THE EDGE OF MEMORY: ANCIENT STORIES, ORAL TRADITION AND THE POST-GLACIAL WORLD
Book ID/图书代码： 02000018C00002
English Summary/英文概要： We all know those stories that have been told in our families for generations.
The ones that start ‘Have I ever told you about your great, great Uncle …?’ In
some cultures these stories have been passed down for thousands of years,
and often reveal significant information about how the surrounding environment
has changed and the effect it has had on societies – from stories referring to
coastal drowning to the devastation caused by meteorite falls.
Using Australia as a springboard, this book explores the science in folk history.
It looks at other ancient tales and traditions that may in all probability be rooted
in scientifically verifiable fact, and can be explored via geological evidence, such
as the Biblical Flood.
Nowadays the majority of our historical knowledge comes from the written
word, but in The Edge of Memory, Patrick Nunn explores the largely untapped
resource of the collective human memory that is held in stories. This important
book explores the wider implications for our knowledge of how human society
has developed through the millennia.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 我们都知道那些世代相传的故事，所有的故事都以“我有没有跟你提到过你的曾曾伯父……”开篇。在某些文化中，这些故事已经流传了数千年，而且往往揭示了有关周围环境如何变化及其对社会的影响的重要信息——从有关沿海溺水的故事到陨石坠落造成的破坏。
本书以澳大利亚为跳板，探索了民间传说中蕴含的科学。书中还介绍了其他古老的故事和传统，它们都有植根于科学可证实的事实，并且可以通过地质证据来佐证，例如《圣经》中的大洪水。
如今，我们大部分的历史知识都来自于文字记录，但是在《记忆的边缘中》，帕特里克•纳恩探索了故事中人类集体记忆中大部分未被开发的资源。这部重要的作品探讨了人类社会几千年里知识发展中蕴涵的更为广泛的含义。（XMM）
Awards/获奖情况：“......对地球遥远的过去的观点集出乎意料，又论据充足。——《科克斯书评》
“在传统和土著民间故事和充满科学价值的知识对在洪水、海岸线移动和其他环境变化的影响方面，本书做出了重要的贡献。换句话说，信息可以帮助我们学会适应未来的威胁。”——《生态观察》
“在这本包罗万象的巨著中，纳恩汇集了地质学、人类学、考古学、语言学、历史学和地理学的证据，使我们共同注意到许多土著人口头相传中经久不衰的神话和传说。如果你关心地球的未来，关心我们在地球上的生存，《记忆的边缘》则是一本必读的作品。”——克里斯吉布森，主编，澳大利亚地理学家，澳大利亚伍伦贡大学地理学教授
“纳恩的作品是最近一系列研究中的新兴宝石，通过地质验证，人类的口头传说往往可以追溯到一万多年前的真实事件。他指出，这种基于事实的古老故事，通常被认为是“神话而已”，发生在世界各地。这本书写得引人入胜，是必读佳作。我简直爱不释手。”——Rita Compatangelo-Soussignan，法国勒芒大学古代史教授
“. . . a surprising, well-supported perspective on Earth’s distant past.” ―Kirkus
"An important look at how traditional and indigenous folk stories and knowledge are full of valuable science about floods, shifting coastlines and other changing environments--in other words, information that can help us learn to adapt to future threats." - EcoWatch
“In this sweeping, masterful volume, Nunn stitches together evidence from geology, anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, history and geography to bring to our collective attention the many durable myths and legends of Indigenous oral traditions. If you care about the future of the planet, and our survival on it, The Edge of Memory is a must-read book.” ―Chris Gibson, Editor-in-Chief, Australian Geographer, and Professor of Geography, University of Wollongong, Australia
“Nunn’s book is the newest jewel in the recent chain of research showing, through geological verification, that human oral traditions often record real events back 10,000 years and more. He shows that such ancient fact-bearing stories, usually dismissed as “just myths”, occur the world around. The book is an engagingly written must-read: I couldn’t put it down.” ―Elizabeth Wayland Barber, co-author of When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth
“A very important book that shows how non-literate people preserved their observations of memorable events for as much as ten millennia, and their recollections can also help us to face the challenges of environmental changes today.” ―Rita Compatangelo-Soussignan, Professor of Ancient History at Le Mans University, France
About the Author/作者介绍： 帕特里克•纳恩在伦敦大学获得博士学位后，在斐济的南太平洋国际大学从事了25年的教学和研究工作。1996年，他在那里被被任命为海洋地球科学教授。2010年，他移居澳大利亚，在新英格兰大学工作。2014年3月，他被任命为阳光海岸大学可持续发展研究中心的研究教授。
帕特里克发表了230多篇经过同行评议的出版物，其中包括几本书，例如《消失的岛屿和隐藏的太平洋大陆》（夏威夷大学出版社），该书在2009年被美国图书馆协会评为大学出版社最佳图书之一。
Patrick Nunn received his PhD from the University of London before spending
25 years teaching and researching at the international University of the South
Pacific, based in Fiji, where he was appointed Professor of Oceanic Geoscience
in 1996. He moved to Australia in 2010 to work at the University of New England
before being appointed in March 2014 to a research professorship in the
Sustainability Research Centre at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Patrick has more than 230 peer-reviewed publications to his credit, including
several books, including Vanished Islands and Hidden Continents of the
Pacific (University of Hawai’i Press), which was named by the American Library
Association as one of the Best of the Best from the University Presses in 2009.
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Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE
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