What do you think?
Rate this book
Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology
Detailed, concise information on the deer family's evolution, food habits, reproduction, anti-predator behavior, social behavior, dominance displays, and ecology makes DEER OF THE WORLD the most complete, up-to-date reference available on these intriguing animals. Each species' development is traced from prehistory to the present. 200 drawings.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 16, 2022
I read this book at the formative age of 18, and it continues to be the most cherished volume on my shelf. The scope of Deer of the World absolutely captivates me: paleontology, ethology, and anthropology brought together alongside gorgeous, dynamic illustrations. I was the weird kid in college who told people that this was my favorite book...but I seriously can't say enough about it.
As a teenager, what impressed me most was Geist’s ability to convey an enthralling 'evolutionary epic' for even familiar, suburbanite species. His evocative writing on how the white-tailed deer was forged in a predator-filled Pleistocene is one of my favorite accounts of the animal, and one I often share with those who view whitetails as redundant, commonplace, or pesky:
"To evade predators, white-tailed deer had to be able to avoid ambush, day or night, be concealed from sharp eyes and talons from the air, outrun sprinters such as the American cheetah or the giant bulldog bear, discourage long-distance runners such as the dire wolf, decoy away fawn killers, and fight off those that could be defeated with its limited weapons. And this had to be done in snow and ice, in blistering summer heat and stifling humidity, in torrential rain and mud, on days when wind obscured all sounds, and on overcast or moonless nights when vision all but failed."
Deer of the World was also transformative for my perception of human-wildlife relationships. Rather than concede to simple stories about the human past as a time of original innocence (ecological harmony) or original sin (innate invasiveness), Geist embraced the nuance of our transformative capabilities. He reveals how, just as much as deer fueled our success as a species, we contributed to theirs through ecosystem engineering.
What's more, Deer of the World is ahead of its time in compiling what we might call an account of 'more-than-human history.' I think of EO Wilson's (2016) quote that, "History is not a prerogative of the human species. In the living world there are millions of histories." Or Philip Loring's (2020) more recent reflection, "It’s not a bad thing, thinking the world is of us and for us, as long as we recognize that it is also of and for the lichen, the wildflowers, the fox, the bee orchid, and even the Charolais and Hereford cows." By bringing the history of Cervidae center stage Geist humbles us, showing that we are not the sole subjects of history, and helps us comprehend all that we owe to these remarkable, adaptable animals.
Geist's sweeping long-view of deep history translates to fascinating insights for our rapidly changing present. With great foresight, Geist does not claim that evolutionary history concluded with today’s Human Age, but notes, "Today we can see a North American fauna evolving...a young, species-poor fauna, poorly adapted to North America and to one another.” Here, he is referring to the suite of Siberian migrants - moose, elk, caribou, bighorns, wolverines, brown bears, and gray wolves - that entered the ecological vacuum left by the extinctions of America's Pleistocene megafauna, as late as 15,000 years ago. These newcomers show vulnerability where older endemics- white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, pronghorn, peccaries, black bears, pumas, raccoons, and coyotes - have shown adaptability. This contrast is perhaps most fascinating in the context of urbanization, a phenomenon others have commented on: notably the 1992 series The Velvet Claw, and Emma Marris' 2021 Wild Souls.
I will no doubt have more to add here, but worth noting that Dr. Darren Naish, who is incredibly well-versed in the zoological literature, has described Deer of the World as one of the books that most influenced him: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...
As a teenager, what impressed me most was Geist’s ability to convey an enthralling 'evolutionary epic' for even familiar, suburbanite species. His evocative writing on how the white-tailed deer was forged in a predator-filled Pleistocene is one of my favorite accounts of the animal, and one I often share with those who view whitetails as redundant, commonplace, or pesky:
"To evade predators, white-tailed deer had to be able to avoid ambush, day or night, be concealed from sharp eyes and talons from the air, outrun sprinters such as the American cheetah or the giant bulldog bear, discourage long-distance runners such as the dire wolf, decoy away fawn killers, and fight off those that could be defeated with its limited weapons. And this had to be done in snow and ice, in blistering summer heat and stifling humidity, in torrential rain and mud, on days when wind obscured all sounds, and on overcast or moonless nights when vision all but failed."
Deer of the World was also transformative for my perception of human-wildlife relationships. Rather than concede to simple stories about the human past as a time of original innocence (ecological harmony) or original sin (innate invasiveness), Geist embraced the nuance of our transformative capabilities. He reveals how, just as much as deer fueled our success as a species, we contributed to theirs through ecosystem engineering.
What's more, Deer of the World is ahead of its time in compiling what we might call an account of 'more-than-human history.' I think of EO Wilson's (2016) quote that, "History is not a prerogative of the human species. In the living world there are millions of histories." Or Philip Loring's (2020) more recent reflection, "It’s not a bad thing, thinking the world is of us and for us, as long as we recognize that it is also of and for the lichen, the wildflowers, the fox, the bee orchid, and even the Charolais and Hereford cows." By bringing the history of Cervidae center stage Geist humbles us, showing that we are not the sole subjects of history, and helps us comprehend all that we owe to these remarkable, adaptable animals.
Geist's sweeping long-view of deep history translates to fascinating insights for our rapidly changing present. With great foresight, Geist does not claim that evolutionary history concluded with today’s Human Age, but notes, "Today we can see a North American fauna evolving...a young, species-poor fauna, poorly adapted to North America and to one another.” Here, he is referring to the suite of Siberian migrants - moose, elk, caribou, bighorns, wolverines, brown bears, and gray wolves - that entered the ecological vacuum left by the extinctions of America's Pleistocene megafauna, as late as 15,000 years ago. These newcomers show vulnerability where older endemics- white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, pronghorn, peccaries, black bears, pumas, raccoons, and coyotes - have shown adaptability. This contrast is perhaps most fascinating in the context of urbanization, a phenomenon others have commented on: notably the 1992 series The Velvet Claw, and Emma Marris' 2021 Wild Souls.
I will no doubt have more to add here, but worth noting that Dr. Darren Naish, who is incredibly well-versed in the zoological literature, has described Deer of the World as one of the books that most influenced him: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...
Displaying 1 of 1 review