From Publishers Weekly
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this excellent work proves that a mural is worth 300 pages. Wallace (The Bonehunter's Revenge, etc.) uses the often overlooked Age of Mammals mural at Yale's Peabody Museum as the theme around which he builds the story of the evolution of scientific thought on mammalian evolution. Rather than structure his narrative around the theories themselves, Wallace focuses on the savants and scientists who developed them. Vivid descriptions of the "bare-knuckled rivalries of Gilded Age paleontology"-which saw respected scientists sending saboteurs to each other's digs and lambasting one another in the popular press, and museum founders who grafted human teeth onto the heads of roosters-bring these men to life as well as the best of them were able to do for the specimens they found. Each character's particular expeditions, macabre youthful pastimes and the fossils that led to their fame or downfall are illuminated by abundant quotations from a wide variety of sources. Judicious use of personal anecdotes lends an air of conviviality to the author's prose, and frequent returns to the Peabody mural add still more depth and perspective. Paleontology buffs will not be the only ones entranced; this charming story, skillfully told, will appeal to history and biography fans as well. 18 b&w photos, 2 line illus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Taking his cue from a mural at Yale University, The Age of Mammals by Rudolph Zallinger, Wallace tours some controversies of classification and interpretation in the history of paleontology, mammal division. Arranged chronologically and connected to the fossil field's landmark names, from Georges Cuvier to Edward Cope to O. C. Marsh to George Gaylord Simpson, these episodes arise from the creatures depicted in Zallinger's work. Relevant panels from the painting assist the reader in imagining which oversize, hirsute carnivore or herbivore Wallace is discussing, its place on the geologic time line, and who found and named it. Stepping back to view the totality of the painting, Wallace also comments on the advice about evolution Zallinger received, seeing in his positioning of the animals and depiction of landscape the influences of Marsh and Simpson regarding biogeography and the succession of species. Its hook being the ever-popular charismatic fauna, Wallace's art-and-science review, though containing an imposing level of detail, opens a wondrous window on paleontology's investigations of the origin of mammals. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Mammals first evolved at about the same time as dinosaurs, and their story is perhaps the more fascinating of the two--in part because it is also our own story. In this literate and entertaining book, eminent naturalist David Rains Wallace brings the saga of ancient mammals to a general audience for the first time. Using artist Rudolph Zallinger's majestic Age of Mammals mural at the Peabody Museum as a frame for his narrative, Wallace deftly moves over varied terrain--drawing from history, science, evolutionary theory, and art history--to present a lively account of fossil discoveries and an overview of what those discoveries have revealed about early mammals and their evolution.

In these pages we encounter towering mammoths, tiny horses, giant-clawed ground sloths, whales with legs, uintatheres, zhelestids, and other exotic extinct creatures as well as the scientists who discovered and wondered about their remains. We meet such memorable figures as Georges Cuvier, Richard Owen, Edward D. Cope, George Gaylord Simpson, and Stephen Jay Gould and learn of their heated disputes, from Cuvier's and Owen's fights with early evolutionists to present controversies over the Late Cretaceous mass extinction. Wallace's own lifelong interest in evolution is reflected in the book's evocative and engaging style and in the personal experiences he expertly weaves into the tale, providing an altogether expansive perspective on what Darwin described as the "grandeur" of evolution.


From the Back Cover
"Beasts of Eden is a wondrous journey through the vanished worlds of extinct mammals. Exciting, insightful, and accurate, it is everything that good science writing should be."--Tim Flannery, author of The Eternal Frontier

"A compelling scientific adventure story. . . . Peopled with colorful and larger-than-life characters, this account of the history of paleontology dramatically demonstrates how the interactions between crude but charismatic fossil seekers, ascetic intellectuals, temperamental artists, and many others have forever changed the ways in which we view life's prehistoric beginnings."--Ian Tattersall, author of The Monkey in the Mirror

"Beasts of Eden is a true delight. Each page drips with the drama and passion of scientific pursuit. Wallace is a keen observer, a learned writer, and a great story teller--this is a must read!"--Don Johanson, Director of the Institute of Human Origins


About the Author
David Rains Wallace is the author of fifteen books, including The Klamath Knot: Explorations of Myth and Evolution (Twentieth Anniversary Edition, California, 2003), winner of the John Burroughs Medal; The Bonehunter's Revenge: Dinosaurs, Greed, and the Greatest Scientific Feud of the Gilded Age (1999); and The Monkey's Bridge: Mysteries of Evolution in Central America (1997).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Mammals First Evolved at about the same time as dinosaurs, and their story is perhaps the more fascinating of the two -- in part because it is also our own story. In this literate and entertaining book, eminent naturalist David Rains Wallace brings the saga of ancient mammals to a general audience for the first time. Using artist Rudolph Zallinger's majestic The Age of Mammals mural at the Peabody Museum as a frame for his narrative, Wallace deftly moves over varied terrain -- drawing from history, science, evolutionary theory, and art history -- to present a lively account of fossil discoveries and an overview of what those discoveries have revealed about early mammals and their evolution. In these pages we encounter towering mammoths, tiny horses, giant-clawed ground sloths, whales with legs, uintatheres, zhelestids, and other exotic extinct creatures as well as the scientists who discovered and wondered about their remains. We meet such memorable figures as Georges Cuvier, Richard Owen, Edward D. Cope, George Gaylord Simpson, and Stephen Jay Gould and learn of their heated disputes, from Cuvier's and Owen's fights with early evolutionists to present controversies over the Late Cretaceous mass extinction. Wallace's own lifelong interest in evolution is reflected in the book's evocative and engaging style and in the personal experiences he expertly weaves into the tale, providing an altogether expansive perspective on what Darwin described as the "grandeur" of evolution.

SYNOPSIS

A general interest exploration of mammal evolution and the scientific history of major fossil discoveries, t heir discoverers, and changing ideas about these extinct "beasts." It's both a grand mystery and a Cinderella story: mammal origins were one of 19th-century science's major enigmas, and mammals outlasted the more abundant dinosaurs to give birth to us.

FROM THE CRITICS

Helen E. Fisher - The New York Times

David Rains Wallace, a science writer with 15 books to his credit, offers no original theories on mammalian evolution in Beasts of Eden. Instead, he presents a thoroughly researched, richly detailed and lively book on the ''bone hunters'' who traversed the badlands of the world searching for the fossils of mammals and on the vituperative intellectual battles that some of these paleontologists waged with one another. And as these stories unfold, one becomes familiar with the primary ideas and events in the rise of modern evolutionary thinking.

Publishers Weekly

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this excellent work proves that a mural is worth 300 pages. Wallace (The Bonehunter's Revenge, etc.) uses the often overlooked Age of Mammals mural at Yale's Peabody Museum as the theme around which he builds the story of the evolution of scientific thought on mammalian evolution. Rather than structure his narrative around the theories themselves, Wallace focuses on the savants and scientists who developed them. Vivid descriptions of the "bare-knuckled rivalries of Gilded Age paleontology" which saw respected scientists sending saboteurs to each other's digs and lambasting one another in the popular press, and museum founders who grafted human teeth onto the heads of roosters bring these men to life as well as the best of them were able to do for the specimens they found. Each character's particular expeditions, macabre youthful pastimes and the fossils that led to their fame or downfall are illuminated by abundant quotations from a wide variety of sources. Judicious use of personal anecdotes lends an air of conviviality to the author's prose, and frequent returns to the Peabody mural add still more depth and perspective. Paleontology buffs will not be the only ones entranced; this charming story, skillfully told, will appeal to history and biography fans as well. 18 b&w photos, 2 line illus. Agent, Sandy Taylor. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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