Reviews

Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America by Craig Childs

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winglady's review against another edition

5.0

As always, Craig Childs takes the reader on an amazing journey back in time and links it in an entertaining manner to today's world. Bonus: his writing style is exquisite!

cradlow's review against another edition

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informative reflective

5.0

mozzieslayer5000's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book is wonderful. Childs somehow seamlessly intertwines his own journey through America with that of those first people to travel there, creating a highly education but also deeply human exploration of the peopling of the Americas. Anyone interested in history, anthropology, or doing some good, soul-deep self-reflection should pick this one up for a read. Something about it changed my whole life.

simlish's review against another edition

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4.0

Really fun and packed with information. Super readable. Great illustrations.

ptrevs's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

I could see what the author was trying to do for this book, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. Basically it’s half first person adventure travelogue, half well-researched and well-informed pop history. Unfortunately they don’t quite cross over as well as the author was trying to do - it basically boils down to “imagine if there was a lake and mammoths here”
- cool the first time, a little repetitive after. This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it just didn’t all fit together.

plaidpladd's review against another edition

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5.0

Count megafauna as one of my interests now and forever! I really liked this book. It's partly the history of the earliest humans in North America and partly the author's travels to those same sites (mostly on foot or by kayak) and how they have changed in the last 15,000 years. The subject matter is really interesting, and the writing is very well-done. The parts about Florida made me vaguely homesick even though nothing described is pleasant ("Snakes dropping out of trees? Lol, yeah, you're gonna get snakes dropping out of trees"). Also I'm really pleased to know about the oldest-known human poop in North America.