Sunday, October 8, 2017

Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved – Book Review


Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved
by Darren Naish and Paul Barrett

I am writingless because this dinosaur book is too good to exist. But I will do it anyway because you need to know about (and read) this before you die.

Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved is simply a must-have for anyone who would like to learn about these amazing creatures which include the world-famous, ferocious-looking Tyrannosaurus and the rhino-like, ornament-headed Triceratops. I repeat: it is a MUST-HAVE. This book teaches dinosaurology in a fun and engaging manner: the writing is really absorbing and keeps you hooked throughout the book. The co-authors, I'd say, are teaching masters and they do great work in using language that is varied, but easy to understand. They also do not use a lot of technical terms in such a way that I believe this book will suit those who even have a very limited knowledge of dinosaurs.The fact that there are 'only' six chapters in this book, which discuss topics ranging from dinosaur physiology to the origin of birds, shouldn't mislead you: the amount of information stored in it is tremendous. This book is also equipped with a great many fantastic illustrations which definitely will help you gain a better understanding of the subject.

In my opinion, the cover, which shows a Giganotosaurus gaping its mouth in a menacing posture, looks cool, although the co-author Darren Naish seems to be not quite satisfied with it (watch Darren talk about the book here).

For your information, aside from the NHM version (which is shown in the picture above), Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved was also published by Smithsonian Books with no difference in contents.

Have you read Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved? What do you think of this book? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

The second edition, published by the Natural History Museum on September 6, 2018, can be purchased here. Check Darren's article to get an idea of how it differs from its predecessor.

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