The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million Years

By Johannes G.M. Thewissen

Book Overview

Hans Thewissen, a leading researcher in the field of whale paleontology and anatomy, gives a sweeping first-person account of the discoveries that brought to light the early fossil record of whales. As evidenced in the record, whales evolved from herbivorous forest-dwelling ancestors that resembled tiny deer to carnivorous monsters stalking lakes and rivers and to serpentlike denizens of the coast. Thewissen reports on his discoveries in the wilds of India and Pakistan, weaving a narrative that reveals the day-to-day adventures of fossil collection, enriching it with local flavors from South Asian culture and society. The reader senses the excitement of the digs as well as the rigors faced by scientific researchers, for whom each new insight gives rise to even more questions, and for whom at times the logistics of just staying alive may trump all science. In his search for an understanding of how modern whales live their lives, Thewissen also journeys to Japan and Alaska to study whales and wild dolphins. He finds answers to his questions about fossils by studying the anatomy of otters and porpoises and examining whale embryos under the microscope. In the book's final chapter, Thewissen argues for approaching whale evolution with the most powerful tools we have and for combining all the fields of science in pursuit of knowledge.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520277066
• ISBN13: 9780520277069
• Release Date: November 2014
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book

The book brings a great understanding to whale evolution and helps understand how our understanding evolved. The author explains his experiences on digs in a way that helps you understand the culture of the people he interacted with as well as the scientific method. The book does go heavy into anatomy, not my strong point but I learned a lot. The only complaint (and only reason for not giving a 5) comes from the editors, not the author. There are some annoying organizational decisions from the editor.