Flannery’s chronicle of evolutionary triumphs and setbacks, foreign invasions, and the rise of some continental specialties–such as horses, camels, dogs, and even cheetahs–would alone make the book worth reading. ” –Patricia Nelson Limerick, T he Washington Post Book World Readers will carry away plenty of amusing snippets, a supply that could fill blank spots in the conversation at dinner parties for years to come. “Full of engaging and attention-catching information about North America’s geology, climate, and paleontology. Exhilarating.” –John Terborgh, The New York Review of Books A penetrating, introspective account of the role we humans are playing on the evolutionary stage. Flannery guides us on a sweeping odyssey through time, in which he synthesizes vast amounts of information from geology, paleontology, and human history. “Tim Flannery’s book will forever change your perspective on the North American continent.
What he has done, reckless soul, amounts to offering himself as the Tocqueville of American biogeography.” –David Quammen, The New York Times Book Review to explain America, in the largest sense, to Americans. Flannery synthesizes a vast range of scientific studies and a decent selection of historical and cultural writings, leavening those with his own forceful ideas. has been brave enough to tackle the whole pageant of North America. He is the author of eight books, including The Future Eaters, his award-winning history of Australian ecology. He was previously the principal research scientist at the Australian Museum in Sydney and has also been a visiting professor of Australian studies at Harvard University. Tim Flannery is the director of the South Australian Museum. This is science writing at its very best–a riveting page-turner that is simultaneously an accessible and scholarly trove of incredible information that is already being hailed by critics as a classic. Natural history on a monumental scale, The Eternal Frontier contains an enormous wealth of fascinating scientific details, and Flannery’s accessible and dynamic writing makes the book a delight to read.
The story takes in the massive changes wrought by the ice ages and the coming of the Indians, and continues right up to the present, covering the deforestation of the Northeast, the decimation of the buffalo, and other facets of the enormous impact of frontier settlement and the development of the industrial might of the United States. Flannery describes the development of North America’s deciduous forests and other flora, and tracks the immigration and emigration of various animals to and from Europe, Asia, and South America, showing how plant and animal species have either adapted or become extinct.
In The Eternal Frontier, world-renowned scientist and historian Tim Flannery tells the unforgettable story of the geological and biological evolution of the North American continent, from the time of the asteroid strike that ended the age of dinosaurs 65 million years ago, to the present day. It will fascinate Americans and non-Americans alike.” –Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel “Tim Flannery’s account of North America from the end of the dinosaurs to the contemporary ecological crisis makes a thrilling, beautifully written story.