Customer Reviews

Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America (Life of the Past)

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If you are a passionate devotee of a subject, you hardly ever go wrong buying a book from Indiana University Press. Each effort from this publisher is copiously and carefully compiled and researched. Each has a wealth of information to offer the reader. The present text is no exception.

This book consists of eleven papers discussing various findings of preserved Ice Age fauna in North American caves. Description of the sites, ranging from Southeast Alaska, to Kentucky, to Yucatan, and to the canyonlnds of Arizona. Many sorts of creatures, including ground sloths, rodents, bears, lions, wolves, seabirds, and a host of other creatures are discussed in exacting detail, including sections on their lives, anatomy, method of preservation, appearance, et al. The work is endlessly fascinating, but must be read in small capsules.

If a drawback exists, it would lie in a lack of detailed, color photography, perhaps. Also, the reader should come armed with a considerable background in osteoanatomy and karst geology to fully understand some of the articles. The multiple bibliographies are simply outstanding.

This book is not of an introductory nature, but is geared to the advanced undergraduate or graduate student. The well-informed, but "undegreed" Ice Age enthusiast, however, will find many pearls of wisdom, and the book is also highly recommended to these people. It is a very considerable addition to the Ice Age megafauna literature.