The Fate of the Mammoth: Fossils, Myth, and History

Rating:
Summary: History of Science more than Mammoths
Review: This book was not really what I had in mind, but I ended up enjoying it anyway. I was looking to find out more about mammoths, but the book only touched on the actual natural history of mammoths in a limited way. There were so many other revelations, though: people finding mammoth bones at one time thought they were "sports of nature", spontaneously produced by the generative capacities of the earth and not representing any living creature. Mammoth bones are the origin of many giant myths. In Siberia, mammoth bones would seem to burst up from the ground with the thaw, leading to a belief that they were from a burrowing creature that would die on exposure to light. The book was dense and slow reading, but I've found myself relating things I learned in this book to many people since finishing it. I guess it goes to show you sometimes find good things by accident...