Review by Choice Review
This updated volume (CH, Apr'11, 48-4500) covers more than most field guides for living vertebrates and provides a rich diversity of essential information about the structure and life histories of dinosaurs. It commences with a history of dinosaur discovery and research studies about origin and extinction. A large section of the book is devoted to different dinosaur anatomies, and readers are given a textually rich account of the major groups. The author discusses basic anatomical information and specialized mechanisms, including respiration and circulation, and also explains how anatomists have used information to explore social activities and reproduction. Each section includes one or several black-and-white illustrations and a few color plates. Various systematic groups are described, and the specific fossil materials which characterize each group are noted. While the book is not a truly functional field guide, it provides the reader with a broad range of information on dinosaurs. The illustrations offer a sense of the basic structure and differences among diverse dinosaurs and how much information still needs to be learned. The loss of so much life from the world should help humans realize why conservation and preservation efforts must be increased for many of the present day animals and plants. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --David Bardack, University of Illinois at Chicago
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
