Dinosaurs: The Textbook

by Spencer G. Lucas

This introductory textbook on dinosaurs teaches the basic principles of geology, biology and palaeontology, and provides an understanding of these prehistoric creatures. The book reviews the individual classes which give a wider perspective to the significance of dinosaur study. Topics include hot-blooded dinosaurs, the origin of birds, and dinosaur extinction. The illustrations reflect current scientific thinking on the physical characteristics of dinosaurs.

Genres: Dinosaurs, Palaeontology

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

Reviews

[Monique Crowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has great information about dinosaurs and the world they lived in. I deducted a star due to the american/eurocentric view of the book, other country's discoveries are mentioned in passing but not as well as I'd like. It also fails to recognize the controversy of removing fossils from countries without their permission as well as the effect colonialism had on these discoveries. Another star deducted for not including any of the contributions of women to this field.

[Nadvornix · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview.
It's a textbook for people outside the field who signed up for a dinosaur course for fun. So somewhere halfway between a college textbook and a popular book. The first half covers descriptions of individual dinosaur groups. The second half was more interesting for me, with each chapter about a specific question (Were they warm-blooded? How did the climate change?).
Some questions aren't nearly as definitively settled as I thought. Eg. if they died out due to an asteroid impact. Or if they had feathers.
The field is developing rapidly (thank you, Jurassic Park), so get the newest edition. Good for reading just the chapters that seem most interesting to you.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical and at times complicated, but it's a textbook, so what do you expect?