Product Description

This guide is a collaboration between a distinguished science writer and a leading illustrator who have combined their talents to present the most up-to-date information available in 2003 about the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic era in the format of a modern field guide. With this book to hand, no traveller in a tardis - or more likely an armchair - need worry about distinguishing between, say, a Tuojiansosaurus and a Carcharadontosaurus, for a quick flip to the relevant pages should quickly reveal their distinguishing features as well as conjectures about their range, feeding habits and lifestyles. The book starts with an introductory section which provides general background on the state of the planet in the age of the dinosaurs, between 225 and 70 million years ago, the position of the drifting continents, the climate and the contemporary flora and fauna. This section also tells the story of the growth of our knowledge about the dinosaurs and their world over the past century and a half and discusses the contribution that artists have made to bring these extraordinary creatures to life in our imaginations. The main part of the book, the "Field Guide", divides the species according to period (the Mesozoic era is divided into five ages, the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Early, Middle and Late Cretaceous) and the continents in which their fossilized remains have been found. More than 50 species are covered, from the giant predatory Tyrannosaurus to the flying Pterodactyl, and each is described and illustrated in colour in field-guide style, with sketches showing, for example, gait, eggs or immature specimens and a summary of the current state of knowledge about their habits and behaviour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #444551 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

About the Author
Henry Gee has done much to spread knowledge and understanding of palaeontology, especially with his earlier book, In Search of Deep Time. He is senior editor of the leading scientific journal, Nature, where many of the discoveries discussed in this book were first published. Luis V. Rey is one of the boldest and most respected illustrators of extinct species and his vivid images, based on careful anatomical study, make him the first choice for many leading writers on the dinosaurs.

Customer Reviews

Awesome images, but the text is a bit flawed...
This book is strange. If I was to consider only the images and the general part, it would have been first choice, five stars and the best I've seen. Rey's illustrations are simply breathtaking, especially the black and white drawings. Unfortunately Henry Gee goes a bit too far with his text... at one point it even says that Scipionyx was capable of mass-producing hatchlings (up to 4000 each MONTH!!!). All in all, is a book to have, because so precise dinosaur reconstructions are not so easy to find... and all you have to do is to care nothing about the hyperbolic text! Honestly a suggested buy, no matter if you are involved in dinosaurs as a palaeontologist or simply as afficionado!

wrongly classified by amazon
"One thing must be made clear from the start: this is a work of fiction". So reads the opening line, and it is the most (perhaps only) accurate statement in the book.

The text in this book is for the greater part, fantasy, and only very loosely based on science. This would not be an issue were this book not stocked alongside actual science volumes (it most surely belongs in the science-fiction section). Credence is given to text-author Henry Gee for having written 'in search of deep time' a popular-science book in which he vehemently argues against the reconstruction of animal behaviour from fossils. Quite why he is writing this text then, one can only wonder at.

This is contrasted by Luis Rey's striking artwork: characteristically vivid both in colour and in depiction of dinosaur behaviour. Personally I prefer his black and whites, but the pictures are certainly packed into this slim volume. Shame the book wasn't restricted to pictures only.

If you buy this book for someone, do it for the artwork. It isn't clear who the text is intended for, because it is far too complicated for children, and much too ridiculous for any normal adult.

a field guide to dinosaurs
this book is mostly based on what scientists THINK dinosaurs lived like, Its illustrations how ever, are more upto date showing raptors and dinosaurs with feathers as it ahs been resently discovered