Coming Home to the Pleistocene Summary and Reviews

Coming Home to the Pleistocene
by Paul Shepard

Coming Home to the Pleistocene
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Book Summary Information

Author: Paul Shepard
Editor: Florence R. Shepard
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-01
ISBN: 1559635894
Number of pages: 206
Publisher: Island Press

Book Reviews of Coming Home to the Pleistocene

Book Review: A Feast of Important Ideas
Summary: 5 Stars

Paul Shepard was a brilliant ecologist and an amazing original thinker. His final book is one of the most important contributions to the Earth Crisis discussion. It combines the best ideas from "The Tender Carnivore," "The Others," and "Nature and Madness." It leaves out his clunky ideas, and it's fairly easy to read. This book is a condensed version of the cream of Shepard's life work -- his masterpiece. Shepard died shortly after finishing it, so his wife did the editing cycle. Consequently, this is the most readable of his books.

In a nutshell, he sees that we are genetically wild animals from the Pleistocene. Our genes expect us to be living a leisured life in the wilderness, in small bands, eating wild foods. We are not designed to thrive in cities, eating [bad] foods, in overcrowded conditions. Living in the modern world destroys our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Shepard takes us on a fascinating voyage through human history, with extended discussions of plant and animal domestication, and the horror that these grave mistakes brought to humankind. He recommends beginning the voyage back to a Pleistocene way of life. Shepard has done his homework, and this book is filled with provocative and head-spinning ideas. If you want to know WHY we got to where we are today, this book is a treasure chest.

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