Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History [Paperback]

Peter D. Ward (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0143034715 | ISBN-13: 978-0143034711 | Publication Date: February 22, 2005

Millions of years before the Age of Dinosaurs, an environmental cataclysm annihilated 90 percent of all plant and animal life on the planet. In this lost world that was swept away 250 million years ago, the ferocious lizard-like Gorgon was the T. rex of its day. In this remarkable journey of discovery deep into Earth’s history, Peter D. Ward, one of the world’s most recognized authorities on mass extinctions, examines the strange and mysterious fate of this little-known prehistoric animal and its contemporaries—the ancestors of the turtle, the crocodile, the lizard, and eventually the dinosaur. Based on more than a decade’s research in South Africa’s Karoo Desert, Ward’s groundbreaking work offers provocative theories on the mass extinctions of the past and confronts the startling implications they hold for humanity’s future on the planet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Gorgon] will delight anyone curious about the process and progress of modern scientific investigation into the Earth’s biological history. -- Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Peter D. Ward is professor of geological sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. The author of eight previous books, his work has been profiled in Smithsonian, National Geographic, The New York Times, Discover, Science, New Scientist, Newsday, and the Christian Science Monitor, among others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 257 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (February 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143034715
• ISBN-13: 978-0143034711
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Little Enough About the Permian Extinction, September 20, 2005

By 

Ron N. Butler (Powder Springs, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History (Paperback)

Some years back, Peter Ward co-wrote "Rare Earth," an interesting little book on the likelihood of life more complex than bacteria existing elsewhere in the universe. It was on the strength of that book -- and an interest in new work on the Permian Extinction -- that I picked up "Gorgon."

In "Gorgon," you will learn a lot about the rigors of life on a paleontological "dig" and the difficulties of extracting rock samples halfway up a cliff. You will learn bits and snippets of the author's opinions of African politics (generally PC), his assessment of (some of) his colleagues' abilities and personalities, and generic snatches of his personal life.

What you won't learn much about is the Permian Extinction. Or Gorgons -- either the pre-dinosaurian animals or the vague metaphor Ward occasionally stabs at, as a representation of the Great Extinction.

My trade paperback contained a (tiny) reproduction of a chart of various factors that Ward said explained it all. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to explain it -- which was sadly typical of the whole book.

Useful as background material for a novel about paleontologists, but not recommended as a source of information on the Permian Extinction.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death knell of the Gorgons, June 16, 2005

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History (Paperback)

By now, almost everyone must be familiar with the discovery of the iridium concentrations at the K-T (Cretaceous-Tertiary) boundary, and the Chicxulub impact crater, first reported in 1981, that appears to exactly the right age and the right size to have terminated most of the life on Earth, sixty-five million years ago. The author of "Gorgon" began his career with field work on the proof of the quick and terrible extinction at the K-T boundary--the death knell of the dinosaurs.

However, Dr. Ward found himself more and more intrigued by an even great extinction event that occurred 250 million years ago at the boundary of the Permian and the Triassic (P/T). Was it caused by another comet or meteor strike? Did the elimination of 95 % of Earth's marine life and 70% of all land species proceed as quickly as at the K-T termination, or did it take place in pulses over a much longer period of time?

According to the author (and others), there is no credible, unambiguous evidence for an impact as is the case for the K-T extinction. What is more likely is that massive greenhouse gas emissions reduced oxygen availability, ultimately resulting in the collapse of marine ecosystems, and most of the land-based systems as well. This was possibly caused by volcanic eruptions on the supercontinent of Pangea, in what is now Siberia (the Siberian Traps).

In the final chapter of his book, "Resolution," the author puts forth two interesting observation-based theories: (1) the abundance of oxidized, reddish rock in the Triassic beds above the P/T boundary (about 50 million years worth) implies "...the oxygen in our atmosphere plunged to very low levels as it became tied up in the rocks...so low, in fact, that any poor human...would very quickly suffer from altitude sickness, even at sea level."; (2) on land at least, the near extinction of animals that didn't use oxygen efficiently, including most but not all of the mammal-like reptiles that dominated the Permian. "Heat [greenhouse effect] and asphyxiation [were] the two agents of the long mysterious mass extinction."

Except for the last chapter, "Gorgon" is light on theory and heavy on field work and proof-of-concept. Here is how geologists, paleontologists, and other scientists interact in the field, braving the heat of South Africa's Karoo Desert, the omnipresent ticks, flies, and puff adders, and the digestive challenges of bad water and mystery-meat pizza. Dr. Ward takes his readers not only on a trip through the lost world of the Permian, but also through an African culture that seems to be on the brink of chaos. He is a sensitive and at times acerbic observer of both present and deep past. "Gorgon" is a compelling, thoroughly readable story.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Much There, December 17, 2005

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Reader From Aurora - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History (Paperback)

A reader's impression of a book is often closely tied her expectations. In my case, I picked up Gorgon thinking that it would be a paleontological discussion focused on the mass extinction at the end of the Permian period - this is not the case. While the brief comments that Ward offers in this regard are not uninteresting they could be covered in a short article.

Unfortunately, from my perspective, the bulk of the text consists of personal recollections and reminisces. These types of books are not my cup of coffee - like family photo albums their appeal is normally limited to those involved. I do not doubt that these memories are important for Ward. I do not think, however, many readers will find Gorgon to be worth the money or effort.