Lost World - by Tom Koppel (Paperback)

About the Book

In a captivating blend of extreme science and historical sleuthing, an award-winning journalist tells the intriguing story of the quest to discover who first settled in the New World--and how and when they did it. 8-pages of photos.

Book Synopsis

For decades the issue seemed moot. The first settlers, we were told, were big-game hunters who arrived from Asia at the end of the Ice Age some 12,000 years ago, crossing a land bridge at the Bering Strait and migrating south through an ice-free passage between two great glaciers blanketing the continent. But after years of sifting through data from diverse and surprising sources, the maverick scientists whose stories Lost World follows have found evidence to overthrow the "big-game hunter" scenario and reach a new and startling and controversial conclusion: The first people to arrive in North America did not come overland -- they came along the coast by water.
In this groundbreaking book, award-winning journalist Tom Koppel details these provocative discoveries as he accompanies the archaeologists, geologists, biologists, and paleontologists on their intensive search. Lost World takes readers under the sea, into caves, and out to the remote offshore islands of Alaska, British Columbia, and California to present detailed and growing evidence for ancient coastal migration. By accompanying the key scientists on their intensive investigations, Koppel brings to life the quest for that Holy Grail of New World prehistory: the first peopling of the Americas.

Review Quotes

"[A] spirited narrative that captures the adventure of doing research in...remote and exotic lands."
-- American Archeology

"A fascinating account of what we thought we knew about the past -- and really didn't."
-- Houston Chronicle

"Good science, great read."
-- Ian Tattersall, Curator, Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History

"Lost World interweaves the latest scientific findings with exciting new theories...captivating."
-- Tucson Citizen