Land of Lost Monsters: Man Against Beast--The Prehistoric Battle for the Planet [Hardcover]

Ted Oakes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2003

Reconstructs the extraordinary moments when modern humans first encountered these creatures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a companion volume to his BBC series of the same name, zoologist and television producer Oakes presents a dramatized account of prehistory, when modern man met the "lost monsters" of the title. Taking the reader on a journey over the past 1.8 million years, Oakes begins in Africa, the home of homo erectus, and follows the migration of homo erectus and the later homo sapiens into Eurasia, charting their encounters with "megafauna"-the now-extinct large animals of Australia, Europe, the Americas and various islands. The stunning photos of still-living animals in their habitats stresses the marvel of beasts like hippopotamus, bears and ostriches, while the computer-generated images of bizarre extinct animals make clear the struggle early humans faced co-existing with terrifying beasts. Oakes looks at the climatic shifts that induced indigenous peoples' pioneering colonization of Australia and the Americas, as well as the mass extinction of many big animals. The author devotes an entire chapter to the human conquest of the Pacific islands and Madagascar, showcasing some of the world's strangest animals, such as the recently extinct moa, a gigantic flightless bird that stood twice the average human height. Oakes also includes fascinating sidebars on extinct animals, such as the giant short-faced bear: an 11-foot tall "horse-sized hyena" that weighed up to 2,205 lbs. and spanned five feet across the shoulders; the largest mammalian land carnivore was also "probably the most terrifying creature that humans ever met." The author's clear and clever prose sprinkled with delicious, prehistorical facts is geared toward young naturalists and amateur zoologists, rather than serious science buffs. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ted Oakes has a BSc and an MSc in Biology, and gained his PhD in Zoology from Oxford University in 1996. In addition to writing the Land of Lost Monsters book, Ted Oakes devised, and is assistant producer on, the Monster We Met TV series produced by the BBC's Natural History Unit. Since joining the NHU Oakes has worked on The State of the Planet series with David Attenborough, which was co-produced by the Discovery Channel, and won great acclaim, and several programs for the Natural World and Wildlife on One in the UK. His previous writing credits include numerous pieces for naturalist journals plus magazine pieces.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Hylas Publishing (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159258005X
• ISBN-13: 978-1592580057
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,064,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Land of Lost Monsters: Man Against Beast-The Prehistoric, November 23, 2004

By 

Joe Zika "Khemprof" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Land of Lost Monsters: Man Against Beast--The Prehistoric Battle for the Planet (Hardcover)

"Land of Lost Monsters: Man Against Beast - The Prehistoric Battle for the Planet" written by Ted Oakes with Amanda Kear, Annie Bates, and Kathryn Holmes is a book the chronicals the BBC series of the same name and has some brilliant photography work associated with it. This chronilogical narrative takes us on a jouney as to what our ancestors must have seen as they began to migrate from Africa to all parts of the Earth.

"Land of Lost Monsters" takes us on a prehistoric journey throughout the world as man moves to find different parts of the globe through exploration and the animals that they met along the way. The book is divided into sections or chapters covering man's exploration as follows:

Africa
Australia
Europe
New World
Islands

Each of these sections reveals to the reader what early man found upon landing in these areas, and whether man was the hunter or were they prey according to what was found in these different areas. I found the book to be a very easy read and it is geared toward the young reader with inherent knowledge toward exploration and the dangers that accompany it. The book is appointed with very well placed photographic illustrations annotating and emphasizing and evoking interest to the subject matter at hand.

But during the last stages of the Pleistocene epoch, the most amazing creatures started to disappear, victims of a mysterious extinction. The scale of the vanishing is startling: South America lost 80 percent of its large animal genera, North America lost 73 percent, Eurasia 30 percent, Australia lost 86 percent, and the oceanic islands lost a staggering 95 percent of their large birds and animals. So what happened to the Earth's monsters? The answers are within the pages of this book and they make sense, but imagine this... killer plagues, climate changes, and human arrival all played a part and you'll read as to what extent each played.

"Land of Lost Monsters" is a solid 4 star book and is written for the lay-person to easily understand and keep your interest. There is an adequate further reading index if you want to learn more about this subject and the index is comprehensive. I liked the book for it's readability and it's logical presentation with plausible answers to the questions posed making this book a fast and interesting evocative read.

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Companion Book, January 22, 2009

By 

J. Lyon Layden "Author: The Other Side of Yore" (Savannah, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Land of Lost Monsters: Man Against Beast--The Prehistoric Battle for the Planet (Hardcover)

Not only a companion to the BBC series of the same name, the book contains plenty of extra information about prehistoric animals not found on the show, as well as extra illustrations and charts. Though it is certainly not a comprehensive lists of ice age animals (or even so-called "monsters") contemporaneous with man, it does touch on perhaps the most significant of them, and contains detailed descriptions of many creatures not usually explored by books with similar themes.
Especially recommended for illustrators of prehistoric themed art and for the layperson who is looking for an enjoyable read to learn about man's early interaction with extinct (and often terrifying) animals.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Land of Lost Monsters, October 16, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Land of Lost Monsters: Man Against Beast--The Prehistoric Battle for the Planet (Hardcover)

Phew! 'Am certainly glad these monsters are extinct! Terrible Cats, 15-foot shot-faced Bears, Eagles that hunt 7-foot flightless birds and huge, hairy elephant-like creatures are all among the animals featured in this wonderfull book - Land of Lost Monsters (known as Monsters we Met in countries apart from the U.S). One thing I like about this book is it goes into the nitty-gritty details about the megafauna our own species, Homo sapiens sapiens, met. From 65,000 years ago in Australia to as little as 1200 AD (about 700 years ago) in New Zeaand, Land of Lost Monsters covers the whole Ice Age period when Homo sapiens travelled aorund the world. Get it now, but make sure you don't miss out Walking with Beasts and Walking with Dinosaurs!