The Innocent Assassins - Hardcover

Kurtén, Björn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231072767 ISBN 13: 9780231072762

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1991

Synopsis

Björn Olof Lennartson Kurtén (1924–1988) was a distinguished vertebrate paleontologist. He belonged to the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. He was a professor in paleontology at the University of Helsinki from 1972 up to his death in 1988. He also spent a year as lecturing guest professor at Harvard University in 1971. In addition to many non-fiction books, he was also the author of an acclaimed series of books about modern man's encounter with Neanderthals, such as Dance of the Tiger (1978). He received several awards for his books around popularized science, among others the Kalinga Prize from UNESCO. In his fascinating collection, The Innocent Assassins, Kurten combines the philosophy of science and evolutionary biology with amusing anecdotes from the field work. Written for the general reader, these essays provide an interesting explanation of natural selection and theory of evolution, philosophical issues of evolutionary biology, the place of the human species in the universe. Kurten portrays such prehistoric animals as dinosaurs, saber tooth cats, and 12-million-year-old goat antelopes. He relays fascinating tales of prehistoric bison frozen in the tundra, kept fresh for 36,000 years, and an \"Eve\" from which all humans descend. He also recounts how a prehistoric Argentinian bird with a wingspan of over 23 feet could fly and how the \"Incredible Shrinking Man's\" body would function, as well as the physical impossibility of a giant creature like King Kong. The Innocent Assassins is brilliantly illuminated by the illustrations of Viking Nystrom.

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Reviews

This collection by a noted paleontologist covers a range of topics from a stew dinner made from a 36,000-year-old frozen bison to a fanciful look at how a man would experience the world if he were reduced to the size of an ant. Kurten is at his best writing about Ice Age animals (his area of specialty), but all his essays overflow with ideas, many drawn from his own extensive reading (the "innocent assassins" are sabertooth tigers from a poem by Loren Eiseley). General readers can enjoy these essays, which are also sophisticated enough to appeal to those with a background in evolution or paleontology. Some of the subjects have been presented in longer books for the same audience, such as R. Dale Guthrie's Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe: The Story of Blue Babe (Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1990) or Knut Schmidt-Neilson's Scaling: Why Is Animal Size So Important? (Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1984). For larger science collections.
- Amy Brunvand, Fort Lewis Coll. Lib., Durango, Col.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0231072767
• ISBN 13: 9780231072762
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 206