DINO LAND BOOK REVIEWS
(Book Review, The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs, edited by Gregory S. Paul, 2000, St. Martin's Press)
If you were to walk into a bookstore today, you would likely see a plethora of dinosaur and fossil books aimed at children. However, good paleontology books aimed at the educated lay reader and paleo buff are quite rare. Luckily for paleontology fans, a new "serious" paleontology book has recently hit the market. Entitled the Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs (St. Martin's Press, $32.95), this comprehensive volume edited by Baltimore paleoartist Gregory S. Paul takes a detailed look at the dinosaur family tree.
What makes the Scientific American book unique is that it is comprehensive, yet not too technical. Books such as The Dinosauria and The Complete Dinosaur are excellent texts for the professional bunch, but are often too technical for amateurs and educated lay readers that hope to learn more about dinosaurs. Enter the Scientific American book. Although there are a few mistakes, Paul and the 27 other authors do an excellent job translating advanced technical science into short, to the point chapters that, for the most part, are easy to comprehend.
After an introduction by Paul, one in which he explains the changing scope of dinosaur paleontology, Michael Benton gives the readers a "Brief History of Dinosaur Paleontology," a somewhat tongue-in-cheek title, given the fact that the chapter is some 35 pages long. However, Benton does an excellent job describing how dinosaur paleontology first evolved into a science, how art played a major role in early paleontology, Marsh and Cope's strange bone wars, and the changing tide of modern paleontology.
Dinosaur National Monument paleontologist Dan Chure kicks off the anatomy and physiology chapter by telling, in simple terms and using descriptive passages, how his teams dig up dinosaurs. Guy Leahy follows with his reconstruction of dinosaur noses, lungs, and guts, a chapter that includes an attack on John Ruben's interpretation of nasal turbinates. Per Christiansen continues with an interesting look at dinosaur biomechanics, and Greg Paul finishes with three chapters that are a must for any paleoartist or paleoart buff: a chapter on how to draw dinosaurs, a look at the history of paleoart, and a detailed passage on the art of Charles R. Knight.
Chapter Three, entitled "Relationships and Evolution," is highlighted by two excellent chapters written by two of today's top paleontology researchers: the free-lance writer George Olshevsky and University of Maryland paleontologist Thomas Holtz. Olshevsky writes an excellent chapter on how dinosaurs are named, and Holtz follows with a detailed look at the classification and evolution of the dinosaurs. Holtz's chapter is by far, in my opinion, the best chapter in the book, and one of the single best looks at the dinosaur family tree ever written.
As would be expected, these chapters are followed by three chapters explaining the origin of birds, including an interesting look at the feathered dinosaurs written by Phil Currie. In turn, these chapters are followed by David Norman's look at Mesozoic flora and fauna, James Farlow's explanation of dinosaur footprints, and Norman's excellent chapter on feeding adaptations in the dinosaur family tree.
The book is wrapped up by several excellent chapters looking at endothermy, Australian dinosaurs, extinction, and dinosaur reproduction. Among the highlights of the book's final pages are reprints of original Scientific American articles by Robert Bakker (the Dinosaur Renaissance), Greg Erickson (Breathing Life into T. rex), and Walter Alvarez (an Extraterrestrial Impact).
Like most books, the Scientific American book does contain some errors, including several grammatical mistakes and a few misidentified pictures. However, these errors are easily overshadowed by the tremendous amount of information presented by Paul and the all-star team of writers. In addition, several of today's best dinosaur artists are also highlighted in this book, including Michael Skrepnick, Peter Trusler, Bob Walters, Douglas Henderson, and Sarah Landry. Many of their drawings can be seen in the book's 16-page glossy art insert, as well as throughout the text. However, the most impressive artwork is saved until the end. I am, of course, talking about the eight-page appendix of Paul's skeletal drawings, masterpieces fit for the Louvre (if it exhibited dinosaur art). There is no paleoart more revered that Paul's skeletal drawings, and, although they are quite small in this appendix, the drawings will surely be a tremendous asset to any paleontology buff reading this book.
Although there are some errors, the Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs, edited by Gregory S. Paul, is one of the single best dinosaur books I have come across. It translates technical science better than any volume I have read, and blends art and science like no other book. This 425-page volume is among the better paleontology books of the past decade, and I recommend it to any paleontology fan who wants to learn more about the Mesozoic and its most enigmatic inhabitants, the dinosaurs.
© 2000 brusatte@theramp.net