The Last Giant of Beringia: The Mystery of the Bering Land Bridge

By Dan O'Neill and Daniel T. O'Neill

Book Overview

The intriguing theory of a land bridge periodically linking Siberia and Alaska during the coldest pulsations of the Ice Ages had been much debated since Jose de Acosta, a Spanish missionary working in Mexico and Peru, first proposed the idea of a connection between the continents in 1589. But proof of the land bridge - now named Beringia after eighteenth-century Danish explorer Vitus Bering - eluded scientists until an inquiring geologist named Dave Hopkins emerged from rural New England and set himself to the task of solving the mystery. Through the life story of Hopkins, The Last Giant of Beringia reveals the fascinating science detective story that at last confirmed the existence of the land bridge that served as the intercontinental migration route for such massive Ice Age beasts as woolly mammoths, steppe bison, giant stag-moose, dire wolves, short-faced bears, and saber-toothed cats - and for the first humans to enter the New World from Asia. After proving unambiguously that the land bridge existed, Hopkins went on to show that the Beringian landscape cannot have been the "polar desert" that many had claimed, but provided forage enough to sustain a diverse menagerie of Ice Age behemoths.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 046505157X
• ISBN13: 9780465051571
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Great Read

This book has a good style, topic, and size. I am not an earth science person but still understood most of this book and enjoyed reading this book. The information was concise without being too dense to understand. It also helped me understand something I remember hearing about in grade school but never thought deeply about. I highly reccomend this book as a science narrative!

The Last Giant of Beringia

This book is a "must read". While the existence of a prehistoric land bridge connecting Alaska and Asia has been surmised for hundreds of years, it was David Hopkins with his multi-discipline approach who pulled the evidence all together. The book, while giving a detailed yet easy to understand explanation of the reasoning involved, pays tribute to a tremendous individual and his work. While many branches of science are discussed, the writing is concise, easy to understand and never gets bogged down with scientific jargon. O'Neill has a firm handle on the English language, and presents a very readable work. Whether you are researching or reading for pleasure, this book is a very worthwhile endeavor. Don't miss it.