Rating: 
Summary: At last! First class paleo-mammal illustrations!
Review: In
the current dino-mania, fossil mammals are overshadowed. Too bad;
there are many curious and wonderful creatures in the mammalian
lineage. Yet, few well-illustrated popular books on the subject
exist. Bjorn Kurten's _Before the Indians_ had blurry charcoal
drawings. The late George Gaylord Simpson was an authority on
prehistoric South American mammals, but little more than a doodler
with a brush. And Colin Tudge's wonderful _The Time Before History_
had no pictures at all. So this book is most welcome. Mauricio
Anton is a gifted artist. Cats and catlike creatures such as
nimravids, homotheriums, saber-tooths, dirk-tooths, all seem to live
again in these color and b/w pictures. The only beastie which is
unconvincingly rendered is the poorly-known _Thylacoleo_, the
marsupial lion. Through the reproductions and discussions of these
and other animals, one gets a lesson in how different animals adopt
similar body plans, based on their ecological niche. Large top
predators are robust, while middle niche hunters are more
gracile. Thus, we are told, _Thylacoleo_, the largest nimravids, and
the largest saber-tooths resemble lions, while smaller predators
resemble cheetahs and leopards. All in all, a must for big cat- and
paleontology- lovers, the latter who may be getting tired of
dinosaurs!
Rating:
Summary: At last! First class paleo-mammal illustrations!
Review: In
the current dino-mania, fossil mammals are overshadowed. Too bad;
there are many curious and wonderful creatures in the mammalian
lineage. Yet, few well-illustrated popular books on the subject
exist. Bjorn Kurten's _Before the Indians_ had blurry charcoal
drawings. The late George Gaylord Simpson was an authority on
prehistoric South American mammals, but little more than a doodler
with a brush. And Colin Tudge's wonderful _The Time Before History_
had no pictures at all. So this book is most welcome. Mauricio
Anton is a gifted artist. Cats and catlike creatures such as
nimravids, homotheriums, saber-tooths, dirk-tooths, all seem to live
again in these color and b/w pictures. The only beastie which is
unconvincingly rendered is the poorly-known _Thylacoleo_, the
marsupial lion. Through the reproductions and discussions of these
and other animals, one gets a lesson in how different animals adopt
similar body plans, based on their ecological niche. Large top
predators are robust, while middle niche hunters are more
gracile. Thus, we are told, _Thylacoleo_, the largest nimravids, and
the largest saber-tooths resemble lions, while smaller predators
resemble cheetahs and leopards. All in all, a must for big cat- and
paleontology- lovers, the latter who may be getting tired of
dinosaurs!
Rating:
Summary: At last! First class paleo-mammal illustrations!
Review: Inthe current dino-mania, fossil mammals are overshadowed. Too bad;there are many curious and wonderful creatures in the mammalianlineage. Yet, few well-illustrated popular books on the subjectexist. Bjorn Kurten's _Before the Indians_ had blurry charcoaldrawings. The late George Gaylord Simpson was an authority onprehistoric South American mammals, but little more than a doodlerwith a brush. And Colin Tudge's wonderful _The Time Before History_had no pictures at all. So this book is most welcome. MauricioAnton is a gifted artist. Cats and catlike creatures such asnimravids, homotheriums, saber-tooths, dirk-tooths, all seem to liveagain in these color and b/w pictures. The only beastie which isunconvincingly rendered is the poorly-known _Thylacoleo_, themarsupial lion. Through the reproductions and discussions of theseand other animals, one gets a lesson in how different animals adoptsimilar body plans, based on their ecological niche. Large toppredators are robust, while middle niche hunters are moregracile. Thus, we are told, _Thylacoleo_, the largest nimravids, andthe largest saber-tooths resemble lions, while smaller predatorsresemble cheetahs and leopards. All in all, a must for big cat- andpaleontology- lovers, the latter who may be getting tired ofdinosaurs!
Rating:
Summary: Informative, wonderfully illustrated, model study
Review: A wonderful study of the big cats and their numerous fossil relatives, and those fossils which look like cats but turn out to be cases of convergent evolution. A fine study, uniting paleontology with behavioral studies; nicely illustrated with a generous number of drawings and color paintings by Mauricio Anton. This book gives one renewed appreciation for the living large cats, and will send you off to the nearest museum to look up the fossil forms
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly scientific work of divulgation...
Review: Although based on the illustrations and the format of the book one might be inclined to think that it is a coffee-table book, the truth is that this is a thorough scientific abstract of the latest information about the fossil ancestors of today's big cats. The author's language is strongly reminiscent of a Paleontology journal rather than a divulgation book. Illustrations are first class. Definitely a great book, probably not so for the uninitiated.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Money!!
Review: Anyone interested in Big Cats or Prehistoric cats should have this book as a great reference. It also shows readers how the extinct and living cats are classified. Provides information on individual speicies and has tons of pictures (colored and pencil) that are beautifully illustrated. This is definitly worth the time and money....so hurry and buy it now!
Rating: 
Summary: hmmm..... don't know if I agrre with everything he says....
Review: but that does't make his book bad. He had some very interesting theories that helped my write my final paper on feline evolution. I would recomment it to students as well as professionals because the concepts are certainly well thought, but stated in an easy to read manner
Rating:
Summary: What a natural history book should be like
Review: Gracefully written and beautifully illustrated, this book should be the standard by which future works of its kind are judged. I hope we will see more collaborations between Turner and Anton in the future; a similar book on horses, perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: A Most Excellent Read
Review: I have long been interested about large cat (especially jaguars), and have often wondered about their evolution and early relatives. However, I had searched through every library in my county with no success. When I found this book, it was like a godsend. With superb illustrations and an excess of information, this has potential to be the definitive resource on prehistoric cats. Every big cat enthusiast should buy this book. This has become one of my second bibles.
Rating:
Summary: A Most Excellent Read
Review: I have long been interested about large cat (especially jaguars), and have often wondered about their evolution and early relatives. However, I had searched through every library in my county with no success. When I found this book, it was like a godsend. With superb illustrations and an excess of information, this has potential to be the definitive resource on prehistoric cats. Every big cat enthusiast should buy this book. This has become one of my second bibles.
| 
