Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History

Product Description
The ideal textbook for non-science majors, this lively and engaging introduction encourages students to ask questions, assess data critically and think like a scientist. Building on the success of previous editions, Dinosaurs has been reorganized and extensively rewritten in response to instructor and student feedback. This edition has been thoroughly updated to include new discoveries in the field, such as the toothed bird specimens found in China and recent discoveries of dinosaur soft anatomy. Illustrations by leading paleontological illustrator John Sibbick and new, carefully-chosen photographs, clearly show how dinosaurs looked, lived and their role in Earth history. Making science accessible and relevant through clear explanations and extensive illustrations, the text guides students through the dinosaur groups, emphasizing scientific concepts rather than presenting endless facts. Grounded in the common language of modern evolutionary biology – phylogenetic systematics – students learn to think about dinosaurs the way that professional paleontologists do.
Review
..".It's the best fit for my course of any book out there because it's focused less on the dinosaurs themselves and more on how dinosaurs illustrate important lessons in the history of life. ...I'm definitely going to adopt it for my course."
-Dr. J Bret Bennington, Hofstra University
'Does an excellent job of explaining cladistics.'
Bill Zinsmeister, Purdue University
'I am excited to see that they authors have selected not to overwhelm the student with detail.'
Mark Oiumette, Hardin-Simmons University
'It's a nice length - subjects are discussed with the appropriate amount of depth and level of coverage. The writing style and tone is engaging and I like the incorporation of phylogeny.'
David Varricchio, Montana State University
'This is an outstanding contribution for anyone teaching a course involving dinosaurs... it is reasonably short and very much up to date.'
Sherwood Wise, Florida State University
'Very up-to-date information ... superior illustration.'
John Taylor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
'Well written ...the author's sense of humor makes it enjoyable to read; it summarizes most of the important topics in dinosaur paleontology using current information.'
Carol Waddell-Sheets, Canisius College
"Dinosaurs remain a "hot" topic....To explore their past world, one needs to have a very good guide. With the publication of the book by Fastovsky & Weishampel, the latter is now available...demonstrates an outstanding degree of comprehensity...an outstanding synthesis of the modern knowledge on dinosaurs."
Dr. Dmitry RubanThe German Geological / Palaeontological Journal
"It is an admirable work, something unlike I have seen in other texts in the field. The 240 page lexicon is elegant and freshly instructive. I find this text compact, self-contained and interesting to read...I recommend it for anyone wishing to have a perspective of Dr. Denn's work in process stability and rheology.
Gibson Batch, Rheology Bulletin
..".well-written, highly visual, engaging, and informative book ... Highly recommended." CHOICE
Does an excellent job of explaining cladistics.
Bill Zinsmeister, Purdue University"
I am excited to see that they authors have selected not to overwhelm the student with detail.
Mark Oiumette, Hardin-Simmons University"
It s a nice length - subjects are discussed with the appropriate amount of depth and level of coverage. The writing style and tone is engaging and I like the incorporation of phylogeny.
David Varricchio, Montana State University"
This is an outstanding contribution for anyone teaching a course involving dinosaurs it is reasonably short and very much up to date.
Sherwood Wise, Florida State University"
Very up-to-date information superior illustration.
John Taylor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania"
Well written the author s sense of humor makes it enjoyable to read; it summar