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Title: Coming Home to the Pleistocene by Paul Shepard, Florence R. Shepard ISBN: 1-55963-590-8 Publisher: Shearwater Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.71 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Feast of Important Ideas
Comment: Paul Shepard was a brilliant ecologist and an amazing original thinker. His final book is one of the most important contributions to the Earth Crisis discussion. It combines the best ideas from "The Tender Carnivore," "The Others," and "Nature and Madness." It leaves out his clunky ideas, and it's fairly easy to read. This book is a condensed version of the cream of Shepard's life work -- his masterpiece. Shepard died shortly after finishing it, so his wife did the editing cycle. Consequently, this is the most readable of his books.
In a nutshell, he sees that we are genetically wild animals from the Pleistocene. Our genes expect us to be living a leisured life in the wilderness, in small bands, eating wild foods. We are not designed to thrive in cities, eating [bad] foods, in overcrowded conditions. Living in the modern world destroys our bodies, minds, and spirits.
Shepard takes us on a fascinating voyage through human history, with extended discussions of plant and animal domestication, and the horror that these grave mistakes brought to humankind. He recommends beginning the voyage back to a Pleistocene way of life. Shepard has done his homework, and this book is filled with provocative and head-spinning ideas. If you want to know WHY we got to where we are today, this book is a treasure chest.
Rating: 5
Summary: Brilliant concept
Comment: Shepard's work has been seminal to mine as a bioacoustician. I am only sorry I came to realize the importance of his efforts so late in the game. In particular, the ideas expressed in Coming Home...shed a very bright light on our otherwise muddled thinking about our ancient human roots and our current ecological struggles. At the same time, I can well understand why other readers might feel challenged. His ideas are sometimes difficult to grasp and expressed in ways that might otherwise be presented more clearly. However, if one has the patience and the perseverence, the walk is well worth the effort. I like to be made to reconsider my strongly held convictions. Shepard's work has never failed to add great value to my life in that regard.
Rating: 1
Summary: Dismal .......... - a little learning can be a dangerous thing!
Comment: Yes, evolution is important. Yes, biological evolution is slow. So much is true.
However, hey-wow hippie fantasy that freefalls until it links to the latest jargon is not helpful - this book is simply this, sadly.
For a proper analysis of culture and its evolution [yes, evolution, it doesn't have to be biological] and hence a correction to the mistakes seen in this book, see 'The Meme Machine' by Susan Blackmore.
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Title: Nature and Madness by Paul Shepard ISBN: 0820319805 Publisher: University of Georgia Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Tender Carnivore and the Sacred Game by Paul Shepard ISBN: 0820319813 Publisher: University of Georgia Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Thinking Animals: Animals and the Development of Human Intelligence by Paul Shepard ISBN: 0820319821 Publisher: University of Georgia Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Only World We'Ve Got: A Paul Shepard Reader by Paul Shepard ISBN: 0871563967 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 01 June, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Others: How Animals Made Us Human by Paul Shepard ISBN: 1559634340 Publisher: Shearwater Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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