Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved

by Darren Naish

Dinosaurs are one of the most spectacular groups of animals that have ever existed. Many were fantastic, bizarre creatures that still capture our the super-predator Tyrannosaurus, the plate-backed Stegosaurus, and the long-necked, long-tailed Diplodocus. The Ultimate Guide to How They Lived taps into our enduring interest in dinosaurs, shedding new light on different dinosaur groups. Leading paleontology experts Darren Naish and Paul Barrett trace the evolution, anatomy, biology, ecology, behavior, and lifestyle of a variety of dinosaurs. They also remind us that dinosaurs are far from they present evidence supporting the evolution of dinosaurs to birds that exist today as approximately ten thousand different species. Throughout their narrative Naish and Barrett reveal state-of-the-art new findings shaping our understanding of dinosaurs. Readers will discover, for example, how the use of CT-scanning enables scientists to look inside dinosaur skulls, thus gaining new insight into their brains and sense organs. Dinosaurs is a must-have for all those wanting to keep up to date about these dynamic, complicated creatures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Palaeontology, Dinosaurs, Biology, Natural History, History

240 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

Darren Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer. He obtained a geology degree at the University of Southampton and later studied vertebrate palaeontology under British palaeontologist David Martill at the University of Portsmouth, where he obtained both an M. Phil. and PhD.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely belong on your dinosaur-geek gift list (or for yourself!). Up-to-date dino-science plus spectacular illos. About the only flaw so far is that illustration credits are scanty and obscure. Which is actually annoying (even more so to the artists!), since much of the appeal of the book is the paleoart. Perhaps they will make amends on the website?

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...
OK, "How awesome is this book exactly?" (the authors ask). Pretty friggin awesome, I'd say.

"Even if you don’t want to read the text you might buy the book for its pictures alone!" OK! And they do credit some of their faves, such as the awesome dino-art duo of Emily Willoughby and Julius Csotonyi, to name my faves....

Set aside a $20 bill for this one, guys. Lot of book for not much $$.

Cheers -- Pete Tillman
Professional geologist, amateur dinologist

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting general book about dinosaurs. It includes the latest research on dinosaurs to give a comprehensive and up-to-date view of them.

The book starts with a general overview of the dinosaur family starting from their beginnings. It then covers the dinosaur family tree, showing where the various known dinosaurs sit in it.

The book then covers the anatomy of dinosaurs, showing how the various bones fit together. Depending on your current knowledge of dinosaur anatomy, you may learn some things. For me, it was that the posture of sauropods as usually depicted in various museums may not be anatomically correct. And, of course, the hands of the tyrannosaur and various theropods.

The book then goes into what the fossils, and other information taken from them, can tell us about how dinosaurs may have lived, their possible behaviours and about the environment around them at the time.

The book then looks at the one surviving branch of the dinosaurs: the birds. It also looks the event that caused the extinction of the rest of the dinosaurs and how the world looked in its aftermath.

Depending on how much you already know about dinosaurs, you may or may not learn something new from this book. But it will help to let you know what is our current knowledge about dinosaurs and what remains to be discovered.

[J.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great general book about dinosaurs, but I kind of wish I had read it before a bunch of other dino books I've read. There are lots of illustrations and it almost has a textbook-ish feel to it - but not dry like most textbooks. It methodically goes through everything that is known - or at least what we think we know right now - and why. It's easy to read but will still probably be above the level of most young enthusiasts of dinosaurs, but isn't below the understanding of older readers. A really great book, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd read it before a bunch of the other books.

[Scott Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully clear, concise and very readable general overview.

[Yasmin Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

All you need to know about the latest dinosaur discoveries and more that you never knew you wanted to know!
It’s amazing how far palaeontology has come in the recent decades and what has been unearthed. Never thought that we could ever tell what gender a dinosaur was? Boom! There you go, fossil evidence! Never thought we could tell what colour a dinosaur may have been: ta-dah! Preserved melanosomes! From the inside out dinosaurs are fleshed into more than just monsters to be whored and deformed for movies, but into animals that could be imagined going about, getting on with their day-to-day lives with Attenborough’s narration slavered over.

Naish / Barrett write clearly so that anyone should be able to grasp the science of what they are talking about. And this is a science-based book. It is not a catalogue of dinosaur profiles, peppered here and there with basic facts, marketed with a young audience in mind. Although the illustrations of actual dinosaurs within are of great quality, and up to current scientific standards, there are not as many as some people might want. I would say most pictures are photographs of fossils or diagrams to support the science/discoveries that are being discussed. I suppose it depends what you prefer in your dinosaur books.

But for those who want to go deeper, who want to find out more about one of the most successful groups of animals ever to walk this earth, then I cannot recommend a better book.

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book exists in that weird limbo area between wanting to appease 'the nerds' while also being appealing to newcomers. So some people will be bored by some of the paragraphs, some will have trouble understanding things. If you fall in the latter category I recommend looking up technical terms you didn't understand and looking at skeleton diagrams for the anatomy section. For visual learners there are definitely a ton of pictures in here, but there was definitely a lack in the anatomy section. At least one completely described skeleton would've made a huge difference in my opinion.

There's also not much to go on if you want to go deeper into a subject because there are no publications cited in here. So you're on your own to find more info.

I'd say this book would be perfect for someone getting into more of the biological side of this. Most dinosaur books tend to be dictionaries with dinosaur names and then a profile detailing some things like weight, region, diet and so on. This tries to give an introduction into the actual living aspect of dinosaurs while also giving some examples. Would be a perfect gift for someone who is into the topic. I also recommend getting the hardcover edition because my paperback is already falling apart after this one read-through. That never happened to me before so just be aware of that.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fangirling like a tween at a One Direction concert when I won a copy of Dinosaurs: The Ultimate Guide to How They Lived from a Goodreads Giveaway.

This is a must-have for any dinosaur aficionado, of which I have been since before I was a tween.

An easy to read guide to dinosaur history complete with great photographs and illustrations, the latest scoop on recent fossil discoveries and the latest cutting edge technology being used today that shows us there is so much more to learn about dinosaurs.

The book even talks about dino hookups and reproduction, not something I had ever thought about but found fascinating.

Even if you think you know everything there is to know about dinosaurs, I had a good feeling Dinosaurs: The Ultimate Guide to How They Lived will surprise you with a nugget or two of information you may not have known.

[Siri Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the state of current research into dinosaur evolution and adaptation, updated to include many of the newest discoveries along with discussions of the most recent evolutionary theories. The book is aimed at a readership with a serious scientific interest in dinosaurs, but it takes the time and effort to explain its scientific points in such ways as to make the information accessible to a very broad audience. The rich illustrations further help to communicate important scientific points and invite the reader to picture the animals within their natural environments and ecosystems. Rather than describe individual species or groups, each chapter deals with a particular aspect of dinosaur research, from phylogeny over internal anatomy to behaviour. The final chapters are dedicated to discussing the various theories of the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs as well as the evolution of birds from the raptoran dinosaurs, bringing the subject up to the present day. A highly informative book on dinosaur research, and a great resource for those interested in dinosaurs from a scientific perspective.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Enjoyable read, interesting and a lot of updated information with gorgeous artwork and images. A real pleasure to go through.

[Herman Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

My NEW favorite serious dino book ( www.amazon.com/review/R3VQ7TMT8EFOC7/... ): 5/5

As you may remember, Gardom/Milner's "The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs" WAS my favorite serious dino book ( www.goodreads.com/review/show/3474599046 ). However, Naish/Barrett's "Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved" (henceforth DH) is my NEW favorite. Thus, DH is now my go-to natural history of dinos. There are 2 main reasons for why that is: 1) DH is very comprehensive; This is especially apparent in Chapters 5-6 (which not only cover "the origin of birds" like Chapter 10 of Gardom/Milner's book, but also birds "beyond the Cretaceous"); 2) DH is very well-illustrated; In addition to Sibbick (who illustrated Gardom/Milner's book), DH is illustrated by Bonadonna, Conway, Csotonyi, Knüppe, Nicholls, Willoughby, & Witton. My only nit-picks are the cover art (which, while not the worst, neither reflects the interior art nor compares to the cover art of Gardom/Milner's book) & the lack of emphasis on the museum website (although the museum logo should be enough to show readers where to go for more info). Otherwise, these 2 books are very similar (E.g. Compare the quotes at the end of this review). 1 more thing of note: Contra what Publishers Weekly says, the "chapter on dinosaur cladistics" is 1 of the highlights of DH; Each section reads like a mini-story of how that sub-group evolved.

"For 160 million years, dinosaurs were the most successful and diverse creatures to dominate the Earth. This book is based on the world-famous fossil collections and permanent “Dinosaurs” exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum. Written by two experts from one of the world’s leading Paleontology departments, this book features hundreds of color photos and illustrations that reveal the astonishing variety of life that proliferated in the Mesozoic Era—the Age of Dinosaurs. Tim Gardom has researched several major exhibitions, including The Natural History Museum’s acclaimed “Dinosaurs.” Angela Milner is Head of Fossil Vertebrates at The Natural History Museum" ( www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Museum... ).

"From the Victorian golden age of dinosaur discovery to the cutting edge of twenty-first century fossil forensics 'Dinosaurs' unravels the mysteries of the most spectacular group of animals our planet has ever seen. Despite facing drastic climatic conditions including violent volcanic activity, searing temperatures and rising and plunging sea levels, the dinosaurs formed an evolutionary dynasty that ruled the Earth for more than 150 million years. Darren Naish and Paul Barrett reveal the latest scientific findings about dinosaur anatomy, behaviour, and evolution. They also demonstrate how dinosaurs survived the great extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period and continued to evolve and thrive alongside us, existing today as an incredibly diverse array of birds that are the direct descendants of theropods. 'Dinosaurs' is lavishly illustrated with specimens from the Natural History Museum's own collections, along with explanatory diagrams and charts and full-colour artistic reconstructions of dinosaur behaviour" ( www.amazon.co.uk/Dinosaurs-They-Lived... ).

[Bill Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much has been learned about the dinosaurs, starting with the "Dinosaur Renaissance" lead by John Ostrum and Robert Bakker, and through the application of new study techniques since the 1990's. This book provides an excellent review of the current knowledge of these fascinating animals. The known genera has expanded from a few in the late 1800's to around 700 species in 300 genera today, with the expectation of an ultimate number of over 1500 genera.

An initial chapter reviews the geological time scale, the concept of clades and how the family tree is constructed for the dinosaurs. This is followed by a tour of the various clades making up the Dinosauria. Much attention is paid to anatomy which is key to a detailed understanding of relationships. A more detailed look at the anatomy reveals much about stance, movement, feeding and chewing mechanisms, respiration, digestion and even a surprising amount of insight into their appearance.

A separate chapter on ecology and behaviour delves more deeply into feeding and diet, locomotion, physiology (to what degree they were warm blooded), sex and reproduction. Examination of bones shows that most dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus, matured by 20 years and died soon afterward. Smaller dinosaurs matured more quickly - Maiasaura in 8 years. The appearance of some dinosaurs changed significantly as they grew, suggesting that some specimens now considered different species, may be the same species at different ages.

Throughout the book, the authors consider the birds to be dinosaurs. While most of the book considers the non-bird dinosaurs, one chapter examines the origin of the birds from the therapods. Recent finds have added much to the knowledge of early birds.

The extinction that essentially ended the dinosaurs occurred at the end of the Cretaceous. The Chicxulub asteroid and the Deccan Trap volcanism are both described. In North America, dinosaur diversity declined with the closure of the Western Interior Seaway over a period of nine million years before the extinction. While many of the bird lines survived the extinction, many did not.

The book is richly illustrated with artwork depicting the dinosaurs, photos and illustrations of their anatomy and many photos of various fossils.

[Lee Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be put off by the cover!

I was relieved when listening to Darren Naish's podcast sometime after reading this book that I wasn't the only person to find it anachronistic and ridiculous. Inside, many of the illustrations are far more naturalistic and, indeed, in keeping with what we currently know about dinosaurs' behaviour and appearance. Including feathers.

Having a professional interest in archeoornithology, in addition to the common small-boy-at-heart interest in dinosaurs, I was relieved to see that this book includes modern dinosaurs. Birds, in other words. That was a principal reason for me picking it up and I'm very glad I did.

The phrase 'popular textbook' sounds somewhat oxymoronic to me. I guess it must be a relatively common style of book but it's certainly not one I'm that familiar with. This succeeds by that measure though - the book manages to convey a broad overview of current evolutionary and palaeontological understanding of the animals in a manner that's engaging and not patronising. It's easy to recommend to anyone with a casual interest in these beasts who wants to learn a little more about them and how our knowledge (and theory) has changed dramatically in the last twenty years.

[R.J. Southworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I've read plenty of other dinosaur books, I still learned a great deal from this one. The information is up to date, and it examines the subject of dinosaurs from fresh angles compared to older books: devoting a entire chapter to dinosaur anatomy, going into detail about current theories on dinosaur behaviour, and paying a lot of attention to birds, the surviving dinosaur lineage. A must-read for dinosaur lovers.

[António Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative (and yet still very accessible, without any dumbing down) book on mostly every subject relating to dinosaurs. I thought I was reasonably well informed on the subject, and I ended up learning *a lot* reading it, which is very good. Great production values and design, as well. Very much recommended.

[Maverick Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

【2025Book10】《恐龙研究指南》, the Chinese version of "Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved," a masterpiece by Darren Naish and Paul Barrett, who are giants in the field of dinosaur research. I once came across a line while reading "Jurassic Park": "Only very young boys are interested in dinosaurs." 🤣 But I've been fascinated by these captivating animals since I was a child and have always wanted to find a serious, non-children's book to really delve into. "Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved" perfectly meets my needs.

I used to pride myself on the knowledge I picked up from a few dinosaur books as a kid, feeling quite at ease during museum visits. However, this book completely overturned and reshaped most of what I thought I knew. The section on dinosaur taxonomy and evolution, in particular, is totally stunning to me 🤣—the part about theropod taxonomy and evolution was completely different from what I understood as a child.

Beyond that, this book, which is under 300 pages, also helped me update my knowledge on dinosaur anatomy and bird taxonomy. I finally grasped what phylogenetics (often mentioned in science videos) is all about, learned how computer science aids dinosaur research, and absorbed a wealth of physiological knowledge (like how to determine a dinosaur's gender from fossils).

The only slight drawback is that, similar to one of my favorite dinosaur books in childhood, the Chinese translation of this book has one or two quite obvious errors in numerical units. But this small flaw doesn't detract from its overall excellence. It's been a long time since I've come across a natural science book that's so insightful yet accessible, professional yet concise, and truly eye-opening. A masterpiece, absolutely a masterpiece.

P.S., nothing beats the feel of a real physical book in your hands.

【2025年的第10本书】恐龙研究领域大神达伦·奈什和保罗·巴雷特的神作《恐龙研究指南》。之前在读《侏罗纪公园》的时候读到过一句话：“Only very young boys are interested in dinosaurs.”（只有很小的男孩子才对恐龙感兴趣🤣。）我倒是从小到大一直对这些迷人的生物充满了兴趣，而且一直想要找一本非儿童向的严肃科普读物好好看一看。这本《恐龙研究指南》恰到好处地满足了我的需求。我以前总是为自己小时候在几本恐龙书上学到的东西洋洋自得，每次逛博物馆的时候都觉得轻松惬意，但《恐龙研究指南》把我多半的知识储备都推倒重塑了一遍，尤其是恐龙分类演化那一部分内容，直接给我干懵了🤣，兽脚类演化那个部分跟我小时候的理解完全不一样。除此之外，这本不到300页的书还帮助我更新了恐龙解剖结构和鸟类分类的知识，了解了科普视频中经常提及的系统发生学到底是怎么回事，计算机科学如何辅助恐龙研究，以及大量恐龙的生理学知识（比如如何通过化石区分恐龙性别）。唯一的缺憾是和我小时候最喜欢的一本恐龙书一样，《恐龙研究指南》中文版在数值单位翻译上有一两处过于明显的错误，不过瑕不掩瑜就是了。好久没有看到如此深入浅出，专业简明，让我大开眼界的自然科学读物了，神作，确实是神作。（回国以后看的第一本实体书，爽！！）

[Павел · Rating 4 out of 5]

Почти 4 года заняло чтение этой книги. Поначалу я запнулся о неймдроппинг. В детстве были прочитаны все доступные энциклопедии про динозавров, раскрашены раскраски с ними, но они все были детские, много картинок, немного текста, 10-20 динозавров. Тут выясняется, что то был не просто тираннозавр, а групп тираннозавридов, и какой-нибудь пахицефалозавр это только один из видов в группе подобных; динозавры, останки которых обнаружены в Китае, имеют китайские названия (про это в детстве вообще 0 информации было, их что, в девяностых не копали дальше пустыни Гоби?). Вот. В общем, куча новых имён, много текста, и я сдался и сделал паузу. Теперь я собрался в кучку и погрузился в текст. После первой главы стало легче. Очень интересно оказалось, и старые знания освежил, и новые усвоил. А ещё (вместе с авторами) пришёл к неожиданному для себя открытию: динозавры всё ещё рядом с нами, нам бы поберечь выживших.
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It took me nearly four years to read this book. At first, I was put off by all the name-dropping. As a child, I’d read every available encyclopaedia on dinosaurs and coloured in all the dinosaur colouring books, but they were all aimed at children: lots of pictures, not much text, and only 10–20 dinosaurs. Here it turns out that it wasn’t just a Tyrannosaurus, but a group of tyrannosaurids, and a Pachycephalosaurus is just one species in a group of similar ones; dinosaurs whose remains have been found in China have Chinese names (there was absolutely no information about this when I was a child; did they not dig beyond the Gobi Desert in the nineties?). There you go. In short, a whole host of new names, lots of text, and I gave up and took a break. Now I’ve pulled myself together and dived into the text. After the first chapter, it got easier. It turned out to be very interesting; I refreshed my old knowledge and absorbed new facts. And also (along with the authors) I came to a discovery that was unexpected for me: dinosaurs are still close to us; we should take care of the survivors.

[Mark Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a coffee table book, despite the lurid front cover and glossy pages, this is that rare thing, a book about dinosaurs for anyone (young or old) who wants to know the hard science behind the headlines and pretty (often rather fanciful) paintings. This is a thorough and careful review of the current state of research on many key aspects of dinosaur morphology, behaviour and habitat. Although the tone can be rather dry at times, the authors don't assume any prior knowledge; the opening chapters on cladistics are especially illuminating, since (so it seems) thanks to this powerful new technique of classification (by "clades" rather than the old Linnaean notions of families and species) a quiet revolution is occurring in our understanding of how groups of dinosaurs are related to each other as well as to survivors of their line, notably the birds.

[Mike Manzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit torn about how many starts to give this. I think it is a 5-star book, in that it has really good, in-depth information in it. I also loved the illustrations.

For my purposes, it was a bit too in-depth, though. I wasn't prepared at how nitty-gritty it got on specific details of topics like anatomy, so it probably wasn't the book for me. I did enjoy it, but I ended up skimming past a lot in here. I do feel like I learned a TON, though. The last time I read more than a random one-off news article or watched more than a one-hour PBS documentary about dinosaurs was probably when I was about seven, so it was cool to see so much has changed and been updated in terms of how we see these magnificent creatures and to be exposed to the real wealth of information we've gotten about dinosaurs recently.

[Mark Jeffs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great informative Dinosaur book. It introduces some of the key information and recent discoveries in Dinosaur Palaeobiology. It cements these ideas with gorgeous illustrations and informative photographs and infographics. This book is bang up to date and is really good at simplifying complex ideas for ease of access. Simply a must for any Dinosaur enthusiast.

The team at the Natural History Museum produce some good stuff!

[Alex T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick at home so I guess I'll read Dinosaur Book.

It's good. Enjoyed this one. Very educational, in-depth, richly illustrated, etc. There is some research in here I know is outdated now (like Nanotyrannus being their own species and not a juvenile T. rex) but as dinosaur research is always evolving that's just kinda inevitable. The book is 10 years old, after all.

Jack Horner being mentioned certainly aged poorly, though ☹️

[Preston Postle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book that provides relatively current views on dinosaur theory. The writing does a pretty good job of explaining the science, but it's not a breezy read. The illustrations were fascinating, but many were printed at a size that makes the minute details being described impossible to make out.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best dinosaur book I've ever read. I like the way the material is organized and explained, and I like the discussion of multiple points of view. I especially like how the authors emphasize that birds are dinosaurs and provide an entire chapter on the origin of birds. It includes great photographs of fossils and fabulous art work.

[Bob Small · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and very factual. More than a popular science read, but not a text book. Good illistrations. There is a newr edition, and I might even buy that to see how the science has changed. Worth the money.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book

[Santi Rello Varona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully presented book comprising all the new knowledge about the life and relations of the birds ancestors.

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information, easy to read, and beautiful illustrations. Glad to have this book on my shelf.

[Laura Madsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good update on dinosaur anatomy, evolution, cladistics, and physiology.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! There is a huge variety of illustrations and photographs in this book as well as many interesting facts.

[hisuin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Forest Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taxonomy section was very interesting