Eternal Trail: A Tracker Looks at Evolution

By Martin Lockley

Were Jurassic dinosaurs social creatures? Is the legendary Bigfoot merely a myth? Can you determine the shape of a ram's horns from its footprints? Paleontologist Martin Lockley answers these questions and many more in this highly original chronology of tracking and track-making. From the earliest fossilized prints left by a millipede on a volcanic island to Neil Armstrong's footprint, forever embedded in the lunar dust, Lockley reinterprets the story of evolution, recorded over millions of years in the strata and substrata of our planet and its environs. In the process, he offers a new, holistic approach to tracking--one that highlights the self-organizing principles at work in the natural world--and demonstrates how the science of tracking is giving us new insights into the biology, behavior, and evolutionary history of a diverse array of extinct animals. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and surprising discoveries, The Eternal Trail initiates us into the art and science of tracking, while offering a poetic reflection on the continuity of life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738201650
• ISBN13: 9780738201658
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
• Length: 334 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Follow the Trail

Lockley's book is an amazing compendium of insights into the evolutionary process as seen by an expert paleontologist. Loosely organized around the morphodynamic schemes of W. Schad and the noospheric views of P. Teilhard de Chardin, *The Eternal Trail* follows the paths of animal evolution and develops a synthesis of observation and process that I never would have thought possible. Lockley not only documents cases of convergent evolution, he is also able (via Schadian analysis) to explain how and why the convergences occur. References to palmistry, dancing angels, iridium homeopathy and subatomic particles as vital entities may confuse or upset more traditionally-oriented science readers. Lockley nevertheless makes a compelling case that there is more to evolution than meets the eye, and as such this book is a track-laying bellwether for a new science.

PONDERINGS OF A WORLD-CLASS TRACKER!

THE ETERNAL TRAIL is an important, informative, and exciting read. For years, Martin Lockley's works have played an indispensible role, pioneering in and the sharing of track studies with scientists and the world at large. Now, in THE ETERNAL TRAIL, we learn how this has lead him to deep thought about the nature of life, evolution, and even the forms which life takes. In sharing his facinating thoughts and insights, one perceives commendable courage. Some hounds of late 20th-century materialism may howl well past midnight because a scientist and educator of Lockley's caliber has dared to suggest that maybe we do not encompass the deeper modus of evolution by viewing it as only a result of natural selection manifesting in punctuated equilibrium. Of course, Lockley does not pretend to understand evolution, suggesting only that we may benefit by studing similarities in diverse forms that may have something to tell us. Commendably candid, LOCKLEY IS WILLING TO THINK OUT LOUD, unashamed to question, declaring at least the incompleteness of present evolutionary theory. Indeed, his personal exploration of both the broader and the deeper implications of 'the eternal trail', reflect an appropriate, rather cosmic perspective befitting an age where 'quantum teleportation'and other such wonders are now being discussed. Over past years Lockley has played a major (maybe THE major) role in transforming track studies (paleo-ichnology) from a mere scientific sideline, into a world-wide and world-class scientific endeavor involving geology, biology, paleo-ecology, and other disciplines. THE ETERNAL TRAIL is a continuation of that progress, challenging each of us to a broader playing field. Definitely a read that should not be missed by persons interested in evolution, the philosophy of science, pondering the nature of reality, paleo-ichnology in general, reading the 'signs' of nature or, well, dinosaurs, for that matter!