Ghost stories -- Ecological anachronisms and their missing partners -- Megafaunal dispersal syndrome -- Advancing the theory -- Fruitful longing -- Extreme anachronisms -- Armaments from another era -- Who are the ghosts? -- Consequences -- Great work.

Ecological science is changing because of a recent discovery: Every field, forest, and park is full of living organisms adapted for relationships with creatures that have long been extinct. In this book, the author shows how this idea of "missing partners" in nature evolved from isolated, curious examples into an idea that is transforming how ecologists understand the entire flora and fauna of the Americas. Barlow's report on a scientific program in its infancy puts the cutting edge of evolutionary thought within the grasp of any amateur naturalist. This book connects modern parks, supermarket produce sections, and even shopping-mall parking lots with remnants of the elephants, camels, giant sloths, rhinos, and lions that once roamed North America.