Did you know there were giant beavers?

October 22, 2009 12:48 PM

Good books about prehistoric life which are NOT about dinosaurs?

When I was little I had a children's book about prehistoric mammals. I still remember it as one of the raddest things I have ever read, and I still bring up dire wolves and kitten-sized horses at every possible opportunity. Of course, I had a book about dinosaurs too- who didn't?- but they were so well-known to everyone that they didn't seem as cool to me.

I want a more grown-up book along similar lines. Doesn't have to be mammals or even animals, and it could be pre- or post-dinosaur. Could cover the whole span of time from the beginning of life to now, or it could be about some small period of prehistory which most people have never heard of. Just hit me with some prehistoric awesomeness.

posted by showbiz_liz to science & nature (8 answers total)

Ray Troll's Planet Ocean: A Story of Life, the Sea and Dancing to the Fossil Record is fun.
posted by Ery at 1:12 PM on October 22, 2009

"Wonderful Life", by Stephen Jay Gould, is about the life forms found in the Burgess Shale. Gould was an amazing writer and I found the book to be riveting.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 1:19 PM on October 22, 2009 [1 favorite]

Are you okay with novels instead of nonfiction? What about Jean Auel's Earth's Children series? After the first book the humans in the book spend a lot of time making the sexy sex, but interspersed, Auel has a ton of description of flora and fauna from that time period (sometimes to the point of excess). She clearly did a lot of research and I think most of that part of it is pretty accurate.
posted by olinerd at 1:35 PM on October 22, 2009

I came here to recommend Wonderful Life as well.
posted by Midnight Rambler at 1:36 PM on October 22, 2009

Pleistocene goodness:

Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History was very good even if you don't care for dogs.

After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals is up there too.

The Ghosts of Evolution: Nonsensical Fruit, Missing Partners,
and Other Ecological Anachronisms was alright, despite some woo-woo in there. This one seems to have some enemies among evolutionary biologists, though.

I'm currently reading Twilight of the Mammoths: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding of America. It's good, but this is also the book that argues for releasing African elephants in the Great Plains. Not sure that's a popular idea.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 2:28 PM on October 22, 2009

Before Adam by Jack London.
posted by Rash at 2:55 PM on October 22, 2009

I really enjoyed Trilobite by Richard Fortey. He's a good writer anyway and is so enthusiastic about these little guys.

Also the best book I've read that fits this description: "Could cover the whole span of time from the beginning of life to now" is Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth by the same guy (My version is called "Life: An Unauthorised Biography" which I like better than the American release name, same book though). Very readable and one of my favourite books.
posted by shelleycat at 4:47 PM on October 22, 2009

Seconding the Jean Auel book series. They are gritty with details but a ripping good story line that will have you transported to prehistoric times. Read them in order i.e. start with 'Clan of the Cave Bear'.
posted by birdwatcher at 5:49 AM on October 23, 2009