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

by Johannes G.M. Thewissen

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.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Evolution, Natural History, Palaeontology, Biology, Nature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Clyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million Years is a beautiful book. The book is well bound, the type is clear, and the paper is high quality. Also, there are numerous illustrations, some of which are very nice full-color renditions of the predecessors of modern whales.
This book is not predigested pap. It goes into the details of the science. Thewissen lays out the specifics of whale evolution using the fossil, the chemical, and the biological (both cladistic and DNA) evidence. It is a fascinating story.
Just as fascinating though is the story of the years of field work often in remote and sometimes dangerous locations. What do you do when you have made a major discovery in the field but haven't the funds to transport your finds back to the laboratory? What do you do when the police block you from a fossil site because there are murderous kidnappers in the hills? What happens when you have to negotiate with an elderly paranoid who owns key fossils? The stories of the people involved are intertwined with the story of the science and make this an interesting book indeed.

[Maitrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I finished this book, I mainly thought about why I aren't there such other wonderful books out there dealing with other animal species? What a comprehensive guide to whale evolution this was.

Johannes "Jans" Thewissen is somebody I hadn't heard about before picking this book, but boy am I surprised how I hadn't heard about him. Thewissen is something of a Stephen Hawking of whale evolution. He has been part of, or lead various teams that have discovered whale ancestors, right from land-lubbers to sharp-toothed killers that would've run Jaws out of business. And this in a career spanning many decades in some of the most hostile terrain (to all outsiders) such as Pakistan or just tourist/research-hostile India.

Thewissen has covered just about everything in a compact, readable form. All the science you need to know is well explained (my favourite is a bar-room conversation between Jans and a colleague where he explains molecular isotopy used to date fossils, mainly teeth). In a wide-ranging book such as this, there is a lot of science from different fields, and I never once felt intimidated. Added to this, quite a bit of the book also includes details from Thewissen's working on field-sites; some personal recollections of him interacting with people, mainly South Asians (9/11 features too, Thewissen was in Pakistan when it happened); and also wonderful anecdotes from history.

The book is arranged somewhat chronologically, from the fossils which Thewissen helped find. This is a lucky coincidence since as Thewissen got better at sniffing fossils, he knew where to hunt to find the exact "missing-links". So we have him discovering intermediates such as Ambulocetus ("walking whale") in Pakistan and an even more ocean-adapted ancestral whale (a remingtonocetid) called Kutchicetus ("Kutch whale", a region in India). Then the mystery hots up with Thewissen finding the most basal ancestors of whales, --almost accidentally thanks to a skull fracture on the fossil-- a deer-like-mammal called Indohyus in fossils from North India. This wonderfully completes the picture of whale evolution, although as he thoughtfully puts it in the epilogue, there is still a lot of work to be done, but then again in science, when is there isn't?

The Walking Whales is a comprehensive and eminently readable guide to whale evolution from the go-to-man in the field. It is also a wonderful book to know about evolutionary mechanisms in general. No problems recommending it to anybody.

[Nila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. I was amazed when I first heard a few years ago that whales evolved from land-dwelling mammals, rather like a dog in appearance. To add to the weirdness, all land animals had evolved from sea creatures millions of years earlier. This was a one-two combination that stayed with me, and I wanted to know more.

Maybe you can tell I have pathetic science background, and many well-known facts to those who are familiar with paleobiology strike me as stunning, quite likely because I never wondered about them before.

Most of the history and development and biology in this book was tough for me to follow. You need to know the vocabulary and the history to make this an easy or easily-comprehensible read. However, I focused in on the major players and puzzled through the development of hands and legs and ears and am pleased to tell you that this author is comprehensible.

I really enjoyed descriptions of the areas where he worked and how difficult it was to find the fossils that would document the development of whales. There are many descriptions of terrain, inhabitants, history, current warfare and characters who have labored in deserts and mountains to find evidence of whale development.

[Dave Schey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a creationist friend who is still claiming there are no transitional fossils to prove evolution, give them a copy of this book. Dr. Hans Thewissen takes you with him on field trips to Pakistan and India as he finds transitional whales fossils such as Ambulocetus, Kutchicetus, and Basilosaurus that lived 40-50 mya that show the transition from land mammals, such as Indohyus and Pakicetus, to modern whales and dolphins. This book is a pleasure to read and was difficult to put down. It is easy to be infected by the paleontologist's enthusiasm as he battles the heat and the remoteness of his fieldwork areas in Pakistan and India as he recovers these fossils.

[Elentarri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book: full colour illustrations, diagrams, maps, beautifully detailed science writing and an author who assumes his readers are intelligent and interested.

This book reads something like a detective novel. The author starts off with one of his (presumably failed) fossil finding expeditions in Pakistan, 1991, what he found there, the implications and what happened next. Thewissen manages to include biographical "stories" without coming across as self-important (he is humble and rather amusing), and gives credit where credit is due. All these biographical anecdotes are from his field expeditions and the people he dealt with - essentially where he went, why, what issues he had, what he found and why this was significant - fit into the whole book and the science sections quite well. These anecdotes were quite interesting and I looked forward to reading them. You get to find out what a paleontologist does when he has made an important fossil discovery but doesn't have enough funds to fly it back the laboratory; and what happens when said paleontologist gets too impatient to dig out a fossil and yanks it out of the ground instead.

Besides the enlightening anecdotes, Thewissen discusses the specifics of whale evolution using fossil, biological (physiologica, cladistic and DNA where possible) and chemical evidence, usually in the order in which the discoveries were made. All the relevant science from different fields is nicely explained withouth being tedious or overly technical (except the anatomy parts, which can't really be helped). The author is also careful in spearating speculation from what can reasonably be assumed from the evidence.

Thewissen has summarised the remarkable progress that has been made in terms of our understanding of whale origins - with many "intermediate" fossils, clear-cut functional links, and the beginnings of the molecuar mechanisms that drive it all. Thewissen takes the reader on an mystery-solving adventure that eventually helps us understand the evolution of whales from small hooved, land animals that resembled mouse deer and requiring fresh water for drinking, to our current salt-water, fishy-shaped giants with flippers.

[Justpassingby]

An interesting first-hand account of how scientists finally established the missing links between cetaceans and land mammals. Whales were thought to descend from an extinct group of carnivorous ungulates (hoofed animals) called mesonychids, but the fossil record did not support this. The apparent lack of intermediate fossils even fueled the enthusiasm of creationists for a while.

Most of the book is about the discovery and analysis of important fossils in Northern Pakistan and Western India, some of them by the author and his close associates, but there is plenty of interesting other material on genetics, stable isotope research and plate tectonics.

Spoiler: it turns out that the ancestors of whales, dolphins and porpoises were artiodactyls (even-toed hoofed animals like camels, cows and pigs) and that their closest living relatives on land are hippos.

The story is spiced up with anecdotes of war zones, paranoid Dutch travellers and embittered German widows.

[Ruby Hollyberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly entertaining, extremely fascinating, and informative goes without saying. The real story from the one who was there doing the work. The author is funny and humble as well as capable of riveting description. Recommended for anyone who likes nonfiction. Come away understanding more about mammals in general!

[Laura Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thewissen knows this subject, indeed, most of the book is his account of his own finds and how he found them. It is accessible for someone who knows nothing about paleontology and/ or cetology, but also has some quite high level stuff (the sort of diagrams you see in academic journals) aswell.

[Corinna Bechko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the science behind whale evolution interspersed with exciting anecdotes about field work and the difficulty of doing good science on a shoestring budget. I didn't want to put it down, and learned a great deal.

[David Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cetaceans (whales, porpoises and dolphins) evolved from a dog-sized, forest dwelling herbivore during the Eocene epoch, a little over 50 million years ago. The ancestral cetacean, whose closest extant relative is the hippopotamus, inhabited floodplain forests in the region that is now southern Asia, especially the area along the contested northern border between Pakistan and India. This even-toed ungulate (imagine a small deer-like creature) ate flowers, leaves and fruits of riparian plants. However, when in danger, it retreated into adjacent river shallows to escape predation and hide. Amazingly, this ancestral cetacean, Indohyus, might still remain an enigma had author Hans Thewissen been unable to win over the heart of Friedline Obergfell, a cranky, elderly German expat widow occupying a crumbling estate in India. Obergfell’s equally eccentric late husband, in a fit of pique, contracted to have an entire fossil deposit excavated and moved to his estate to prevent a competitor from describing new species from the rocks. Thewissen’s account of his wheedling to persuade Obergfell to relinquish a few precious fossiliferous rocks from her personal trove is among the best of many entertaining and enlightening anecdotes in this story that sometimes rivals the exploits of Indian Jones. In this case, though, the exploits are not fictional.

Thewissen is a gifted storyteller who develops a compelling narrative about the discovery of fossil whales. Over a period of 17 years beginning in 1991 during which he made many trips to Asia, he gradually elucidated the lineage of cetaceans with the help of a diverse array of disciplines and colleagues. Incorporating all available knowledge and experience about the geological disciplines of stratigraphy and plate tectonics was fundamental to this work, as was Thewissen’s complete and comprehensive grasp of comparative anatomy and mammalian physiology. He carefully and thoroughly outlines the tenets of these disciplines so that their contributions to his quest are clear and understandable for a broad audience. However, less inherently obvious disciplines reveal astonishing clues that help to complete the puzzle.

For example, somewhat serendipitously over drinks at an Ann Arbor, Michigan, bar, Thewissen learns from graduate school colleague Lois Roe that it may be possible to determine how early in their evolution that ancestral cetaceans abandoned freshwater swamps and became fully adapted to life in the sea. The analysis relies on isotopic geochemical analysis. To undertake the tests, Thewissen needs to sacrifice rare, precious and carefully excavated and prepared fossil teeth so that Roe can grind them up to measure the ratio of two oxygen isotopes incorporated into the teeth when they formed. Teeth that develop when an animal ingests freshwater contain more of the lighter 16O isotope than the heavier 18O isotope more prevalent in seawater. The isotopic results provide additional evidence to support Thewissen’s nascent proposed cetacean lineage. Similarly, Thewissen recounts a rather uncomfortable trip to see the main attraction at the Taiji Marine Park in northwestern Japan: Haruka, a captive dolphin with small rear flippers. Contemporary dolphins typically do not have rear flippers, so Haruka is very unusual. Thewissen conjectures on why this dolphin may sport rear flippers based on a detailed explanation of mammalian embryology. He goes on to suggest what may have happened during gestation to create this anomalous individual, and considers how ancestral cetaceans may have lost their hind limbs. In the process, the author also examines the moral implications of Japan’s ongoing whale harvest.

Over the geologically vanishingly short period of eight million years, cetaceans developed from the ancestral Indohyus into the whales, dolphins and porpoises cruising today’s oceans and rivers. During that development, the cetacean lineage included five increasingly aquatic cetacean families, all of which became extinct. Thewissen presents the story of whale evolution largely by recounting his field expeditions in chronological order. However, the order in which he found fossils in the field is not the same order in which the whale families evolved. Thus, in the first chapter, Thewissen presents his discovery some of the oldest known whale fossils of the family Pakicetidae as well as those of some of the most recent whales in the family Basilosauridae, which were nearly immediate ancestors to extant cetaceans. In fact, Thewissen saves the discussion of the very earliest generally acknowledged cetacean, Indohyus, for the penultimate chapter of the book. It all works, especially because the discovery of Indohyus includes high drama befitting the denouement of such a compelling saga. To his credit, Thewissen goes to great lengths to try to ensure that the reader is constantly oriented in time through the extensive use of figures, diagrams, and depictions of cetacean cladograms, but because the fossil discovery narrative and the cetacean evolutionary chronologies are not synchronized, the resulting explication is a bit confusing—the one deficiency in an otherwise extraordinarily effective book. The text is liberally supplemented with illustrations, charts, comparative photographs and drawings, and maps, all with detailed captions. These excellent materials are critical to the book’s overall value, and they succeed in restoring the prehistoric cetaceans to life in the reader’s imagination.

The Walking Whales should be accessible to an audience that has a good fundamental understanding of scientific principles. Thewissen makes an admirable effort to tell the story of whale evolution by straddling the line between adventure travelogue and scientific exposition, but ultimately the balance tips in favor of the science. The book may be of greatest professional interest to paleontologists and geologists. However, readers interested in evolution, systematics, and organismal classification will appreciate the story, as will anyone intrigued by how physical characteristics of ecosystems shape the animals inhabiting them.

In the end, this is a rollicking good story with a very strong scientific foundation about a group of astounding animals that seem almost too fantastical to even exist; indeed, the first fossilized cetacean skeletons excavated from deposits in Louisiana were exhibited and promoted as sea serpents. It’s well worth a read.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, albeit a bit dense and slow-going at times. It was a bit of a whim that I chose to read it, but it was a good whim. I had a general understanding of whale evolution; many important discoveries have occurred during my lifetime, and I recall bits and pieces from news articles. But it was interesting getting a more complete overview, and especially from someone involved in many of the important discoveries. And the author does a good job of describing precise and technical details in a clear and understandable way.

One thing that I didn't like so much is the sort of artificial way the narrative of the book is structured. Like one chapter ends with the concern that Pakistan was becoming too dangerous for research, so maybe he would need to go to India; sure enough, next chapter the author describes traveling to India, except the events are dated two years before those in the prior chapter. And there are other little bits like that, where the big narrative of the book doesn't match the chronology of the research (nor does it match the evolutionary history of whales: the narrative jumps all over that chronology). It isn't a major issue, the ideas developed over time and were dependent on new discoveries and luck, but it still felt a bit weird.

Another minor quibble (one that is very common in more scholarly works, I find): most of the end notes go to citations which I'm sure are very important to the credibility of the writing, but are absolute dead-ends for interest for a casual reader; but occasionally the note goes to an interesting and/or useful explanation or comment so you have to follow every note, even if you know most of them aren't worth the page flipping.

[Natalie Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book just browsing, looking to understand whales better, and settled on this one because I love some good evolutionary context (and ngl, the cover art played a big part). I didn't expect it to be so good!!

From the first page, the story drew me in as much as the cover did. Thewissen does an awesome job of placing you in context of current events and technical details, with no frills, but not without emotion and a little bit of philosophy. ("New finds are used to test past conclusions, and with every step we get closer to true understanding. It is also part of the normal dynamics of human life. With every experience that a human has, growth occurs and old ideas are resculpted.")

I can see how some might say his writing is dry - but that's the way I like it, especially for non fiction - let the content speak for itself.

Was intensely excited more times than I could count while reading. Loved the story, the discoveries, the diagrams, the art... 5 stars, no bars.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focused on the early whales, concluding that Cetacea is within the Artiodactyla.

There are many diagrams, photos, and illustrations to demonstrate the evolutionary biology and various morphological features.

Much of each chapter is the author describing their experiences while carrying out different research investigations in South Asia. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this was NOT annoying. Either through talented writing or harsh editing, this feature is not overdone and permits the reader to accompany the author through scientific discovery.

The author does dive into all sorts of technical details regarding physiology, dentition, evo-devo, cladistics, and even how sedimentary geology can illuminate paleontological theories. This is a good book, and I learned a lot.

[John Mulley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but something about it just didn't work for me. I have a science background, and already knew quite a lot about the whales and proto-whales discussed, and what I really wanted more of was the fieldwork and fossil discovery content, and more background to some of the people involved. I found the move between the almost-biographical aspects to the discussion of science and anatomy a little jarring. It's a well put together book, with nice illustrations, but again could have done with some more pictures of the field sites and people.
A little nitpicky, but I found the shiny paper especially annoying for reading in the evenings, as the shine from the page made reading it quite difficult!

[Guy Lenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book on paleontology and the evolution of whales. Written by one of those instrumental in finding the fossils I think it struck a great balance between telling the tales of how the fossils were found and what it all means. Has some nice overviews on some really complicated scientific methods of analysis. Even with this it’s surprisingly readable.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a bit of scientific detail, but the personal account of searching for fossils or pre-whales within the difficult geopolitical environment of Pakistan and Kashmir in the 1990s was very interesting.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a little complex and heavy for the average layperson, but I liked the sober approach. I also liked that the personal anecdotes included were entertaining and relevant, and most importantly of all, kept to a minimum.

[Elizabeth Judd Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at how whales evolved from mammals who lived on land to ones who live in water.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only book you’ll need regarding cetacean evolution. Super informative with artwork and photos that makes even technical topics, pretty easy to follow

[Pepijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessant overzicht over wat we tot nu toe weten over hoe walvissen zijn geëvolueerd. Levendig verteld aan de hand van de persoonlijke reis en ontdekkingen/opgravingen van Thewissen

[Last Ranger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Whale of a Tale:

This is probably one of the best book on paleontology and evolution that I've had the pleasure of reading. Johannes G. M. "Hans" Thewissen's "The Walking Whales" sheds light on the evolution of earth's most mysterious mammal: the whale. Prior to the early '90s any speculation on whale evolution was just that: speculation. What fossils we had were of fully aquatic mammals little different from modern day whales. Then, in 1993 all that changed when the author made the find of a lifetime while on an expedition to central Pakistan. What he dug out of the ground was a puzzling fossil consisting of hind legs, a few body parts and, amazingly, a skull. Returning to the U. S. with only the skull Thewissen began preparations of his find that would lead him to naming his find Ambulocetus: the whale that walks. The origins of whales has always been at the heart of a controversial debate between Creationist and Scientist. While scientists thought whales, and all aquatic mammals, evolved from land living quadrupeds that somehow managed to make the transition to an aquatic lifestyle. But they had no evidence to support that idea. Creationists were quick to claim that if science had no evidence it was because whales were, and had always been, fully aquatic. And the debate goes on! Parts of Thewissen's narrative read like a daily log or journal to give the reader an idea of the trials and tribulations that fossil hunters face when working in far flung locations. Without the help and support of his local colleagues in each country, the author would not have able to make much progress in locating fossils. Pakistan was and is a volatile country, political tensions with India are running high and roving bands of bandits in the hills of both countries makes fossils collecting a risky pastime. But the main focus of this book is, of course, the evolution of whales. One prehistoric whale in particular, Basilosaurus, has an interesting back story. It's name means "King Lizard", which might seem odd until you read it's history. Beyond Basilosaurus the author covers a host of extinct whale species, explaining what is known about their life histories, anatomy and habitat. The earliest proto-whale fossils are found in Pakistan and India, so that part of the world may be where they originated but that conclusion may need to be altered as new fossils are found elsewhere in the world. This is a book that can be enjoyed by both the professional and layman reader, Thewissen writes in thorough, informative way with just a touch of humor now and then. The segments on anatomy and the senses are complex and quite technical but the experienced science reader or anyone who got through at least High School Biology shouldn't have much of a problem. "The Walking Whales" answered many of my questions about whales and their ancient ancestors but, like any science book, left me hungry for more information. Research continues and professionals like Thewissen are sure to find new fossil that may open a door for future Paleontologist to explore the origins of our most mysterious mammal: the whale. One things for sure, I'll never look at a breaching Humpback Whale again in quite the same way. There are numerous charts, graphs and skeletal reconstructions throughout the book as well as several full color paintings of prehistoric whales. The art work is credited to Jacqueline Dillard but some of the illustrations may be by Carl Buell, or at least based on his art work. While I had no downloading problems with this Kindle edition there is a technical issues that the buyer should be aware of. Usually when an e-book has illustrations it provides Links (eg: Figure XX) you click in that link and it takes you directly to that particular illustration. In this case the Links are there but they don't function, so there is no way to get to the Figure you're looking for. This can be kind of a hassle when the text refers you to several different illustrations in random order. This is not so much a Kindle error but rather the publishers (University of California Press) omission. Anyway, in spite of this issue, "The Walking Whales" is an exceptional read and I am more than pleased with my purchase.

Last Ranger

[Lance Schonberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly a paleontology book. I say “mostly” because you’re not just getting bare facts and developed understanding of the ancestral whales and whale ancestors that comes from rigorous science. You’re certainly getting that, but there’s more, too.

The author talks about how things are in the field, conditions and finds and techniques in the various places he’s been on a quest across a couple of decades to learn about prehistoric cetaceans. You get a bit of travel diary, some research notes, and occasionally a taste of the politics surrounding a particular place and time. This adds a reality to the narrative that takes it beyond ancient geologic and biologic history. Field research can sometimes take the paleontologist to less than stable places and the getting there isn’t always easy, quick, or cheap.

My son is planning a career in paleontology. When he saw what I was reading, he told me to keep an eye out for ambulocetus, the “walking whale”, but I was only a couple of chapters in at that point, still learning some of the basics about basilosaurid whales who came a few million years later, and the path that might lead the author to new discoveries. It did, of course. Not necessarily following the book chronoly (because science isn’t so neat and linear), ambulocetus was followed by kutchicetus, remingtonocetids, and basilosaurids, and preceded by indohyus and pakicetus. Lots of new stuff here for me, and accessible without needing a paleontology degree first.

And for the paleontological science parts of the book (which is much of the book), we get a lot of detail. This isn’t confined to physiology, biology, ecology, and behaviour, although there’s plenty of that, but also shown through the methodology and science, and the advances in them over a couple of decades, used to work things out. Terminology and discussions are sometimes scientifically heavy, but Thewissen takes the time to make things clear and understandable, even if you’ve got little or none of the relevant scientific background going in.

There are plenty of illustrations and images, showing the key differences in the fossils discussed in the text, comparing measurements and dimensions, and sometimes even giving you an idea of what the creatures the author is discussing actually might have looked like.

The author’s personal experiences and emotions add a great deal to the story. He touches on his travels and field work in various physical locales through different political issues and climates, particularly at the whale museum in Taiji, Japan, negotiating with an elderly recluse in Pakistan, and his clear awareness of being a foreigner in some areas where that wasn’t always a safe thing to be.

There’s also an interesting side note about science versus science entertainment about how sometimes the storytelling trumps the science when you’re watching a documentary, particularly a paleontological one. Bit surprising, consider the entertainment world as I understand it, but still a little disappointing.

Overall rating: 4.5 stars. I love cetaceans, and maybe I can trace part of that to Star Trek IV, but I feel like I’ve always found them interesting. This book gives me some awesome insights into their evolution and into evolutionary processes in general. Quick, readable, and full of interest and information. If anything, the book needs to be longer and have more, but even Thewissen himself says near the end of the book that there’s still lots of work to be done.

And the book provides great evidence for transitional species if you could find a Creationist who would read it.

[Peter Krivas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone even mildly interested in the subject. A very concise and constantly entertaining book that documents the evolutionary transition of cetaceans from land to water. Thewissen transitions between adventurous tales of his travels to (sometimes dangerous) fossil dig locales in Pakistan and India back to the meat of the book, which is the animals themselves and the different stages they went through on their evolutionary journey. He effectively breaks down the detective work and scientific tools required to analyze how/where these different transitional creatures lived, what they ate and how they moved, from Pakicetus to Ambulocetus to the Protocetids. The book is also full of helpful charts and diagrams to aid the reader as well as beautiful illustrations of these early cetaceans. In this book Thewissen has very effectively documented the study of whale evolution from the field's beginning to the remarkable discoveries that have made it one of the best documented and understood evolutionary chains today.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say, and this is my own fault, that when Mr. Thewissen wrote about things like comparing the roots of different kinds of whales' teeth, I sort of drifted off. The quality of writing is fine, no problem there, but one has to have a little more of a scientific mind than I have to pages of teeth and ear comparisons. Don't let that put you off! You may well be more biologically inclined than I am. The parts I really liked were the autobiographical parts, his work in worn-torn areas and his dealings with other paleontologists.

Remember, a rating of three is still "I liked it." I especially enjoyed the proof that whales evolved from land animals, and I enjoyed visualizing whale ancestors fluffy and the size of raccoons.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years it was an accepted idea that whales evolved into sea-going creatures from terrestrial mammals, but physical evidence was scarce since so few fossils of ancient cetaceans were known. Then in 1991, while paleontologist Hans Thewissen was on a dig in Pakistan for unrelated land-dwelling mammals, he made a serendipitous discovery that not only began to fill in some of the holes in the fossil record, but also reveal the birthplace of whales. Thewissen's subsequent digs have unearthed even greater treasures. You need not be a paleontologist, biologist or anatomist to fully appreciate and devour this fascinating look at the latest discoveries in cetacean evolution.

[Riet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goed geschreven verhaal over de evolutie van walvissen van landdieren tot wat ze nu zijn. Lijkt taai, maar dat valt alles mee. Vooral interessant om te lezen hoe de paleontologen de moderne wetenschap gebruiken om hun conclusies te staven. Voor mij nieuw was, dat de meeste van deze fossielen uit Pakistan en India komen.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book explores the fossils that the author found that traced the evolution of whales from land to water.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I'm a sucker for fossils and fossil hunters. Following whales from deer and raccoon like ancestors to their present cetacean state was pretty cool.

[Rachel (Sfogs) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really interesting!