Dance of the Tiger: A Novel of the Ice Age [Paperback]

Bjorn Kurten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 1995

Björn Kurtén's compelling novel gives the reader a detailed picture of life 35,000 years ago in Western Europe. One of the world's leading scholars of Ice Age fauna, Kurtén fuses extraordinary knowledge and imagination in this vivid evocation of our deepest past. This novel illuminates the lives of the humans who left us magnificent paintings in the caves of France and Spain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is drama here--probably the greatest drama and the greatest puzzle of our history: the nature, the phenomenon, of the extinction of Neandertal man. This is in every respect an extraordinary novel. Stephen Jay Gould, a Harvard scientist and scientific historian, contributes and appreciative and most useful introduction."--"The New Yorker

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Swedish

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (October 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520202775
• ISBN-13: 978-0520202771
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long time ago, in a small planet..., July 1, 2001

By 

Fernando Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dance of the Tiger: A Novel of the Ice Age (Paperback)

A long time ago, in a small planet lying on the outskirts of the Milky Way, an intelligent species was fighting desperately for survival. Their world had been invaded by aliens, who were also extremely advanced creatures.

If you've ever read any Science Fiction or seen any Space Opera movie, this plot is very familiar. You probably didn't know that it actually happened in our own world, some 40,000 years ago: the locals were the Neanderthals, their world was Europe, and we were the invaders.

This is a fascinating book, written by a well known paleo-anthropologist and from the point of view of the Neanderthal., that delivers not only an excellent story, but also a plausible model for the extinction of the Neanderthals.

The only drawback, is that by reading the English edition, you will lose the fascinating prologue by Juan Luis Arsuaga (co director of the Atapuerca Project and renowned paleo-anthropologist) available with the Spanish edition. If you like Dance of the Tiger and you can read Spanish, make sure you read some of Arsuaga's books, like "La especie elegida", "El collar del Neandertal" or "Atapuerca. Un millón de años de historia", you'll love them.

Even though Björn Kurtén sets his plot in northern Europe, there are now proofs that the last Neanderthals lived in southern Europe (Southern Spain and Crimea). It's frightening to think that in those places, some not far away from where I live, a member of an intelligent species, very similar to us, once thought: I am the last of my kind, and now it is time to die...

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating (Pre-)Historical Novel, May 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dance of the Tiger: A Novel of the Ice Age (Paperback)

For tens of thousands of years the Neandertals peopled Ice Age Europe. Then a new form of human (our ancestors) migrated in, and the Neandertals disappeared. Why?

Dance of the Tiger is a fascinating and exciting "might-have-been" tale with a solid factual foundation (author Bjorn Kurten was one of the foremost authorities on the Ice Age).

This book may not be "touchy-feely" enough to appeal to many fans of Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequels and spin-offs, but for those who want a (slightly) harder-edged tale of primitive adventure, this book has not been surpassed.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tale of the Neanderthals' Disappearance, April 27, 2001

By 

Richard M. Affleck (Lake Hopatcong, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dance of the Tiger: A Novel of the Ice Age (Paperback)

I first bought this book back in 1982 and ever since have been lending my, by now, shopworn copy. For my money, this is the best of the Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon encounter stories, far superior to Clan of the Cave Bear and it's offshoots, and everyone who's read it has agreed with me. The story is solidly grounded in evolutionary/anthropological theory, and is a good read into the bargain.