National Geographic Dinosaurs

by Paul M. Barrett

A lavishly illustrated reference traces the discovery of all types of dinosaurs; reveals the latest information about these fascinating creatures; provides the latest scientific thoughts, theories, and discoveries; contains a wealth of charts, maps, paintings, and photographs; and more. Teacher's Guide available. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Dinosaurs, Reference, Nature, Palaeontology, History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Thom Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the question, How many books on dinosaurs do you need ? I am prone to answer, How many dinosaurs are there ?

[Joeri Ryckaseys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boeiend overzichtsboek over verschillende soorten dinosauriërs. Van de meest bekende families worden telkens de bekendste vertegenwoordigers getoond. Het boek dateert wel van 2001 en is op sommige vlakken wat verouderd qua inhoud maar de grote lijnen kloppen nog volledig.

Zeer handig in dit boek is de kleine ID kaart bij iedere dino die ook de onderverdeling in het cladogram toont. Zo krijg je een mooi zicht op de stamboom van de dinosauria. Hetgeen ik bijvoorbeeld in "Dinosaur: a concise natural history" wat miste. Dat boek is recenter en diepgaander maar begint elk hoofdstuk met een algemeen en uitgebreid cladogram waardoor je het spoor soms wat bijster bent.

Dit boek is vooral bedoeld als kennismaking met de dinosauriërs. Het gaat wel degelijk over 'dinosauria' dus pterosauriërs, plio-, plesio- en elasmosauriërs zijn er niet in opgenomen.

Aangenaam en vlot geschreven :)

[William Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some of the most beautiful dinosaur illustrations that I have ever seen. The book’s science is 20 years old, but it’s still very informative about the general taxonomy and distribution (both temporal and geographical) of various dinosaur species). I believe this book is focused primarily on younger readers, but can be enjoyable for adult paleontology enthusiasts. Intriguingly, the formatting of this book is excellent, and gives an easy and effective readout of pertinent information on each dinosaur. However, I believe that the book does present a few minor inaccuracies, such as describing Pangaea breaking up during the Cretaceous period, when it split up into two continents prior to then. Otherwise this is a fun work of dinosaur mind candy. Spoiler alert: all the dinosaurs die in the end (except the toothless birds).

[Robert Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated and superficial, but still a good book, and scientifically accurate when it was published. It's sometimes frustrating, because new things are learned almost daily in any field dealing in any way with biology, but most books, and even some journal articles, are out of date by the time they come out in print. This book holds up better than most.

[Jelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my childhood. It's great. And Raul Martín's illustrations lift it to an even higher level.

[abcdefg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me just preface by saying that I love National Geographic. I have every issue from 1888 to 2008 on DVD ROM plus 12 issues of the magazine for this year. National Geographic is known for its brilliant photography and well-written articles, and I am particularly a fan of its wide-ranging subject matter - everything from cultures, peoples, and the politics of the world's nations to revolutionary scientific discoveries, nature, and the cosmos.

Given that this book was written more in the style for kids grades 5 through 7, I still found it highly informative and of course, beautifully illustrated. It just floors me knowing that over the course of 150 million years, dinosaurs were the predominating species on our planet, basically reigning as king of the beasts 37.5 times longer than our human ancestors and our species as we know it today.

And the species diversity found - even within the rare geological and climate conditions that make it possible for any animal or plant to be preserved in the fossil record - is amazing in and of itself.

The book illustrates the anatomical difference between ornithiscians (bird-hipped) and saurichians (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs and catalogs groups such as the hadrosaurs, pachycephalosaurs, ankylosaurs, and others providing detailed information on size, geographic location, time period, anatomy, possible behaviors, and a lot more.

And remember Brontosaurus (thunder lizard)? Othniel Charles Marsh discovered two sets of bones and named the first set Apatosaurus and the other set Brontosaurus thinking they were two different dinosaur species, when actually they were one and the same. Because he had already published the name Apatosaurus (meaning deceptive lizard) for this first set of dinosaur fossils in 1879, this name is the official name for the dinosaur.

And the book is loaded with factoids like that.

You learn about Oviraptor, Deinonychus, Velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus, Baryonyx, and even early ancestors of the birds like Archaeopteryx. There are a lot of dinosaurs covered here and lots of great photographs showing details of gastroliths (stones found in stomachs of dinosaurs to aid in digestion) preserved inside dinosaur fossil remains, eggs, and even evidence of feathery down on some bird-related ancestors that lived during the Cretaceous period.

I think this book is a good reference publication for kids who want to know more about dinosaurs, but also for adults who want to know about them too.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book when Abigail began asking about dinosaurs at 2 1/2, but found that I enjoyed it even more than she did! It is by no means comprehensive, but the layout is easy to follow and the information is concise and interesting. I liked the way it not only explained WHY we believe certain things about dinos, but also why we DON'T know things as well. Of course the most obvious thing that sets this book apart from other books is the breath-taking artwork. It is stunning and there are many realistic two-page spreads depicting these creatures in natural settings. A must-have for your library!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of great photos, drawings, and layouts that only National Geographic can do. Lots of details about how they lived, followed by in-depth information on specific bird=hipped, then lizard-hipped dinosaurs. Copyright 2001....great stuff, but it's already out-dated. But not as bad at "Dinosaur Times" ca. 1974. :)

[Jeneé · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good dinosaur encyclopedia for the younger budding paleontologist. I loved this book when I was in elementary school. It was published in 1998 so it's very out of date, but the dinosaur history that is in it is still very good.

[Janet Bailey]

Bought for my sons' library when they were growing up.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

1era lectura 14 de junio del 2022