Rating: 
Summary: the book should be judged--not the writer
Review: As a reader who admires good writing, and the effort that goes into writing a decent (popularized) account of a field, I take exception to the New Zealand reviewer's gossip of the author as a basis for judging the merit of this book. Frankly, what "the Lady" with the goods on Tim Flannery had to say about the author is irrelevant to the book and a nasty way of going about discrediting a man who has solid claims to the field he is writing about. It says more about the woman than it does about Mr Flannery. That envy and backbiting is a seemingly inevitable consequence of competition among researchers (whether in the sciences or the humanities) is bad enough; that it gets passed on by readers who take vicious gossip at face value just shows how ideas are less important than the "dirt" one can spread. Perhaps the previous reader can take the time to look up "ad hominem" and then consider the motives of the lady who claimed special privileged knowledge. The consider his own standards of judgment. As for the book itself, the reviews already written give a good indication of what you get.
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Summary: Excellent and unique
Review: Belongs to the best scientific books I have ever read. Invaluable insights into Australias unexplained history. Scientific book written with a human touch. Send it to a friend.
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Summary: Fascinating Journey Through Tasmantis and Meganesia!
Review: Dr. Flannery takes the reader on a fascinating journey through time in Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand and New Caledonia. This book is about the flora and fauna of these regions, their evolutionary relationships, and the role man has played in their shapeing and disrupting. I found surprisingly good information about the Gondwana origin of the flora. The chapter about New Caledonia was great - who ever hears anything about New Caledonia? It has a fascinating ecosystem based on an ancient flora shaped by poor, toxic-metals rich soils and, like the rest of 'Tasmantis,' an historical lack of mammals, where birds and reptiles filled ecological niches more usually held by mammals. The same sort of thing (but with fertile soils) happened in New Zealand, with the moas acting like more familiar large mammal herbivores and small birds acting like mice! Did you know that there are living trees in New Zealand that were probably actually grazed upon by moas? Learn about the magnificent vanished mammal fauna of Australia and how it used and adapted to a difficult environment. Enter humans; watch them hunt, and modify the environment with fire, with both intended and unintended consequences. Then the Europeans came and tried to turn Australia into a southern English countryside; they didn't understand why this didn't work, was disasterous, in fact. Dr Flannery ends the book with musings about the future of mankind in the environment, with lessons from the region that are applicable to all of us and especially to his fellow Australians. Makes one think about some hard questions.
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Summary: Antipodean revelation
Review: Fascinating, encyclopaedic, a real education.
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Summary: Fabulous
Review: Flannery did his first degree in Literature before becoming one of the world's great mammalogists. It shows. The Future Eaters displays an amazingly literate, funny, generous and profound understanding of the land and what it means for all those living upon it. This book should be required reading for every Australian; indeed, every human
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Summary: Are we only 'booming' now?
Review: Flannery has written both a history and a warning. 'The Future Eaters' describes how humans, as much as any other animal, create their own boom-and-bust cycles. Resources are discovered and then exploited, the population grows, the resources dwindle, new, less easily resources are found, then they too run out - and the community dies or flees. Thus did humankind disperse through Australasia, but now we have nowhere to run. How might our modern selves end up? Take a look at Australian Aboriginal tribes, through this book. This is not just history, it is a warning.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I have read many of Tims books. He deals with subject of man and his habit of "spoiling" the wonderful environment we inherited in order to satisfy our personal needs. If you ever wanted to know what we have in store for ourselves, read this book and join the many who have a true understanding of man the despoiler.
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Summary: Excellent and unique
Review: I've just returned from Australia and NZ and discovered many people are reading this book and discussing the implications. While the book largely deals with the aftermath of the breakup of Gondwanaland, the implications which Flannery draws so clearly apply to all of us. By far the most fascinating and beautifully synthesized book I have read in a long time- a must read.
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Summary: Wonderful and profoundly troubling
Review: I've just returned from Australia and NZ and discovered many people are reading this book and discussing the implications. While the book largely deals with the aftermath of the breakup of Gondwanaland, the implications which Flannery draws so clearly apply to all of us. By far the most fascinating and beautifully synthesized book I have read in a long time- a must read.
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Summary: a great story, but....
Review: Right now I am at work (a backpackers) reading the Future Eaters. Previously my opinon of the book was it was a great read, as it was real well written. I thought most of the book seemed pretty acurate, but most of tims ideas aren't backed up too well with facts (especially his mega fauna extinction stuff). Just before a lady came to check in, and she was telling me she was in New Zealand for a palentology conference, so i told her i was reading Future Eaters, and then she started telling me about Tim Flannery (as she has worked with him quite a lot), using her exact words "he is a slime ball". Apparently in the palentology circle Tims not respected much, as he is a sensationalist - who trys to invent big ideas, and then writes a well written story to sell them, which he seems to have done with this book. Apparently this book has gone on to become a documentary in Australia (even though most of the facts are pretty sketchy). And some gossip about Tim - he has a reputation for getting native women pregnant (such as New Guinea women etc). On a whole this book is a great read its interesting and well written, but don't take everything he writes as fact, as quite alot of the australian stuff is pretty dodgy, and has been proven wrong.
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