The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives

Here's a book for cat lovers, but those who prefer good hard science to the warm and fuzzy feline tomes. While very readable, not to mention beautifully and lavishly illustrated, The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives is a serious and intelligent look at how today's lions, tigers, and other cat species are linked to their ancient and extinct ancestors. The way cats have evolved over 25 million years, and the descriptions of feline behavior, both ancient and present, will intrigue animal lovers in general, and not just cat people.

Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the science of the history of life. Paleobiologists bring many analytical tools to bear in interpreting the fossil record and the book introduces the latest techniques, from multivariate investigations of biogeography and biostratigraphy to engineering analysis of dinosaur skulls, and from homeobox genes to cladistics.