The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life

Product Details

The Chengjiang biota is one of the most remarkable fossil discoveries ever made. The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang is the first book in English to provide fossil enthusiasts with an overview of the fauna.

• 100 superb full color plates.
  
• First English language illustrated guide to this important fauna.
  
• A must-have for all palaeontologists worldwide.

To see a collection of images from the book, click on the following link: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/chengjiang

Customer Reviews ::

Stunning and Disappointing - axeeugene - Minneapolis-Saint Paul
This review is written from the perspective of a layperson; I have no formal training in the sciences, let alone any expertise in paleontology. Please take what follows with that in mind.

Over the last year and a half I have read all the books on the Burgess Shale-type lagerstatte I could find. These include Stephen Jay Gould's "Wonderful Life", Simon Conway Morris's "The Crucible of Creation", and "The Fossils of the Burgess Shale" by Derek Briggs, et al. Of these three, "The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang China" is most like the last. It is more a photographic and taxonomic survey of these ancient fossils than it is a study of modes of life at the time. There is little discussion in the text regarding the possible relationships between organisms presented, and minimal explanation of how researchers have arrived at the conclusions they have about each fossil. Because of this, I find "The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang China" a disappointment.

As a layperson, I am searching for a deeper understanding of how the researchers engaged in this important and fascinating work do their jobs. What knowledge, understanding, skill, artistry, theory, and simple good fortune does it take to make decisions, for example, about the affinities between arthropods like Kunmingella and Isoxys, for one? Couldn't the authors have taken us through this process, to provide us with opportunities to think? Absent any discussion on such subjects, the book fails to keep me interested, and I feel like I'm not learning as much as I should be. It becomes a pretty picture book.

I've found the law of diminishing returns has been operating for me in this endeavor. The most interesting and engaging of these books has been Gould's (and yes, there are errors and missteps in his work, but it is also the most expansive and carefully explanatory), with Conway Morris's a distant second (though obviously more *accurate*). The photos in Briggs, et al. are wonderful, and really help to enlighten a study of the prior two texts, but they are all in black and white.

It is in the photography, then, where "The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang China" absolutely shines. These photographic plates are all in color, and there are many dozens! One could easily lose hours just staring and the images and saying, "WOW!" I know I have. Being able to see these pictures up close is a treat. I am especially happy with the pictures of the lobopods, the phylum to which mystery animal Hallucigenia belongs. Many mysteries become clearer thanks to that section. The images alone *almost* make the high price tag worth it.

I offer a conditional recommendation for this text. If you are a student of the Cambrian and have read at least one of the other texts mentioned above, I believe you will enjoy this. But remember, if you are a layperson you might be frustrated by the text's lack of detailed context, and you'll be faced with reading many almost impenetrably jargoned sentences like the following: "Distal to the basis, the endopod consists of seven podomeres including a distal claw. At least in the larger appendages the basis and proximal two podomeres each have and endite with spines. The exopod is attached to the basis, and at least the proximal part of the first podomere of the endopod." This gets tiring after a while, even for a relatively well-educated person like me.

This is a beautiful book, and informative to people with a background in paleontology or biology. It fits well next to the other texts mentioned. I'm glad I have it. Even so, I'm less pleased than I'd hoped I would be.

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