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 the previous editions, Dinosaurs has been reorganised and extensively rewritten in response to instructor and student feedback. It continues to make science accessible and relevant through its clear explanations and extensive illustrations. Updated to reflect recent fossil discoveries and to include new taxa, the text guides students through the dinosaur groups, emphasising scientific concepts rather than presenting endless facts. It is grounded in the common language of modern evolutionary biology - phylogenetic systematics - so that students examine dinosaurs as professional paleontologists do. The key emerging theme of feathered dinosaurs, and the many implications of feathers, have been integrated throughout the book, highlighted by the inclusion of stunning new photographs in this beautifully illustrated text, now in full colour throughout.
Brief description: David E. Fastovsky is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Rhode Island. His interest in dinosaurs began in his early years when he read about a paleontologist's adventures in the Gobi Desert early in the twentieth century. He has carried out fieldwork all over the world. He is known as a dynamic teacher as well as a respected researcher on the environments in which dinosaurs roamed, as well as their extinction.
Review Quotes: '... an essential library addition for anyone with an interest in dinosaurs and you don't have to be a science major to enjoy its contents. Thoroughly recommended.' Roger Smith, Dinosaurnews (www.dinosaurnews.org)