Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology
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- Create Date：2021-06-04 09:54:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Michael J. Benton
- ISBN：0500295530
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Summary
Over the past twenty years， the study of dinosaurs has transformed into a true scientific discipline。 New technologies have revealed secrets locked in prehistoric bones that no one could have previously predicted。 We can now work out the color of dinosaurs， the force of their bite， their top speeds， and even how they cared for their young。
Remarkable new fossil discoveries—giant sauropod dinosaur skeletons in Patagonia， dinosaurs with feathers in China， and a tiny dinosaur tail in Burmese amber—remain the lifeblood of modern paleobiology。 Thanks to advances in technologies and methods， however， there has been a recent revolution in the scope of new information gleaned from such fossil finds。
In Dinosaurs Rediscovered， leading paleontologist Michael J。 Benton gathers together all of the latest paleontological evidence， tracing the transformation of dinosaur study from its roots in antiquated natural history to an indisputably scientific field。 Among other things， this book explores how dinosaur remains are found and excavated， and how paleontologists read the details of dinosaurs’ lives from their fossils—their colors， their growth， and even whether we will ever be able to bring them back to life。 Benton’s account shows that， though extinct， dinosaurs are still very much a part of our world。
Remarkable new fossil discoveries—giant sauropod dinosaur skeletons in Patagonia， dinosaurs with feathers in China， and a tiny dinosaur tail in Burmese amber—remain the lifeblood of modern paleobiology。 Thanks to advances in technologies and methods， however， there has been a recent revolution in the scope of new information gleaned from such fossil finds。
In Dinosaurs Rediscovered， leading paleontologist Michael J。 Benton gathers together all of the latest paleontological evidence， tracing the transformation of dinosaur study from its roots in antiquated natural history to an indisputably scientific field。 Among other things， this book explores how dinosaur remains are found and excavated， and how paleontologists read the details of dinosaurs’ lives from their fossils—their colors， their growth， and even whether we will ever be able to bring them back to life。 Benton’s account shows that， though extinct， dinosaurs are still very much a part of our world。
Reviews
Raquel
，
This was a fantastic look into how we know what we know about dinosaurs。 Super informative but accessible， loved reading this so much， and learnt a lot。
Terra
，
A bit dry， but interesting and informative。 Pretty much does what it says on the tin: presents a book-length tour of what the science， as of now （well， 2018）， tells us about what dinosaurs looked like， ate like， moved like， and so on。 My main complaint is just that there was nothing at the outset saying， "and in scientific terms， here's what a dinosaur IS。" There was much discussion of a type of reptile that preceded the dinosaurs， but that based on the description and drawings seemed fairly。。。。 A bit dry， but interesting and informative。 Pretty much does what it says on the tin: presents a book-length tour of what the science， as of now （well， 2018）， tells us about what dinosaurs looked like， ate like， moved like， and so on。 My main complaint is just that there was nothing at the outset saying， "and in scientific terms， here's what a dinosaur IS。" There was much discussion of a type of reptile that preceded the dinosaurs， but that based on the description and drawings seemed fairly。。。。dinosaur-y？ And I would have liked to know what it was， exactly， that we consider to be the breaking point where we went from "this weird old reptile" to "this weird old DINOSAUR reptile。" For science！ But overall， an enjoyable read， full of much knowledge， written by an obviously deeply committed dinosaur nerd。 Now I really want to go to a natural history museum。 。。。more
Galactic Hero
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Benton surveys current topics in paleontology including， dinosaur colour， phylogeny， locomotion， dna， diet， extinction， etc。 I found he struck a pretty good balance of getting into technical detail while still providing the necessary background。 It helps of course that he has a wealth of personal experience and research and anecdotes to draw on for each section。My only complaint is the format: the font is tiny， the left justification weird for some reason， and many of the diagrams and charts are Benton surveys current topics in paleontology including， dinosaur colour， phylogeny， locomotion， dna， diet， extinction， etc。 I found he struck a pretty good balance of getting into technical detail while still providing the necessary background。 It helps of course that he has a wealth of personal experience and research and anecdotes to draw on for each section。My only complaint is the format: the font is tiny， the left justification weird for some reason， and many of the diagrams and charts are pulled from their original journal articles without including the caption and so lack some of the basic information required to properly understand them。 。。。more
Bartek Łabiszak
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Every kid went through the Dinosaur phase in their childhood。 Some of those kids simply never grew out of this fascination - and are now known as paleontologists。 Their work is as fascinating， as is their species of interest， and in this book we can look at glimpses of astonishing methods， that completely changed our perception on the mighty reptails， that roamed the Earth millions of years ago。This books takes us into fascinating world of ancient creatures， and paint them not as some long dead Every kid went through the Dinosaur phase in their childhood。 Some of those kids simply never grew out of this fascination - and are now known as paleontologists。 Their work is as fascinating， as is their species of interest， and in this book we can look at glimpses of astonishing methods， that completely changed our perception on the mighty reptails， that roamed the Earth millions of years ago。This books takes us into fascinating world of ancient creatures， and paint them not as some long dead big lizards， but as species from flesh and blood - agile， warm-blooded predators， colorful and with feathers， employing complex mating behaviors， and with unique adaptations to the environment， they had inhabited。 Ingenuity， clever scientific ideas and methods of inquiry in modern paleontology are also well described。 I was always fascinated by knowing not only what we know， but how we got to know what we know。 The author makes a great job in fulfilling that。 Additionally， he menage to balance the amount of scientific jargon （feat that is not commonly shared by other scientist-popular science book authors）and the overall reading experience is very good。 。。。more
Will
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Endlessly amusing， fascinating， and existential。 Truly one of the coolest books I’ve ever read and I find myself reciting factoids about early winged dinosaurs and biological timescales to my friends。 A truly nerdy dinosaur book for nerds。
Thomas Land
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3。5 /70%This is a really clear， well communicated look at the state of palaeontology today， suitable for citizen and scientist alike。 The information is presented clearly， it's really interesting and provides a solid groundwork for diving into the world of palaeontology。 But。。。from a scientists perspective the book bugged me a little。 Many diagrams and graphs weren't labelled or had arbitrary units along the side。 The diagrams weren't mentioned in the text or fully explained and provided a somew 3。5 /70%This is a really clear， well communicated look at the state of palaeontology today， suitable for citizen and scientist alike。 The information is presented clearly， it's really interesting and provides a solid groundwork for diving into the world of palaeontology。 But。。。from a scientists perspective the book bugged me a little。 Many diagrams and graphs weren't labelled or had arbitrary units along the side。 The diagrams weren't mentioned in the text or fully explained and provided a somewhat confusing read at times。 I could tell Benton really wanted to talk about some bits in more detail as he dived into a topic， and flicked between a more technical way of talking and a more layman's way。 This constant shift in tone was a little distracting。 Also a majority of the information was taught to me in my first year of uni。 For someone describing the Scientific Revolution it would have been nice to see new bits， and not so much a structure and material skimmed off university lectures。 If you're not particularly into graphs， or haven't done a fair bit of palaeo you won't notice them at all and they do not hamper the reading in any way。 My quibbles are only there due to the fact I went through the academic rigmarole of this subject。A thoroughly recommended book to get all the basics in palaeontology covered， and to jump into the more advanced bits of literature。 。。。more
Talal Husseiny
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This is a fantastic book for people with limited knowledge in science， biology， and evolution。 It explains from what dinosaurs evolved from， how long they have been on planet earth， the mechanics of their bodies， and the variety of dinosaurs that existed in the past。A must read for people who want to learn about dinosaurs and ancient species！
Max D'onofrio
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I love Dinosaurs。 This book is about Dinosaurs。 It has some fun sketches。 It is a bit nerdier than other dino books for laypersons， but still a good time was had。
Holly
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Look， I just really love dinosaurs。This book teaches not just about dinosaurs themselves but delves into how we know what we know， and what we might learn next。 The author traces recent developments in paleontology， clearly explaining scientific concepts and offering examples to show how they are practically applied。 It's nice to see Benton describing his own mistakes with the sensible view that everyone is learning， all the time。Could easily read it again immediately and enjoy it just as much。 Look， I just really love dinosaurs。This book teaches not just about dinosaurs themselves but delves into how we know what we know， and what we might learn next。 The author traces recent developments in paleontology， clearly explaining scientific concepts and offering examples to show how they are practically applied。 It's nice to see Benton describing his own mistakes with the sensible view that everyone is learning， all the time。Could easily read it again immediately and enjoy it just as much。 。。。more
Alex Murphy
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In 2008， the author， Michael J。 Benton， a palaeontologist helped discover one of the biggest scientific advances in dinosaur palaeontology。 He and his team found melanosomes in fossilised dinosaur feathers。 These melanosomes， contain melanin or colour pigments。 From this they were able to say that the dinosaur Sinosauropteryx had feathers in coloured bands of ginger and white on their tail。 The Dinosaurs Rediscovered， is a book looking into a lot of the new discoveries and scientific technologie In 2008， the author， Michael J。 Benton， a palaeontologist helped discover one of the biggest scientific advances in dinosaur palaeontology。 He and his team found melanosomes in fossilised dinosaur feathers。 These melanosomes， contain melanin or colour pigments。 From this they were able to say that the dinosaur Sinosauropteryx had feathers in coloured bands of ginger and white on their tail。 The Dinosaurs Rediscovered， is a book looking into a lot of the new discoveries and scientific technologies that have changed many of the theories on dinosaur evolution， movement， reproduction and behaviour。 This book differs in small ways from similar books like The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World， as this is a bit more focused on some of the science， such as evolutionary trees of dinosaurs and food webs of the Mesozoic （there’s many charts and graphs in this book）。 This isn't a bad thing and it's not like you need to have a solid understand of scientific methods to be able to grasp what's being said， it's just sometimes it can go a bit deeper than similar recent dinosaur books。 Besides a look into discovery of actual colour in dinosaur fossils， the book takes a broad look into many aspects of the dinosaurs reign， from their evolution， which seems to have been about 15 million years earlier than previously thought; dinosaur metabolism and their rate of growth （a T。 Rex was fully grown at about 15）; behaviour and parental care （most dinosaurs it seems weren’t particularly caring parents）; evolution of feathers and flight and of course their extinction （the asteroid hit the earth in June）。 There's a lot of new information and theories here， some that shake up the more recent ideas about dinosaurs， and as the author says， the ones mentioned here will probably be changed as more discoveries are made。For dinosaur nutters like me， this is a must read。 Even if it seems up shattering some of the loved ideas about dinosaurs。 For the casual science interest reader， I’d say they would probably enjoy it。 It's relatively easy to read and follow， a but it does go a bit deeper into some of the science， but it isn't too hard to grasp， so everybody should be fine， but might be turned off by the numerous graphs etc。 A Roarsome read （OK that was bad， and a T。Rex is most likely not have roared， more liked hissed like a alligator）。 。。。more
Daniel
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A well-written summary of the major developments in dinosaur paleontology since the early 1980s。 It is also the story of how dinosaurology became less like stamp collecting and more like science。
Larry
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What do we know about dinosaurs？ How have we learned it？ This book is a fascinating look at how our knowledge has expanded in the last several decades。 It is well written， and Benton makes his field accessible。 My grandson， like most four-year olds maintains a constant interest and expanding knowledge base about dinosaurs， and I have rekindled my interest in answer to his。 Benton gives me much to think about。
Nico
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This book reinvigorated my love for dinosaurs。 Benton's scientific rigor makes the dinosaur knowledge he imparts all the more meaningful and sound。 The field of paleontology really has grown up and it's a wonderful thing。 Definitely get this if the sexism and bs from Steve Brusatte's book grated on your nerves。Hell， definitely get it， period。 This book reinvigorated my love for dinosaurs。 Benton's scientific rigor makes the dinosaur knowledge he imparts all the more meaningful and sound。 The field of paleontology really has grown up and it's a wonderful thing。 Definitely get this if the sexism and bs from Steve Brusatte's book grated on your nerves。Hell， definitely get it， period。 。。。more
Matthew Downey
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Mr。 Benton's writing makes this deep dive into dinosaur discoveries approachable and engaging - no easy feat when dealing with phylogenetic brackets， prehistoric morphospaces， and digital reconstruction on a titan（osaur）ic scale。One star deducted because he says Jurassic Park is impossible in my lifetime。 Mr。 Benton's writing makes this deep dive into dinosaur discoveries approachable and engaging - no easy feat when dealing with phylogenetic brackets， prehistoric morphospaces， and digital reconstruction on a titan（osaur）ic scale。One star deducted because he says Jurassic Park is impossible in my lifetime。 。。。more
Ben Irvin
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Didn't find it as engaging as I had hoped。 Rests too much on the narrow aspect of paleontology research of the author。 Didn't find it as engaging as I had hoped。 Rests too much on the narrow aspect of paleontology research of the author。 。。。more
Nathan Clarke
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Overall a great book that covers what we know and how we know it concerning dinosaurs。 I of course have a few issues with some weak/biased arguments， though for the most part I think Benton deals with bias well。He spends some time on the modeling aspect， which is critical to our understanding of relationships between species。 I think he explains well， without getting bogged down in comparison details， how these models work and why we use them。 One large criticism concerns Benton explanation of ' Overall a great book that covers what we know and how we know it concerning dinosaurs。 I of course have a few issues with some weak/biased arguments， though for the most part I think Benton deals with bias well。He spends some time on the modeling aspect， which is critical to our understanding of relationships between species。 I think he explains well， without getting bogged down in comparison details， how these models work and why we use them。 One large criticism concerns Benton explanation of 'warm' blooded vs 'cold' blooded。 He ends up concluding that dinosaurs were 'warm' blooded simply by being huge， giganthermy。 Which is a copout answer and fails in logic without any conversation on how birds were not。 Most people generally connect 'warm' blooded with Endothermic animals。 Being giganthermic implies dinosaurs were Ectothermic， yet birds are not。 Birds are Endothermic animals， so where did the switch happen？ The explanation via giganthermy does not explain small dinosaurs either。 This was by far the most glaring I had with his arguments。 Having read elsewhere arguments for different pathways， it would have been nice if Benton explored these instead of spending a couple of pages getting to the giganthermy explanation and leaving it at that。 。。。more
Brendan
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I thought this was an interesting read which provided a good overview of changes to how we look at and study dinosaurs。 My only complaint is that it got a bit technical at times， although that generally did not affect my enjoyment。
lauren neal
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Having not read a thing about dinosaurs since a child， I picked up this book randomly。 The author was very engaging with his writing and I found it easy to follow despite having very little knowledge of the subject。 I especially liked the way it it gave an overview of so many different topics and research that is involved throughout palaeontology， how they are now embracing techniques from other fields to forward their research。
Robert
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Great charts， illustrations， dinosaur profiles of all the favorites: my inner 8yo was thrilled。 At the same time this dives satisfyingly into questions and science my adult brain can now handle。 Well organized and indexed， it will be great to reference。 Very well written and occasionally dryly humorous， totally enjoyable cover to cover。 It's exactly the dinosaur book I would have wished up。 （P。S。 On Amazon the paperback was some kind of mini version， and some of the words on these charts are tin Great charts， illustrations， dinosaur profiles of all the favorites: my inner 8yo was thrilled。 At the same time this dives satisfyingly into questions and science my adult brain can now handle。 Well organized and indexed， it will be great to reference。 Very well written and occasionally dryly humorous， totally enjoyable cover to cover。 It's exactly the dinosaur book I would have wished up。 （P。S。 On Amazon the paperback was some kind of mini version， and some of the words on these charts are tiny， so that didn't work。 The regular size hardcover is very nice anyway。） 。。。more
Book collector
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Fascinating look at the most recent developments in the science of Paelobiology。 This is a detailed but accessible book。 It's packed with new information gleaned in the last 40 years of the studies into dinosaurs。 I've been looking for a book that updated the science for years now and this is perfect。 Illustrated throughout with diagrams， illustrations and photographs。 It's well written and easy to follow without being dumbed down。 Recommended for those with an interest in dinosaurs。 Fascinating look at the most recent developments in the science of Paelobiology。 This is a detailed but accessible book。 It's packed with new information gleaned in the last 40 years of the studies into dinosaurs。 I've been looking for a book that updated the science for years now and this is perfect。 Illustrated throughout with diagrams， illustrations and photographs。 It's well written and easy to follow without being dumbed down。 Recommended for those with an interest in dinosaurs。 。。。more
KB
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This is quite different from what I normally read。 And， to be honest， I was worried that a lot of the book was going to go over my head。 This reads like a story of the scientific development of paleontology - how do we know what we know about dinosaurs。 How has science changed and developed to allow us to know more， and how is this applied to the study of dinosaurs？ While， like many people， I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid， good at science I was not。All that being said， I found this book t This is quite different from what I normally read。 And， to be honest， I was worried that a lot of the book was going to go over my head。 This reads like a story of the scientific development of paleontology - how do we know what we know about dinosaurs。 How has science changed and developed to allow us to know more， and how is this applied to the study of dinosaurs？ While， like many people， I was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid， good at science I was not。All that being said， I found this book to be extremely readable， even for the scientifically challenged such as myself。 Benton has a way of explaining ideas， practices and methods in a way that's very easy to grasp。 The only time I didn't quite understand something was when a graph or chart came up。 Sometimes I just couldn't tell what I was looking at。 But otherwise there were zero issues。 Lots of interesting topics are covered within the book: dinosaur mobility， colouration， what kind of parents dinosaurs were， their extinction， our visual depictions of dinosaurs over time， determining bite force of dinosaur jaws， why some got to be so massive in size， etc。 Being born in 1990， I grew up learning that the dinosaurs went extinct because of an asteroid hitting the earth。 It's amazing to read that this theory really only came about in the previous decade， and that it hadn't been long-known。The quality of this book is really something， too。 It's only about 300 pages but the book itself is quite hefty。 And there's tons of images， both black and white and in colour。 There's also plenty of individual dinosaur profiles given。I came across this book when I was looking for an alternative to another dinosaur book I had read mixed reviews on。 I'll eventually get around to that other book， but I'm glad I started with this one。 I finished this having learned far more than I expected， and was even a little sad when I read the last couple pages。 Benton is a great writer， and I'd happily read something by him again。 。。。more
Ashley Phillips
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This book quite literally jump started my three year old sons passion for dinosaurs。 He flipped through this book with me daily looking at all the pictures and asking me what all the dinosaurs were。 We started to look up pronunciations and details of each dinosaur and learned a lot。 We have since moved on to other books but this was the one that peaked his interest。 He continues to love learning about them and often schools my partner much to his annoyance 😂。It was an interesting and enjoyable r This book quite literally jump started my three year old sons passion for dinosaurs。 He flipped through this book with me daily looking at all the pictures and asking me what all the dinosaurs were。 We started to look up pronunciations and details of each dinosaur and learned a lot。 We have since moved on to other books but this was the one that peaked his interest。 He continues to love learning about them and often schools my partner much to his annoyance 😂。It was an interesting and enjoyable read and if you enjoy Dinosaurs and paleontology I highly recommend。 。。。more
Johan D'Haenen
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Een heerlijke reis doorheen het rijk van de dinosauriërs。 In dit werk maakt Michael Benton een stand van zaken op van de kennis die we nu hebben over de dino's， hun ontstaan en evolutie， hun lichaamsbouw， hun dieet， hun manier van voortbewegen。。。 tot hun extinctie。Hoogstwaarschijnlijk zal dit werk niets nieuws aanbrengen voor de specialist of de reeds gevorderde student van het onderwerp， maar voor een leek als ik， is alles op begrijpbare manier beschreven in een boeiende， vlotte stijl。 Eén klei Een heerlijke reis doorheen het rijk van de dinosauriërs。 In dit werk maakt Michael Benton een stand van zaken op van de kennis die we nu hebben over de dino's， hun ontstaan en evolutie， hun lichaamsbouw， hun dieet， hun manier van voortbewegen。。。 tot hun extinctie。Hoogstwaarschijnlijk zal dit werk niets nieuws aanbrengen voor de specialist of de reeds gevorderde student van het onderwerp， maar voor een leek als ik， is alles op begrijpbare manier beschreven in een boeiende， vlotte stijl。 Eén kleine opmerking/aanvulling vanuit mijn vakgebied als wetenschapsfilosoof。 De auteur verwijst heel expliciet naar de visie van Karl Popper over wetenschappelijk onderzoek en wetenschappelijke vooruitgang （deductietheorie: hypothese-verificatie-corroboratie/falsificatie） en voor een deel geef ik hem hierin gelijk， maar hij kon een even belangrijk aandeel toekennen aan de paradigmathorie van T。S。 Kuhn （inductie & paradigmaverschuiving）。 In feite zie ik zelfs in dit evolutie van dit onderzoek en de gebruikte technieken， eerder een mengvorm van beide wetenschapsfilosofische visies， of het beeld dat Paul Feyerabend schetst in "Against method"。 Maar dit is ter zijde。 。。。more
Joeri Ryckaseys
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Prachtig boek！ Het biedt een zicht op hoe we een antwoord krijgen op de meest essentiële vragen over dinosauriërs （hoe aten ze， hoe bewogen ze， waarom werden ze zo groot， 。。。） door gebruik te maken van de modernste wetenschappelijke technieken。 Het gaat van CT-scans， tot mathematische modellen tot isotopenonderzoek en onderzoek van gefossiliseerde proteïnes。 Naast deze hardcore science， die zeer helder en begrijpelijk wordt gebracht， krijgen we ook een antwoord op hoe ze als soort ontstonden en Prachtig boek！ Het biedt een zicht op hoe we een antwoord krijgen op de meest essentiële vragen over dinosauriërs （hoe aten ze， hoe bewogen ze， waarom werden ze zo groot， 。。。） door gebruik te maken van de modernste wetenschappelijke technieken。 Het gaat van CT-scans， tot mathematische modellen tot isotopenonderzoek en onderzoek van gefossiliseerde proteïnes。 Naast deze hardcore science， die zeer helder en begrijpelijk wordt gebracht， krijgen we ook een antwoord op hoe ze als soort ontstonden en hoe ze uitstierven。 Het hoofdstuk over het uitsterven van de dinosauriërs bevat ook een waarschuwing voor de toekomst。 Naar mijn mening zijn dinosauriërs één van de meest intrigerende wezens die er ooit hebben rondgelopen。 Van torenhoge sauropoden， tot vleesetende beesten die halve oorlogswapens waren， tot kleine behendige beesten die zouden leren vliegen en die we nu 'vogels' noemen。 。。。more
Michelle Bizzell
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I am also interested in paleontology and this was a good overview of some of the recent developments in the science。 A lot of the studies had been included in other books I read previously but I enjoyed revisiting。
Adara Jashel
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I loved it！ Not much to review when it comes to science but i will definitely be buying a copy soon 🦕
Joshua Lawson
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“Scientists do not hold back from criticizing the theories of others。 But the critic cannot simply ridicule a particular theory and step back。 It’s not like politics。”Not necessarily the breeziest read but a great primer on how we know what we know about dinosaurs。 I particularly enjoyed the portions on Emily Rayfield’s work applying engineering principles to dinosaurs skulls。 As always I wish I knew more about how we extrapolate a dinosaurs entire body when there are only a few bones found， but “Scientists do not hold back from criticizing the theories of others。 But the critic cannot simply ridicule a particular theory and step back。 It’s not like politics。”Not necessarily the breeziest read but a great primer on how we know what we know about dinosaurs。 I particularly enjoyed the portions on Emily Rayfield’s work applying engineering principles to dinosaurs skulls。 As always I wish I knew more about how we extrapolate a dinosaurs entire body when there are only a few bones found， but I guess I could just grow up and look that up。Having read this， The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Sixth Extinction this year I’m again inspired by the sprawling， global collaboration that is the pursuit of knowledge。 。。。more
Kristoffer Petersen
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Fantastic book， providing great insights while still being approachable by the uninitiated in the Sciences og paleontology
Matthijs
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Very informative and really well written book it answered all the questions I had and more and added on things I all ready knew about。 I really enjoyed this one 。 Curious what they will find next 🤓
Elentarri
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