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Dinosaurs : the most complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages

The complete dinosaur

This is a "New York Public Library Outstanding Reference Book" of 1998. While the inhabitants of the lost world have long held sway over our imaginations, in recent years dinosaur science has experienced an explosive growth. More books on dinosaurs have been published in the past decade than in all the previous 150 years since Richard Owen named these 'fearfully great lizards' (correctly, 'reptiles'), and dinosaur research continues to make headlines. Reporting the latest discoveries and research, this book is an exuberant celebration of dinosaurs and of our ongoing fascination with them. Here, in one volume, is the single, most-authoritative account of dinosaur paleontology for the general reader. So rapidly has the field expanded that no individual can hope to master all the aspects of dinosaur paleontology. For this book, the editors have brought together forty-six experts in subjects ranging from functional morphology and paleobiology to biogeography and systematics to present a thorough survey of the dinosaurs from the earliest discoveries through the contemporary controversies over their extinction. Where contention exists, as over the question of whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. Throughout technical jargon is kept to a minimum, and there is also a glossary of less familiar terms. Readers will find a wealth of information on the study and classification of dinosaurs, on each of the dinosaur groups, and on dinosaur biology and evolution. Not the least among these riches are the more than 350 illustrations (Including 16 pages of color plates), many prepared especially for this volume. The volume concludes with a survey of dinosaurs in the media and a chronology of the history of dinosaur science. This is the single most authoritative account of dinosaur paleontology for the general public, all in one volume. Sumptuously illustrated, with up-to-the-minute information, it features: more than 350 illustrations, including 16 pages in full color; each chapter written by an expert in dinosaur studies; includes the latest dinosaur discoveries; new information on the warm-blooded/cold-blooded debate; new insights on the possibility of isolating dinosaur DNA; what dinosaurs ate and how we know about it; dinosaurs in the media; a time-line of the history of dinosaur science; and much, much more!.What do we know about dinosaurs, and how do we know it? How did dinosaurs grow, move, eat, and reproduce? Were they warm-blooded or cold-blooded? How intelligent were they? How are the various groups of dinosaurs related to each other, and to other kinds of living and extinct vertebrates? What can the study of dinosaurs tell us about the process of evolution? And why did typical dinosaurs become extinct? All of these questions, and more, are addressed in the new, expanded, second edition of The Complete Dinosaur. Written by many of the world's leading experts on the "fearfully great" reptiles, the book's 45 chapters cover what we have learned about dinosaurs, from the earliest discoveries of dinosaurs to the most recent controversies. Where scientific contention exists, the editors have let the experts agree to disagree. Copiously illustrated and accessible to all readers from the enthusiastic amateur to the most learned professional palaeontologist, The Complete Dinosaur is a feast for serious dinosaur lovers everywhere.

Dinosaurs, facts and fiction

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