{"product_id":"neptunes-ark-from-ichthyosaurs-to-orcas-paperback","title":"Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDavid Rains Wallace\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eKen Kirkland\u003c\/b\u003e (Illustrator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNeptune's Ark \u003c\/i\u003eilluminates the dramatic saga of evolution spanning 500 million years of marine life along the magnificent Pacific coast of western North America. In an engaging narrative that artfully blends elements of science, history, folklore, and personal observation, renowned naturalist David Rains Wallace reveals a marvelous diversity of creatures, not only modern ones, but those from the far prehistoric past. Mysterious forms have abounded--from giant sea cows, oyster bears, and flightless toothed birds to the orcas, elephant seals, and sea otters of modern times. Wallace tells a story about evolution as well as a tale of the storms, scurvy, and shipwrecks that plagued the coast's explorers, naturalists, and scientists, many of whom led turbulent or tragic lives, with themes reflected in the wonder and danger of the coast itself. \u003ci\u003eNeptune's Ark \u003c\/i\u003eis full of vivid characters--from explorers like Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook, to pioneer naturalists including Georg Steller and Charles Scammon, to early paleontologists Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope, and to recent scientists and ecological visionaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNeptune's Ark \u003c\/i\u003etakes us on a voyage of discovery into the world of the enigmatic creatures who evolved in the ocean and the intrepid individuals who study them. In this moving and majestic book, David Rains Wallace navigates the mythic dimensions of humans' and animals' ancient, ambiguous relationship with the sea.--Adrienne Mayor, author of \u003ci\u003eThe First Fossil Hunters and Fossil Legends of the First Americans\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In the pageant of creation, Earth's seas have always hosted the greatest part of the show. Wallace brings to life a spectacular array of marine organisms ancient and new, tiny and titanic, renowned and obscure-and some almost unimaginably weird-and illuminates often surprising connections between them. Have you ever wondered where modern sea lions come from? Or penguins? Pelicans? Manatees? Great whales? The answers, in \u003ci\u003eNeptune's Ark, \u003c\/i\u003e take your mind on a voyage through millions of years of natural history. Enjoy the swim.\"--Douglas Chadwick, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Grandest of Lives\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eNeptune's Ark\u003c\/i\u003e delivers not only a riveting history of paleontology and the origins of marine mammalogy on the west coast-from Cope and Emlong to Steller and Scammon-but also a heartfelt tribute to the great creatures they all pursued so avidly.\"--Dick Russell, author of \u003ci\u003eEye of the Whale\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Wallace writes fascinating accounts of the astounding menagerie of animals that once inhabited the waters of the west coast, from giant toothed birds, oyster bears, and the enigmatic \u003ci\u003eDesmostylus\u003c\/i\u003e, to enormous saber-toothed salmon. Paired with Ken Kirkland's exquisitely rendered and life-like drawings, this book is hard to put down.\"--Ray Troll, author of \u003ci\u003eRapture of the Deep\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Rains Wallace\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of sixteen books, including \u003ci\u003eBeasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution\u003c\/i\u003e (UC Press), A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book; \u003ci\u003eThe Klamath Knot: Explorations of Myth and Evolution\u003c\/i\u003e (Twentieth Anniversary Edition, UC Press), winner of the John Burroughs Medal; \u003ci\u003eThe Bonehunter's Revenge: Dinosaurs, Greed, and the Greatest Scientific Feud of the Gilded Age; \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Monkey's Bridge: Mysteries of Evolution in Central America, \u003c\/i\u003e A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.77 x 8.66 x 5.76 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 18, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47453430677682,"sku":"9780520258143","price":48.51,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/8574a65b7112209e0c2c5d8010b7f703.webp?v=1778830501","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/neptunes-ark-from-ichthyosaurs-to-orcas-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}