Cambrian Ocean World: Ancient Sea Life Of North America (life Of The Past) [Hardcover]

The Cambrian is our origination story; the species fossilized in the rocks are our founding fathers. We can follow their story (and ours) through more than half a billion years of time.

Told with a wry humor, the odd pop cultural/sci-fi reference, and personal anecdotes, Foster does a great job in making this an enjoyable read and bringing the Cambrian to us. An alien world istransformed before our eyes into one that is increasingly more familiar. Although written for general readers, students and researchers of paleontology may also benefit from this volume.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Natural Mystic: An Introduction to the Cambrian
2. Into The Heart: Cambrian Geology
3. A Long Strange Trip: The First 4000 Million Years of Earth History
4. Welcome To The Boomtown: The Early Cambrian Seas
5. On Top Of The World: The Middle Cambrian Begins
6. Magical Mystery Tour: The Biological Psychedelia of the Burgess Shale
7. Glory Days: The Later Middle Cambrian
8. Taking Off: The Late Cambrian
9. Home By The Sea: A Closer Look
10. On And On: Legacy of the Explosion
Appendix
Glossary
Notes and References
Index

Based on a chronological transect of the Cambrian and the Cambrian radiation, and bringing in expert knowledge from researchers around the globe, Foster revels in details and thereby exposes his most profound interest - and love - of past life and palaeontology. The result is a staggering 432 pages of delight - containing a lot of information, combined with many beautiful illustrations and figures. . . .This volume leaves you with a lasting impression and is, in my opinion, at present . . . definitely the best introductory textbook within its field. It is clearly worth reading.The Cambrian is passionately profiled in Cambrian Ocean World, part of the 'Life of the Past' series. Foster . . . has spent several decades collecting Cambrian fossils in the western US. His book is both a comprehensivel32