|
|
 How
to Deep Freeze a Mammoth
by
Bjorn Kurten.
Amazon writes: "How
does bison meat taste after being frozen for 30,000 years? Were Ice Age
cave painters trying to create "art" or just record history?
How did ancient oil spills occur, before there were oil companies to
create them? Those are just some of the questions renowned
paleontologist Bjorn Kurten answers in this collection of lighthearted
essays on fossils, ancient life, and related topics. Written for the
general reader, these lively pieces range from a look at how scientific
theories are created to some new views of old myths. Among the topics
Kurten examines are the history of the Mediterranean Sea, the origin of
birds, the theory of plate tectonics (continental drift), and the
discovery of Piltdown Man, the "missing link" fossil forgery
that fooled scientists for more than 40 years. And, true to its title,
the book offers a humorous "recipe" for freezing a mammoth
that is tundra-tested, if not totally foolproof. "You may have to
expend a few hundred mammoths before everything works out," the
reader is cautioned, "But there are plenty of them." (Although
the author hasn't tasted the fruits of his mammoth recipe, he did feast
on some ancient bison meat that dated from 30,000 years ago. Kurten
described the taste as "agreeable.") Throughout these essays
Kurten brings the prehistoric world alive with enthusiasm and humor,
emphasizing that paleontology is the study of those that lived long ago
instead of those who are long dead. As he says, "Isn't it more fun
to see a dinosaur as something that used to live, rather than as the
monstrous heap of bones which it happens to be at present?"
Recommended. |
