Customer Reviews

Oceans of Kansas: A Natural History of the Western Interior Sea (Life of the Past)

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I found the description of this book intriguing and found it listed in a couple of different places, so I decided I was fated to read it. I wasn't disappointed either. Although in places the non-professional may find their eyes glazing, for the most part, it is full of interesting information on the faunal era of the Cretaceous Interior Sea of North America (roughly the entire Midwest from Northern Canada to the present Gulf of Mexico).

Particularly fascinating is Everhart's discussion of the famous fossil finders of Kansas: Professor Benjamin Mudge, the Sternberg family (George H., George M., and Charles H.), Theophilus Turner, and Samuel Williston, all of whom provided some of the earliest and finest material from this period now found in Eastern and European museums. Some of their finds formed the type basis of species and genus descriptions for the marine fauna of the age world wide.

Should anyone have the erroneous impression that scientists are totally objective and above petty squabbles, the author's frequent comments on the famous Cope and Marsh and their "bone wars," will totally disabuse you of the notion. Marsh from the Yale Peabody Museum and Cope from the Accademy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia conducted a personal battle to be the first to describe and name in print specimen arriving from the midwest that is virtually legendary in paleontology and geology departments. Both employed the local talent of Kansas to find suitable museum quality specimen for display. The 19th century seemed to have been the age of "collections" of every conceivable type. In an age before television and cinema, such collections drew large crowds, as P. T. Barnum's' menagerie of oddities illustrated. In their field of natural history, the two scientists rivaled the ambitions of the fine art and archaeological collectors of some of the nation's art museums and even Barnum's more eclectic presentations.

Particularly interesting is the author's presentation of his own fossil finds and of the techniques and difficulties in removing specimen from their in situ location to one for preservation. It is obvious from his occasional reference to his field work that he is not simply an armchair or lab bound paleontologist. Although not the more biographical work that the writing of Peter Ward tends to be, in context, the personal experiences described by Everhart provide the reader with some idea of what the field involves. This might be of some interest to young people looking for a career in the biological sciences that does not involve all indoor work.

The book is extremely well organized, introducing the geology and earth history of the region now the part of the state of Kansas and describing in some detail the various categories of animals found there. Each of the chapters on a given type of animal is introduced by a short fictional account of what their life was like and how the particular specimen introduced might have met its end. This allows the reader to picture the animal as more than a lifeless pile of "old bones." Each chapter also introduces the genera and species within it, the period in which they flourished and that in which they seem to have disappeared. The author also discusses the rarity of finds and the possible causes thereof. Where indicated he also brings in information from neighboring states where species appear either before or after those in Kansas, so that the reader has a better understanding of extinction, regression and transgression of sea water and its residual rock facies, and the character of life and death in a changing environment. Completing this discussion, he also gives a thorough account of when, where, and by whom specific fossils were found and named. In short a history of their provenance and subsequent disposition. One could actually go to see these individual specimen if one chose to do so and know everything known about them.

From his discussion of the literature and of the finds and communications of other workers in the field, it is very apparent that the author is both well read and well connected. He does not write or work in isolation, but collaboratively with those in his specialty. The entries in his bibliography are extensive, including older works regarding the history of given researchers or type fossils, and more recent journal articles on finds made that extend or change the designation or understanding of a specimen and/or its relationship to others. A student doing a paper on paleontology, on the Cretaceous, on Kansas in particular, or on a given animal from the period, would find this bib a good place to start their research, and the author's style and organization a good paradigm.

The author's discussion of and some of the plates illustrating finds suggest that the Sternberg Museum collection would be a wonderful place to spend some time. One of these days, I may take a few days of vacation to visit Fort Hays and its State University to do just that.

There should be one of these books for every state and its representative faunal periods. Someone do Minnesota next!

Oceans of Kansas is an extremely well researched book. The author has been working in this field for a long time and his experience shows. I am pleased to review his book. I live in Kansas and I have been interested in this topic on an amateur basis. I have lived in other areas so I have been acquainted with other geological periods and other collections of fauna. I have seen many of the specimens that Michael Everhart discusses in his book. I have been to the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven several times and have seen Kansas fossils there. His insight into those specimens is enlightening.
The treatment of the topic within a chapter is progressive. The author starts with a short dramatization. He sets the stage and presents a description of the setting and environment that pertains to the creatures discussed within that chapter. The chapter on sea turtles follows this pattern, for example. Once the dramatic setting is presented, the author commences to add details about the creatures that are the subject of a given chapter. Details about the fossil specimens are then added. This information is extensive and thorough. The author presents these specimens within their historical and paleontological perspectives. Several important names recur throughout the book. These are historical names well known to readers in this subject area. The author, himself, is responsible for surprisingly many of the discoveries cited.
I was impressed by the scope of this book. Its breadth is great. The level of detail presented here is daunting. It takes careful reading to follow that level of detail though. This is a substantial book and should be a good addition to the library of anyone interested in this subject. Kansas readers should take pride in how important the findings that have taken place in Kansas have been to the understanding of this earlier time.

This is really a nice book. It is a throrough, comprehensive and up-to-date review of life in the interior sea - with chapters on sharks, fish, elasmosaurs, pliosaurs mosasaurs, and more. Unlike the other paleontology books I've ordered, including some from Indianna University Press, this one is not so technical as to alienate the casual reader - like myself. It's an interesting - and very enjoyable - way to learn about a scientific subject. I wish more of these books were written this way.

A fantastic story of what are now the Great Plains states, when they were covered by the Western Interior Seaway of the Late Cretaceous, some 65 to 90 or so million years ago. This book relates the fascinating expeditions of the great "bone hunters" during the early days of modern paleontology, when Kansas and other interior states were out in the comparative hinterlands, and the jouneys of these rugged individualists could occasionally be fraught with hardship. They were rewarded with an incredible array of some of the fabulous creatures of antiquity; giant mosasaurs, ancient turtles the size of automobiles, great flying reptiles, early toothed birds of the seas, and giant sharks, all found in the chalk beds that bear mute testimony to the existence of this ancient and wondrous place from a time out of mind.

The book is well illustrated, loads of pictures of the fossils in full reconstruction and disarticulated. The color plates by Dan Varner are maybe too few, but they're stunning, to say the very least.

The text may be a bit weighty for only the youngest of enthusiasts, but all others who have an interest in the great marine fossils of the Mesozoic should definitely get their hands on this book. I already consider it a classic; it really is that good.

"Imagine if you will the middle of North America covered by a vast inland sea...one that stretched for hundreds of miles from Utah to Minnesota, and from the Gulf of Mexico past the Arctic Circle." This sea, as evocatively rendered in Michael J. Everhart's book Oceans of Kansas - An Natural History of the Western Interior Sea is teeming with the kind of life that would give Carcharodon carcharias nightmares.

For years now, and long before its current incarnation in hard cover, I have been a frequent visitor to the Oceans of Kansas; having first run across the incredible website of that name while doing research for my own book. "Something about Plesiosaurs" was my introduction to the great western interior sea and its champion and guide Mike Everhart.

Many an armchair paleontologist has Googled mosasaur or plesiosaur and been beguiled by Everhart's comprehensive and beautiful website. Some of us have also benefited enormously from his first hand knowledge of the world he describes, as well as his patient indulgence and tolerance for the questions of an eager novice.

The book Oceans of Kansas, like the website, is a fascinating ancient world elucidated by Everhart's stirring prose and the dramatic reconstructions of painter Dan Varner.
Here now in print are the fearsome giant Cretoxyrhina mantelli, a 20-foot bone-shearing "ginsu" shark, along with the smaller scavengers Squalicorax falcatus, S. kaupi and S. pristodontus. Other denizens include turtles and pterosaurs and Ichthyornis (a small toothed bird from the late Cretaceous) not to mention Tylosaurus proriger, the 29 foot mosasaur with its four foot long, tooth filled skull; or another less fearsome mosasaur Globidens, the odd round toothed shell crusher. Here too is the 40 foot Elasmosaurus platyurus discovered in 1867 by a young Army doctor Theophilus Turner which became famous when Edward Drinker Cope published his description with its head at the wrong end.

Like the best of the great gentlemen geologists of the 19th century, Everhart (who is Adjunct Curator of Paleontology at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University) has an uncanny ability to interpret lost worlds. He begins nearly every chapter with a short fiction in which he describes a scenario involving the creatures he will then describe in detail. This skillful blend of story and science using actual specimens, such as the famous "fish-in-a-fish" Xiphactinus audax that was fossilized with its last meal Gillicus arcuatus in its belly, bring the Cretaceous seas vividly to life.

If a book liberally sprinkled with scholarly references seems daunting at first, rest assured that the narrative strength is such that - rather like reading a great Russian novel - the lay reader quickly learns to glide over the more complex and unpronounceable citations and come away with a sense of wonder and amazement at their visit to Cretaceous SeaWorld.

J.P. O'Neill
Author - The Great New England Sea Serpent - An Account of Unknown Creatures Sighted by Many Respectable Persons between 1638 and the Present Day (Paraview Press)

I was looking for an 'intermediate level' book on Marine Reptiles and I bought this book based on good reports in some of the earlier reviews. I wasn't disappointed it cleverly manages to appeal to everyone from the interested non-specialist (me) to a research student working either on the basin or one of the families of animals described. The centrepiece of the book are the colour plates featuring 11 evocative paintings by Varner. Most chapters are based on a particular family and it is gratifying that the less 'glamourous' inhabitants get as many chapters as the Marine Reptiles. (Although I started out looking for books on Marine reptiles I am glad I ended up with one that describes the whole Eco-system).

Each chapter starts with a well-written, imaginary snap-shot of life in the sea, often based on one of the paintings or an actual fossil. Thereafter it gets into more technical detail which the non-specialist can take or leave depending on your interests. It is worth dipping in and out of however: there are lots of anecdotes about how some of the fossils were found and the general history of the area.
The black and white illustrations - mainly photographs - are sharp and generally close to the text that refers to them. The book is nicely laid out and even at its most technical, easy to read.

I won't bore readers with long synopsis, and will only say that if you're at all interested in vertebrates of the Western Interior Seaway, that this book is a must-read. I can't quite recommend it to beginners (the author's "Sea Monsters" is a better pick for neophytes), as there is significant discussion of skeletal details and of the long, often tortuous process that went into describing type specimens; that said, the text is well-leavened by beautiful illustrations, photos and drawings, personal anecdotes, and discussion of the latest theories of how these creatures lived, all of which is accessible.

Highly recommended.

The "Oceans of Kansas" has turned out be that rare item, something that accurately lives up to it's advertisement. I found the book to be detailed enough to keep my interest but at the same time not a scientific journal. If you like the website, you will enjoy this book. Good job Michael Everhart but you should have used Raul Martin to provide the art work!

I have long been facinated by extinct marine reptiles and have been waiting for a book like this since I was a child. The wait was worth it. This book is facinating and well written, as the subject deserves. Part travel book, part history of science and part prehistory of the center of North America this book is all interesting and all fun.

Well worth the read and a challenge to those who follow to tell the story of other prehistoric seas with equal vim.

A long winded with the history of the paleo pioneers but extremely well done. I enjoyed it.