BOOKS and ART by MARK and MARISA RENZ

Mailing Address: 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936

Phone: 239-368-3252 fossilx@earthlink.net


Our web sites include:
PaleoPress.net for books, Fossil Expeditions guide service,
Megalodon Expeditions guide service, and Florida Time Forgot (nature photography)





Paperback book - Black and white edition


Author: Mark Renz
Illustrators: Walter Hunt, Dan Varner, Todd Marshall, Rob Sula, Marisa Renz, Kyle Kirby
Publisher: PaleoPress
Signed copies available.
170 pages. Includes close to 400 images, in black & white.
Price: 29.95 plus 5.00 shipping (U.S. only) and 6 percent sales tax (1.50) for Florida residents. Use PayPal below or send check or money order to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33972. Or for credit card orders, call 239-368-3252.




NOTE:
The black & white edition is 29.95, plus $5 shipping (U.S. only) and 6% sales tax of $1.50 for Florida residents, as described above. The former 32-page color insert is now in black and white, as is the rest of the book. These are new books in great condition.

PLUS - We still have a few of the earlier editions with a 32-page color insert. The rest of the book is black and white. These are new books in great condition. The price is $49.95, plus $5 shipping (U.S. only) and 6% sales tax of $2.50 for Florida residents, only available by calling us at 239-368-3252. We also have damaged versions of this '32-page color insert' edition for $29.95, plus $5 shipping (U.S. only) and 6% sales tax for Florida residents, by calling us at 239-368-3252. If asked, author will gladly sign the book at no extra charge.


How does a shark grow 40 to 60 feet in length? Why would it need to? What sharks were its ancestors? What could possibly bring about its extinction? Or is this beast still out there somewhere in the vastness of our deepest seas, feeding on whales and giant squids, but leaving no trace of its activities?

* 48 international sites where you can search for Meg teeth
* The controversial rise and fall of Meg
* Terror index: Was Meg the baddest of the bad?
* Rumored Meg sightings
* 390 illustrations and photos


From the Forewords and Introductions:


"...The ultimate terror of the waters, sixty feet long, and just as predaceous in its behavior as the modern great white shark, was good old C. megalodon. Now, Mark Renz, who writes so well about Florida fossils, has given it its proper due. I hope you, the reader, enjoy this account as much as I have." --S. David Webb, Distinguished Research Curator of Fossil Vertebrates, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

"...It is unusually refreshing to have a combination of total fantasy and scientific accuracy. Mark Renz has a compulsive style of writing and has sought some of the most respected authorities available, to ensure this book is both up to date and scientifically credible." --David J. Ward, Fossil shark researcher and co-author of "Fossils"

"...In this beautifully illustrated book, Mark Renz has faithfully captured the sense of awe and discovery that accompanies finding and studying megalodon fossils. More importantly, he has been able to condense the arcane discussions of scientists to a manageable level of complexity, while maintaining a sense of wonder at the richness and complexity of the world around us." Bretton W. Kent, Author of "Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region", and faculty member, College of Life Sciences at the University of Maryland at College Park

"Mark Renz is back with "Supershark." And does he have some stories to tell!" --Edward Morris, reviewer for BookPage and ForeWord

"Forget T-rex and the rest of his dino-pals. If you want to read about the number one monster of all time, read this book." --Steve Alten, novelist, "Meg" and "The Trench"





Paperback Book

"Desert Sharks"

(paperback)


"Desert Sharks" is $19.95, plus $5 shipping in U.S., (add 6% sales tax for Florida residents.)

Author: Mark Renz

Publisher: PaleoPress

Release date: August, 2009

Call 239-368-3252 to order by credit card, or send check to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Ave., Lehigh Acres, FL 33972.

Please do not send your credit card number by e-mail.

FOR MORE PHOTOS, click here, CLICK HERE







Did great white sharks evolve from makos or the mighty C. megalodon? How do researchers trace the great white's evolutionary path? What makes the deserts of Peru the perfect place for uncovering clues? What can such finds teach us, not only about ancient marine life, but ourselves?

Armed with a camera and an abundance of curiosity, paleo prospector Mark Renz joins Peruvian paleontologists on a journey into one of the driest regions on Earth, searching for big sharks and their food sources. At an elevation of 2,100 feet above sea level, the group discovers articulated primitive whales, dolphins and seals eroding away on the desert floor. The preservation is so remarkable that the impression of baleen in a 35 ft. whale is still perfectly intact. Through an unusual search method, Renz comes face-to- teeth with the a 10 million year-old mako shark.

There's science and old bones here, yes. But none of it is dry.

"DESERT SHARKS" 200 pg. PAPERBACK BOOK is vintage Renz: light but tasty science, sprinkled with a slightly warped view of the world. Includes several hundred black & white photos of fossil sharks, whales, dolphins and seals exposed in the desert, plus an ID section tracing the evolutionary path of an extinct mako shark as it slowly transforms into our contemporary great white. Renz takes the time to get to know his host country's proud people and affectionate canines, and leaves with a healthy respect for the nobility and warmth of both. PRICE: $19.95, plus $3 shipping in U.S., 6% additional for Florida residents.


FOREWORDS

A stunning feast for the eyes and imagination..."Desert Sharks" is more than just a tale of fossils, it is commentary on the human condition, one of ongoing wanderlust, adventure, and the quest for discovery. --Charles N. Ciampaglio, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Geology, Wright State University

Mark Renz has captured the spirit of these desert hills and brought to life in words and photographs the sharks, whales, and other animals that once inhabited the long-absent marine waters - and he has given long-overdue credit to the Peruvian paleontologists responsible for writing many of the chapters in the unfinished Pisco paleo-narrative. --Dr. Thomas DeVries, Associate, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA.

An excellent job... Mark Renz supports his work with scientific data and reveals the great potential Peru has for future exploration and study. The photographs alone are spectacular. --Dr. Gordon Hubbell, shark researcher

Mark Renz captures the passion that compels professionals and amateurs alike to explore the unknown and to unearth the past. --Sean B. Carroll, author of "Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species"




Paperback book


Author: Mark Renz
Illustrator: Marisa Renz
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Signed copies available through PaleoPress.
Price: 19.95 plus 5.00 shipping (U.S. only) and 6 percent sales tax (.90) for Florida residents. Send check or money order to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33972. Or for credit card orders, call 239-368-3252.






Paperback book


* Over 250 photos of author's Florida fossil finds, including sharks, whales, dolphins, mammoths, mastodons, sloths, camels, alligators, and horses.
* Shows where to look, how and when to look, and how to preserve your finds.
* Informative, humorous, written in layperson's words

For more information click here

 Author: Mark Renz
Illustrator: Marisa Renz
Publisher: PaleoPress
Release date: May 1, 2005

Paperback book, 263 pages, 800 B&W photos


Price: $24.95 plus 5.00 shipping/handling, and 6% sales tax for Florida residents. Send check to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Ave., Lehigh Acres, FL 33972, or call 239-368-3252 for credit card phone order.



FOR MORE PHOTOS AND INFO, CLICK HERE






Paperback book, 263 pages, 800 B&W photos


Avocational paleontologist Mark Renz stumbles onto a 500,000 year-old ancient Florida river bed and discovers dozens of skeletons of lumbering mammoth and mastodon elephants, bull-size ground sloths, llamas, old-world horses, pig-like peccaries, primitive wolves and deer. The discovery triggers many questions. Was it a major storm, flood, drought or plague that killed so many creatures at once? Or do their bones represent one animal dying every ten years for thousands of years? What signs do scientists look for to determine cause and time of death? What are the ethical considerations for amateur fossil hunters who come across such a site? How do you determine who to contact and how to excavate if given permission? Nearly 800 field photos offer tantalizing clues about how these animals lived and died.

From the Foreword: "All of the dedication and hard work by Renz and his crew, so richly displayed in these pages, has paid off bountifully in fossils from an interval of geologic time that was previously poorly known in Florida. Thanks to them, we now know much more than we did before about the animals that lived in Southwest Florida approximately 500,000 years ago." -- Dr. Richard C. Hulbert, Jr., Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager, Florida Museum of Natural History

FOR MORE PHOTOS AND INFORMATION, CLICK HERE





Large Print

Large Print


Artist: Marisa Renz


Publisher: PaleoPress

"Showing Reverence". Limited edition pencil rendering on high quality linen paper, 18" x 21.5". Modern artifact hidden in print.


Price: $19.95 plus 5.00 shipping/handling, and 6% sales tax for Florida residents.

Send check to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Ave., Lehigh Acres, FL 33972,
or call 239-368-3252 for credit card phone order.

Please do not send your credit card number by e-mail.







6"X9" Full color paperback book, 100 pages


Author/Photographer: Mark Renz
Publisher: PaleoPress
Signed copies available
Price: 19.95 plus 5.00 shipping (U.S. only) and 6 percent Florida state sales tax (.60) for Florida residents. Send check or money order to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936. Or for credit card orders, call 239-368-3252.







6"X9" Full color paperback book, 100 pages ("low resolution" entire book viewable. Click Here.). Remember, the photo quality has been intentionally downgraded to keep this file small. The book version is full resolution and sharp.

In “Naturally Twisted: A Wild Look At The Wild,” Mark Renz takes to SW Florida's woods and wetlands, wielding his camera like a poet's point-and-shoot. The world Renz sees is sometimes more realistic than reality and more dreamy than our imaginations. He creates stories of what-ifs and why-nots. He dances with life and plays with its moods. He sees patterns within patterns and colors within colors, inhaling and exhaling as if he gets it. Which of course, he'll tell you he doesn't. But he sure has fun trying. --Selfie description

FROM THE FOREWORDS:

Mark Renz's gift is helping us to see Florida for the first time, as if it were conceived in the realms of fantasy, intimacy, mysticism and exhilaration. --Billy Cox, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

"I’ve known Mark for more than 20 years, have been fossil hunting with him (scuba diving and wading in creeks) and have interviewed him many times. One thing is for sure: He knows his way around the paleo-world as well as any professor in paleontology. With this book, it’s obvious that his eye for photography matches his eye for old bones." --Kevin Lollar, Environmental/Science Reporter (retired), Fort Myers News-Press








6"X9" Full color paperback book, 113 pages


Author/Photographer: Mark Renz
Publisher: PaleoPress
Signed copies available
Price: 19.95 plus 5.00 shipping (U.S. only) and 6 percent Florida state sales tax (.60) for Florida residents. Send check or money order to PaleoPress, 213 Lincoln Avenue, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936. Or for credit card orders, call 239-368-3252.






6"X9" Full color paperback book, 114 pages ("low resolution" entire book viewable. Click Here.). Remember, the photo quality has been intentionally downgraded to keep this file small. The book version is full resolution and sharp.

“Naturally Twisted Too” is a follow-up companion to "Naturally Twisted: A Wild Look At The Wild." Once again, Mark Renz takes a detour around reality with his camera and poet's pen. He looks for what's there and what could be there in Florida's hidden creeks, oak hammocks, cypress swamps and open grasslands. What he brings to the reader is a better sense of the real Florida and our place in it.

FROM THE FOREWORD:

Mark has an exceptional eye to recognize and capture intriguing wildlife antics that sometimes border on fantasy: A brown thrasher taking a sand bath, a young wood stork learning to fly and a butterfly seemingly chasing its own shadow. Mark likes to surprise and confuse us by framing a boat's wake that looks more like a waterfall, or by focusing on a piece of floating driftwood that might be mistaken for an alligator's eye poking up through the water.

He also includes very different and engaging kinds of prose with each image. Sometimes he just describes curious wildlife behavior. Or he uses rhymes and even doggerel. An example of whimsy is a bedraggled giant swallowtail in flight with the message to fly on, regardless of your physical limitations. His image of a horse-riding cowboy with a cell phone pressed to his ear might suggest the rider suffers from “impending nature-deficit disorder.” But Mark sees the humorous side. His caption is, “Why cowboy accidents are on the rise.”

A recurring theme with his landscapes, especially of rivers and trees, is to encourage us to enjoy, be inspired by, and respect nature. In these things, Mark excels.

--Thomas L. Poulson, Naturalist, Emeritus Professor of Ecology and Evolution, and a friend to www.LoxahatcheeFriends.com.










Our web sites include:
PaleoPress.net for books, Fossil Expeditions guide service,
Megalodon Expeditions guide service, and Florida Time Forgot (nature photography)