Tim Flannery (1) (1956–)

Why do kangaroos hop? It sounds like the start to a marsupial joke. Tim Flannery wants to tell you the punch line. Chasing Kangaroos is a fun exploration into the evolution of kangaroos all the way up to the extinction of Australia's megaflora. Flannery will explain the journey of kangaroos across the planet as Europeans brought them to places like London and Hawaii. Royalty wanted them as exotic pets to roam their palace grounds. Flannery's style of explanation makes every kangaroo-related show more subject matter interesting and entertaining. I found myself pondering facts like the footbones of animals, kangaroo chromosomes, why some kangaroos do not hop, why some kangaroos live in trees, and how they are related to the possum. I know more about the male anatomy of a kangaroo than I ever wanted to know. For male readers, heads up. Flannery will urge you to trace your own male anatomy for evidence of ancestral evolution of the scrotum before the penis. You're welcome.
At the end of Chasing Kangaroos Flannery ends on a hopeful note, speculating that some species previously thought extinct might actually still be around. show less

Mammologist and paleontologist Flannery (The Eternal Frontier), who in recent years has become well known for his controversial ideas on conservation, the environment and population control, presents a straightforward and powerfully written look at the connection between climate change and global warming. It's destined to become required reading following Hurricane Katrina as the focus shifts to the natural forces that may have produced such a devastating event. Much of the book's success is show more rooted in Flannery's succinct and fascinating insights into related topics, such as the differences between the terms greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change, and how the El Ni?o cycle of extreme climatic events "had a profound re-organising effect on nature." But the heart of the book is Flannery's impassioned look at the earth's "colossal" carbon dioxide pollution problem and his argument for how we can shift from our current global reliance on fossil fuels [...]. Flannery consistently produces the hard goods related to his main message that our environmental behavior makes us all "weather makers" who "already possess all the tools required to avoid catastrophic climate change." show less

I only had one problem with this collection of Australian exploration fragments...each snippet of diary or memoir left me wanting more.

This is a well-chosen collection of accounts from diverse viewpoints. I especially liked the rare Aboriginal account, seeing how different in tone they were from the typical European story-telling template.

I always knew the Australian outback was an unforgiving environment, but these accounts brought this home in a more personal way. Likewise, I knew that show more Aborigines had been treated badly, but was viscerally shocked at one of the few accounts from a woman and her casual description of the abduction of an Aboriginal woman - presumably for a servant. You can't just steal people!

The final account was well chosen - the end of an era for several reasons. The book has left me with much to think on and much to explore. show less

United States History courses tend to make much out of a little; after all, the United States of America is not even yet 250 years old. But North America is far older.

Tim Flannery provides the ultimate in American history in The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples, covering 65 million years from the Chicxulub asteroid impact until the modern day.

As an ecological history, the work focuses on what we have learned about the flora and fauna, especially the show more fauna, of the North American continent. It is believed said continent has moved a lot, expanded its boundaries, had inland seas come and go, watched a few mountain ranges rise and fall - and of greater consequence, came into contact with Eurasia, broke off contact with Eurasia, and connected with South America.

Thus the narrative describes the ascent of mammals after the asteroid impact and plant development; Eurasian migrants to North America, with a couple of key North Americans immigrating to Europe, including the horse; eventual isolation from Eurasia, and eventual contact with South America, and how many more species traveled north from South America than vice versa, including most of our migratory birds.

The big story more recently involved Ice Ages, the development of the American megafauna, and the eventual death of the megafauna, most likely at the hands of early Indigenous people. The author is very committed to the Clovis people as the first Indigenous Americans; one can only wonder what he would make of the most recent evidence suggesting the presence of people well before 13,000 years ago.

According to the author, North America has never really gotten over the end of its megafauna. Sure, Indigenous people persevere for generations afterward, but such explains why the bison became so important as the last remnant of the megafauna. And then the Europeans arrived with all kinds of new exchanges.

The last two centuries in particular have been nothing but a disaster ecologically for North America, well exemplified by the author in terms of the stories of the passenger pigeon and the bison. Resources which developed over long periods of time have been quickly exploited and extracted.

Those who may find the millions of years a difficult prospect to entertain can do well imagining it all happening over a shorter time, or as a heritage imbued in the rock from its creation. What should not be missed is the story we can read from the ecological heritage of North America. The geography of North America means it experiences climate change more sharply and violently than other parts of the world; we should not be surprised if our climate varies more sharply and violently over the next few generations. North America will remain resilient; its present flora and fauna, however, maybe not so much.

This is an interesting read in order to get a fuller picture of the heritage of North America. show less