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bristlecone's review
4.0
3.5 stars. A majority of this book is incredibly engaging and provides a brilliant overview of natural history research on North America during the Pleistocene. I also really appreciate the author's efforts and ability to make it clear that homo sapiens then were not really different from homo sapiens now. If we took an infant from that time and used time travel to bring it to modern time, it would grow up to be a normal kid. The author uses this commonality between prehistoric and modern humans to construct a vivid picture of what life in the Pleistocene may have been like. I could have done without the chapter about walking to burning man, but the rest of the book was excellent.
lindsayb's review
4.0
I never knew I was a sucker for the Ice Age until I saw a fabulous exhibit on it at the Cincinnati Museum Center a few years back. This is the book I've been wanting to read ever since, and it hit all the right buttons. I love Childs' hazy retreat into history after discussing archaeological digs and camping trips, bringing the past to life. I now have an even greater appreciation for the world that came before ours and will look at the land in a whole new way.
ainsleym's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the writing style and how Childs transitioned between his own experiences and what specific places were like in the Ice Age. His writing is very descriptive and immersive. It was easy to follow and very compelling.
This was definitely more of an exploration of the land and time period than a highly structured or densely informational book. It didn't feel comprehensive but that wasn't the goal of this book. I do wish there had been more maps included within the pages to show the specific areas Childs was talking about, especially when describing the routes that people and animals may have taken. Would read more from him.
This was definitely more of an exploration of the land and time period than a highly structured or densely informational book. It didn't feel comprehensive but that wasn't the goal of this book. I do wish there had been more maps included within the pages to show the specific areas Childs was talking about, especially when describing the routes that people and animals may have taken. Would read more from him.
winglady's review against another edition
5.0
As always, Craig Childs takes the reader on an amazing journey back in time and links it in an entertaining manner to today's world. Bonus: his writing style is exquisite!
tjcus4ck's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book is wonderful. Childs somehow seamlessly intertwines his own journey through America with that of those first people to travel there, creating a highly educational but also deeply human exploration of the peopling of the Americas. Anyone interested in history, anthropology, or doing some good, soul-deep self-reflection should pick this one up for a read. Something about it changed my whole life.
ptrevs's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I could see what the author was trying to do for this book, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. Basically it’s half first person adventure travelogue, half well-researched and well-informed pop history. Unfortunately they don’t quite cross over as well as the author was trying to do - it basically boils down to “imagine if there was a lake and mammoths here”
- cool the first time, a little repetitive after. This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it just didn’t all fit together.
- cool the first time, a little repetitive after. This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it just didn’t all fit together.
plaidpladd's review
5.0
Count megafauna as one of my interests now and forever! I really liked this book. It's partly the history of the earliest humans in North America and partly the author's travels to those same sites (mostly on foot or by kayak) and how they have changed in the last 15,000 years. The subject matter is really interesting, and the writing is very well-done. The parts about Florida made me vaguely homesick even though nothing described is pleasant ("Snakes dropping out of trees? Lol, yeah, you're gonna get snakes dropping out of trees"). Also I'm really pleased to know about the oldest-known human poop in North America.