The Last Giant of Beringia: The Mystery of the Bering Land Bridge [Hardcover]

Dan O'Neill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0813341973 | ISBN-13: 978-0813341972

The intriguing theory of a land bridge periodically linking Siberia and Alaska during the coldest pulsations of the Ice Ages had been much debated since José de Acosta, a Spanish missionary working in Mexico and Peru, first proposed the idea of a connection between the continents in 1589. But proof of the land bridge - now named Beringia after eighteenth-century Danish explorer Vitus Bering - eluded scientists until an inquiring geologist named Dave Hopkins emerged from rural New England and set himself to the task of solving the mystery. Through the life story of Hopkins, The Last Giant of Beringia reveals the fascinating science detective story that at last confirmed the existence of the land bridge that served as the intercontinental migration route for such massive Ice Age beasts as woolly mammoths, steppe bison, giant stag-moose, dire wolves, short-faced bears, and saber-toothed cats - and for the first humans to enter the New World from Asia. After proving unambiguously that the land bridge existed, Hopkins went on to show that the Beringian landscape cannot have been the "polar desert" that many had claimed, but provided forage enough to sustain a diverse menagerie of Ice Age behemoths.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is a short but compelling history of a major event in recent geological studies: the final proof in the early 1970s of the onetime existence of the Bering Land Bridge, a long-surmised strip of land that connected North America and Asia in the Ice Age, possibly as early as 14,000 years ago. Starting with the work of a Jesuit missionary in 1589, but focusing on natural historian Dave Hopkins, Alaskan historian O'Neill (The Firecracker Boys) gives an impressive presentation of the 400-year-old debate over Beringia, the name now commonly given to the land bridge over which early humans would have crossed eastward. But O'Neill is equally interested-perhaps more so-in paying tribute to Hopkins, the scientist whose pioneering archeological and geological studies defined Beringia as a distinctive area and ecosystem and who shaped the direction of modern Arctic studies. Starting with the influence of Hopkins's nature-loving New England mother, O'Neill charts what became a life of "searching for clues of ancient landscapes." He gives clear and compelling summaries of Hopkins's most important work, from his early discovery that deep spots in the Bering Strait were actually canyons and fragments of ancient river valleys, to his final landmark studies indicating that the ecological conditions of the land bridge would have been able to support herds of grazing animals, conditions that also would have permitted the land bridge to be inhabited by humans. This is an impressive portrait of Hopkins, a scientific "giant" whose legacy is as huge as the woolly mammoths that he showed to have ranged throughout Beringia.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When vast glaciers grew in the north and extended into the Great Plains during the ice ages that have regularly visited this planet, today's subarctic was bizarrely left mostly unglaciated. Because so much of the earth's water was trapped in the glaciers then, the sea level was considerably lower than today, and a great land bridge stretched from Siberia to Alaska. On it massive animals--mammoths, saber-toothed tigers--ranged, and humans migrated together with the game. This land bridge, named Beringia after the arctic explorer Vitus Bering, was the great discovery of New England geologist Dave Hopkins. In this finely researched, elegantly written book, Alaskan historian O'Neill relates a dual story, that of Hopkins, the last giant of the title, and the converging discoveries that led to the articulation of the now-accepted land-bridge theory. With global climate change threatening another ice age in our future, the story of ancient Beringia should interest more readers than just those passionate about Alaska, who will, of course, be enthralled by O'Neill's work. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813341973
• ISBN-13: 978-0813341972
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,223,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Giant of Beringia, September 27, 2004

By 

Robert Andrews (Haines, Alaska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Giant of Beringia: The Mystery of the Bering Land Bridge (Hardcover)

This book is a "must read". While the existence of a prehistoric land bridge connecting Alaska and Asia has been surmised for hundreds of years, it was David Hopkins with his multi-discipline approach who pulled the evidence all together. The book, while giving a detailed yet easy to understand explanation of the reasoning involved, pays tribute to a tremendous individual and his work.

While many branches of science are discussed, the writing is concise, easy to understand and never gets bogged down with scientific jargon. O'Neill has a firm handle on the English language, and presents a very readable work.

Whether you are researching or reading for pleasure, this book is a very worthwhile endeavor. Don't miss it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in Beringia, August 30, 2006

By 

Aydin Orstan (Germantown, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Giant of Beringia: The Mystery of the Bering Land Bridge (Paperback)

This book is about the scientists who have studied Beringia and how they have put together the pieces of the puzzle to develop our current knowledge of this very interesting part of the earth. Actually, the title refers to one particular person, the geologist Dave Hopkins (1921-2001), who devoted his life to the study of the Holocene geology of Alaska. There are also almost entire chapters about others, including the Swedish botanist Eric Hultén and the American archeologist Louis Giddings. The accounts of their field trips are all fascinating, but I wish the overall story was presented more coherently. Many others entered and left the story, often making me forget about Hopkins. The couple of chapters on Native Americans at the end could also have been left out. The origins of Native Americans, a fascinating subject on its own, and although closely tied in with Beringia, doesn't quite fit into this book.

Nevertheless, I did learn quite a bit from this book. And although it is for the general readers, the book ends with a long list of references to the scientific literature that would be very helpful for those interested in learning more.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, April 20, 2005

By 

palegreenhorse "palegreenhorse" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Giant of Beringia: The Mystery of the Bering Land Bridge (Hardcover)

This book has a good style, topic, and size. I am not an earth science person but still understood most of this book and enjoyed reading this book. The information was concise without being too dense to understand. It also helped me understand something I remember hearing about in grade school but never thought deeply about. I highly reccomend this book as a science narrative!