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The Edge of Memory
- The Geology of Folk Tales and Climate Change
- Narrated by: Peter Silverleaf
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
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Publisher's Summary
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. Among the most extensive and best analysed of these stories are from native Australian cultures.
People arrived in Australia more than 60,000 years ago, and the need to survive led to the development of knowledge that was captured orally in stories passed down through the generations. These stories conveyed both practical information and recorded history, and they frequently made reference to a coastline that was very different to the one we recognise today. In at least 21 different communities along the fringe of Australia, flood stories were recorded by European anthropologists, missionaries and others.
It’s only relatively recently that these stories have been recognised as more or less the same. They described a lost landscape that is now under as much as 100 feet of ocean. And these folk traditions are backed up by hard science. Geologists are now starting to corroborate the tales through study of climatic data, sediments and land forms; the evidence was there in the stories, but until recently, nobody was listening.
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.
What listeners say about The Edge of Memory
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- Anonymous User
- 16-10-2018
Intriguing and revealing
exposed a living, breathing planet with credible ancient folklore, enthusiastic narrator a little too quick for full comprehension
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- Anonymous User
- 21-01-2019
Amazing book, narrator didn't do his research.
This is an incredible read. The narrator mispronounced almost every noun in the book. This aside the book is a must read for anyone interested in history and anthropology.
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- Daniel Kearns
- 13-03-2024
The sheer wonder of memory
Loved it. This work was full of extraordinary information which could very easily be applied to other fields of study relating to the significance of oral history (memory in understanding the creation of biblical texts.) Viking sagas etc. I think this is necessary study for school children having been an important and Ancient History Teacher for 40 years; every one a sheer pleasure.
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- Rosemary Noble
- 28-08-2019
Ill-informed narrator
Most interesting story, but the narrator let it down. Considering that a majority of the examples used throughout are Australian, I would expect the narrator to be able to pronounce accurately Australian place names. At the very least the audio producer should have ensured this in rehearsal or by coaching. The examples I refer to are numerous, but some words that made me wince included mis-pronunciations of Nullarbor, Nepean, Bathurst, Warrnambool ( okay this one is a bit trickier), Mt Gambier - the list goes on.
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