Walking with Beasts: A Prehistoric Safari

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About Walking With Beasts: A Prehistoric Safari

Product Description Since the dinosaurs died out over 65 million years ago our planet has been dominated by mammals. A succession of bizarre evolutionary specimens have come and gone -- from walking whales to sabre-toothed cats -- yet many of these magnificent creatures have never been visualized before. Now, for the first time, spectacular and unfamiliar animals are recreated and set in the context of their world. Walking with Prehistoric Beasts reveals the extraordinary ancestors of modern mammals and the arrival of man, bringing to life the roots of our heritage. Following on from the hugely-acclaimed Walking with Dinosuars, Walking with Prehistoric Beasts recreates the creatures and landscapes of post-dinosaur Earth; transporting us to the icy plains of the mammoth, dark forests stalked by giant carnivorous birds, and deserts dominated by 16 ton Indricotheres. From the tiny fruit-eating primate Apidium, to the powerful chalicotheres, whose curved claws forced them to walk on their knuckles, the lives of these little known creatures are vividly brought to life. Meet the bizarre hose-nosed Macrauchenia, and the Deodicurus, a giant armadillo with a spiked club for a tail; run with cat-sized horses and rhino-sized carnivorous pigs, hunt with the skull-crushing Andrewsarchus, and walk with the very first humans. Illustrated boxes describe the latest scientific evidence that led to the reconsturctions of these creatures, while character boxes provide information on behavior and habitats. The text is illustrated throughout with ground-breaking computer graphic images to offer a unique record of lost worlds never seen before and reveal many of the most spectacular periods in Earth's history. Also available, accompanying the Walking with Prehistoric Beasts TV series, are books for children, home videos, a DVD, and a CD of the soundtrack from the series. From Booklist Beyond the woolly mammoth and the saber-toothed cat, most of us know very little about ancient mammals, many of which rivaled the dinosaurs in size. Haines, author of Walking with Dinosaurs (2000), gives an overview of these beasts in a companion volume to a Discovery Channel series. With a combination of natural history insights laid over the fossil record and computer graphics, extinct species like Smilodon (a saber-tooth), Indricotherium (enormous rhinoceros relatives), and even our ancestors Australopithecus come to life. Each chapter tells the story of one species, following specific individuals as they eat, mate, deal with the seasons, and interact with other species. Sidebars give paleontological data and a thumbnail sketch of each species mentioned. The chapters are in chronological order, so each presents a view of the age of mammals from a different period, culminating with woolly mammoths and Homo sapiens. The illustrations are spectacular, giving the feel of photographs of these extinct creatures. A section on source material provides the fossil underpinnings for the computer re-creations. Nancy Bent Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved About the Author Tim Haines joined the Nature program at the BBC TV Natural History Unit in 1987 before moving to BBC TV Science. He has worked on many of the major BBC science series, and has produced a number of award-winning programs, including the Ice Mummy trilogy. He was the creator and Series Producer of Walking with Dinosaurs, and wrote the accompanying book. He is Executive Producer of Walking with Prehistoric Beasts. Daren Horley pursued a freelance career in traditional illustration before discovering the digital world. In 1997 he joined the compupter animation team at Framestore where he designed and painted the skins of the animals in Walking with Dinosuars. He is now Framstore's digital painting supervisor, working across a number of projects including Walking with Prehistoric Beasts. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 New Dawn Our Earth 49