Dinosaurs - The Grand Tour: Everything Worth Knowing About Dinosaurs from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops

This is a tough book to review, mostly because it's hard to say exactly who the intended audience is (was). Superficially it looks like many other "dinosaur books" that middle school students would enjoy but when one sits down and actually goes through it, studying the layout, reading the narrative, studying the diagrams, it seems to be written for a much more sophisticated audience. It's true, that for experts in this field, there might not be much new, but I don't think that was the purpose. This is a field guide as much as anything else.Other reviewers were disappointed in the number of "gray silhouettes" and the relative paucity of artistic renderings in color. Considering how little we actually know about dinosaur skin the authors' decision to go with what they did is probably appropriate. In fact, there is more color in the book than some reviewers apparently seem to realize. But if you are buying the book thinking that it will look like the cover, you will be sorely disappointed.This book is not the end-all and be-all of books on dinosaurs but it brings together in one book all (?) the dinosaurs that have been discovered and named. It brings me up to date. Now when a new dinosaur is discovered or named, I can update this field guide with a 3 x 5-inch index card in the right location.

First and foremost, this book provides one of the most accessible surveys of contemporary knowledge about dinosaurs available today. Despite a primary focus on dinosaurs, the book includes also a small (yet healthy) amount of information about the other animals that shared the Earth with them during the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Pim even makes sure to include historical information about important paleontologists and how they influenced the field. Each dinosaur covered is chronologically organized by the geologic period that best defines it. This gives the reader the advantage of easily constructing a mental profile of the herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore dinosaur species that exploited various parts of the same environment. Furthermore, the text for some animals makes it a point to refer to related species covered earlier in the text, which is especially useful for understanding species that span multiple geological periods. The text is not overly technical, and the illustrations are well done. While some of the species are disappointingly rendered only as silhouettes, I sincerely believe that the overall quality of artwork somewhat makes up for it.Beyond the quality of the text, the next most important issue to consider when purchasing this book is the format. While I own the Kindle version, I have spent some time with the print version. For adults, I think either version of the text works well. The Kindle version is convenient (which works better for me), but the illustrations still look better in print. With that said, and since the non-technical nature of the text makes this work rather accessible, younger readers may like the print version best. Due to it's lexile level, this is not a text that I would give a child under the age of 12 unless you intend to read the book together. While the book has great illustrations, it is not a picture book by any stretch of the imagination.Overall, this is a great choice for anyone who wishes to get current with the state of paleontology and the study of dinosaurs. It's not technical, and it's not exhaustive, but I think most lay readers will find it just right for an introduction.

We have a ton of dinosaur books available, and more are coming, as there is endless detail being added to formerly incomplete pictures. The advantage of this one, aside from rather low price, is that it is quite readable, despite being a sort of chronological catalog. (The dinosaurs are in Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous sections, in the current style). The author is more of a journalist and writes in a fluid style. Aside from dinosaur entries, there are descriptions of the geological epochs, eggs etc. About half of the pictures are silhouettes only, half are drawings. A very few multicolor illustrations.I don't think I really needed this one, but in one volume it sums up developments quite well. And in my few weeks as owner, I have found the books useful as quick reference. In a few pages, concepts such as birds and dinosaurs are quickly summed up. The missing star is due to the silhouette pictures. Text is fine.

This book is amazing!! it has so much awesome information that is presented in a reader friendly way. The book covers over 300 dinosaurs, as well as other well-known creatures that lived with the dinosaurs. This book also covers recent innovations within paleontology itself. The information is very up to date.You could get almost as much entertainment looking at the art as you would reading; the art is spectacular! I am a huge dinosaur and paleontologist enthusiast, and I cannot say enough good things about this book. I bought the paperback copy, and I was very satisfied, I can only imagine how great the hardback would look.

Good treatment of a topic that has been hashed over a lot. It was nice to have the time frames of the different dino eras put into perspective. It didn't bother me (as it seemed to have bothered some other reviewers) that some dinos had only outlines for representation. Often all that is known about a particular dino is from an incomplete collection of bones, so we can only surmise what the dino actually looked like, thus the outline illustration. There are good illustrations for the dinos whose physiology is known (some are truly scary!). Nice commentaries on the places of discovery, as well with time lines in an easy to read chart format.I would recommend this book to someone who has an interest in dinos, maybe as a hobby. If you have wondered about the dinos and their world together and as separate species, I think this is the book for you. If you want something a little more scientific, then you might have to look elsewhere.

Ibought this book as a Christmas present for my niece as she is into dinosaurs and it is perfect

This is an excellent book with meny relevant informations!

Really up to date review of dinosaur species

happy with the book

very readable and some reasonable illustrations