The Complete Dinosaur (Life of the Past) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253357012 ISBN 13: 9780253357014

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Praise for the first edition:

"A gift to serious dinosaur enthusiasts" ―Science

"The amount of information in [these] pages is amazing. This book should be on the shelves of dinosaur freaks as well as those who need to know more about the paleobiology of extinct animals. It will be an invaluable library reference." ―American Reference Books Annual

"An excellent encyclopedia that serves as a nice bridge between popular and scholarly dinosaur literature." ―Library Journal (starred review)

"Copiously illustrated and scrupulously up-to-date... the book reveals dinos through the fractious fields that make a study of them." ―Publishers Weekly

"Stimulating armchair company for cold winter evenings.... Best of all, the book treats dinosaurs as intellectual fun." ―New Scientist

"The book is useful both as a reference and as a browse-and-enjoy compendium." ―Natural History

What do we know about dinosaurs, and how do we know it? How did dinosaurs grow, move, eat, and reproduce? Were they warm-blooded or cold-blooded? How intelligent were they? How are the various groups of dinosaurs related to each other, and to other kinds of living and extinct vertebrates? What can the study of dinosaurs tell us about the process of evolution? And why did typical dinosaurs become extinct? All of these questions, and more, are addressed in the new, expanded, second edition of The Complete Dinosaur. Written by many of the world's leading experts on the "fearfully great" reptiles, the book’s 45 chapters cover what we have learned about dinosaurs, from the earliest discoveries of dinosaurs to the most recent controversies. Where scientific contention exists, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. Copiously illustrated and accessible to all readers from the enthusiastic amateur to the most learned professional paleontologist, The Complete Dinosaur is a feast for serious dinosaur lovers everywhere.

About this title

Review:

The 40-plus chapters in The Complete Dinosaur range from raw, cutting-edge science that drips with original data to surveys of the history of dinosaur collecting that are suitable for even the most jargon-shy readers. Editors James O. Farlow and M. K. Brett-Surman admit that they were "teenage geeks who loved the movies of Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, and Jim Danforth, and the novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Rice Burroughs," and they do not neglect their roots. There are chapters covering all the hot topics of contemporary dinosaur research, including footprints, metabolism, and meteor strikes; there is also a section on determining how many lawyers you need to feed a captive Tyrannosaurus rex. It's a remarkable fusion between scientific research--warts, conflicts, and all--and public understanding.

Book Description:

2013 AAUP Public and Second School Library, Outstanding 2013 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

About this edition

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0253357012
• ISBN 13: 9780253357014
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 1128
• Editor: Brett-Surman Michael K., Holtz Thomas R., Farlow James O.
• Illustrator: Walters Bob