static lateral views, the illustrator has shown these creatures going about their daily lives. Hunting methods are dealt with in great detail.
For book collectors looking for something different, this is it! For biology students and profs, what are you waiting for!??

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Summary: Comparative anatomy and vertebrate paleontology
Review: I've been a member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology for several years and, it would be nice if all of the books I've read were as well put together as this one. Some times authors forget about the non scientist or worse, they write childish dribble. This book is a fantastic escape for all of us in the middle

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Summary: Intriguing predation theories and beautiful illustrations.
Review: Most interesting were the theories of niche partitioning among the conical toothed pantherines and the saber tooths. The author's ideas on their interactions and the possibility that the pantherines might have contributed to the extinction of the saber tooths is fascinating. The scene of the last ice age with huge short faced bears, huge lions, huge jaguars, huge wolves and dire wolves, etc. was heart-poundingly depicted in words and pictures. Also, his idea about the impact of the grizzly on the short faced bear of North America is extremely interesting. This book details the evolutionary and migratory history of all the big cats of the world in a clear, stimulating manner.

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Summary: Not a "Light Read" but GREAT insight into paleontology
Review: My 12 year old son, who is fascinated by the large cats, saw this book in a bookstore and wanted it. I waited for a year or so before I bought it because it IS college level reading. We thoroughly enjoyed it. There are great drawings of fossil skeletons & extant animal skeletons. Once you have waded past the first 2 chapters and their latin terms are familiar, the rest was terrific. The authors do a fine job of telling the reader what a scholar is looking for in understanding an organism's capabilities and how to see in a living mammal the same capabilities expressed. The bio-mechanics are explained non-mathematically. The extinct species are discussed in terms of their relationship to the probable biosphere in which they lived. The book could use some more graphics to illustrate the "family-tree" of the large cats and where & when they lived in terms of geography, likely environment, & timeline. This material is in the text and in some graphics, but because we all have been sensitized by the great graphics in "National Geographic" & on TV we expect them to be in all books. I am an engineer and found this a fascinating journey into another arena of scholarship, without it being overwhelming.

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Summary: Evolution AND anatomy in one book!
Review: One of few books to discuss fossil mammals in relation to their modern-day counterparts, and the only one I've found that discusses functional anatomy. Easy to read for the beginner, with beautiful illustrations. I began knowing almost nothing about the large cats, and ended knowing not only about the family tree, but also the history of the evolution of morphology. I've now read it three times, and am planning on going through it again.

Rating:
Summary: Evolution AND anatomy in one book!
Review: One of few books to discuss fossil mammals in relation to their modern-day counterparts, and the only one I've found that discusses functional anatomy. Easy to read for the beginner, with beautiful illustrations. I began knowing almost nothing about the large cats, and ended knowing not only about the family tree, but also the history of the evolution of morphology. I've now read it three times, and am planning on going through it again.

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Summary: the best book regarding felids I ever read
Review: Since I was of very young age, I've been looking for a book so complete in information and easy to read as this . The Authors not only have a very deep knowledge of the subject but also have a gift on transmitting it to others.

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Summary: Good reference work
Review: The Big Cats by Alan Turner is a very thorough discussion of the cat family, past and present. It also sports illustrator Mauricio Anton's splendid sketches and paintings of various members of the family. Those of extinct cats bring them to life in a way that the usual drawings of the skull and skeletal remains cannot. There is a thorough discussion of taxonomy in general and of classification of cats in particular. Unfortunately while the drawings are wonderful and the information dense, the book is not light reading. It might be useful to the professional paleontologist or zooarchaeologist looking for a good overview of cat remains or possibly appeal to the dedicated cat lover, but I can't imagine settling in by the fire on a quiet evening with the book. Its most appropriate place might be in a school library for reference use by students doing classroom projects on cats, paleontology, biology, ecology, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Good reference work
Review: The Big Cats by Alan Turner is a very thorough discussion of the cat family, past and present. It also sports illustrator Mauricio Anton's splendid sketches and paintings of various members of the family. Those of extinct cats bring them to life in a way that the usual drawings of the skull and skeletal remains cannot. There is a thorough discussion of taxonomy in general and of classification of cats in particular. Unfortunately while the drawings are wonderful and the information dense, the book is not light reading. It might be useful to the professional paleontologist or zooarchaeologist looking for a good overview of cat remains or possibly appeal to the dedicated cat lover, but I can't imagine settling in by the fire on a quiet evening with the book. Its most appropriate place might be in a school library for reference use by students doing classroom projects on cats, paleontology, biology, ecology, etc.