Dinosaurs

(The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia

for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages)

by
Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.

illustrated by
Luis V. Rey

Random House, October 2007, 428 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-375-82419-7

Genre: Young Reader

Subgenre(s): Non-Fiction / Dinosaurs
Reviewed: 12/1/2007

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Read an Excerpt

Habit of the Tyrant Kings

The arms may have had another function, though. In modern flightless birds, the wings are still useful in signaling to other members of the species. It might be that tyrannosaurids also used these little arms to signal. (In fact, I wonder if even the largest tyrannosaurids may have retained some protofeathers on their arms to make them more "showy.")

How social were the tyrant dinosaurs? Did they hunt alone or in packs? Fossil discoveries show that groups of different individuals of various ages (little young ones, half-grown "teenagers," and full-grown adults) of Albertosaurus and of Tyrannosaurus at least sometimes lived together, because they were buried together. It may be that these tyrant dinosaurs, and maybe some of their relatives, hunted in family packs like modern wolves and lions. Some scientists suggest that the faster young tyrants could chase their prey toward the waiting jaws of their powerful parents, but without a time machine such ideas are just speculation.

Even if they did live together, it's clear that tyrannosaurids didn't always get along. Many skulls show bite marks on their snouts where one tyrant snapped at another. These bites weren't fatal, but they were deep enough to scar the bone. In fact, some of these bites got infected. We can't tell for sure what provoked those attacks, but it's easy to imagine a couple of tyrants squabbling over a fresh kill until one drives the other away with a well-placed snap. (Such fights and wounds are found in many modern carnivores, from lions to vultures to Komodo dragons.)

Review

Dinosaurs is toted as being the most complete, up-to-date encyclopedia for dinosaur lovers of all ages. This massive book was written by professional paleontologist, Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. and is designed to appeal to young readers. This book contains 42 chapters on things like Carnosaurus (Giant Meat-Eating Dinosaurs) and Extinction: The World of the Dinosaurs Ends. This book is vividly brought to life with the pictures beautifully created by Luis V. Rey, a full-time paleoartist from Spain. This book covers the discovery, diversity, anatomy, and lifestyles of all known Mesozoic dinosaurs, which is over 800 of them. There are also sidebars by 33 of the world's leading paleontologists. This book also includes dozens of dinosaurs never written about or previously seen in any other trade book. And the nicest thing of all is that it is written in a way that it is understandable by readers in sixth grade and older.

Dinosaurs is a non-fiction book about dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era. The book was written by Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. and illustrated by Luis V. Rey. The book is intended for readers 12 and up.

When I first got my hands on Dinosaurs and cracked it open, I was blown away by the pictures. They are all absolutely gorgeous. I know that the colors of the skin of the dinosaurs is pure speculation, but that doesn't stop me from loving it. Once I calmed down a little, I was able to start reading and found the way that the book was written makes it easy for a layman like me to understand. After all, who wants to read a book about dinosaurs and not have a clue as to what the author is talking about? Not me. I thinks both young readers and adults will be blown away by this book. If you are a dinosaur lover, this book is a must have. Dinosaurs are extremely intriguing to me. After all, they were on Earth a lot longer than humans have been. They ruled the land with brute strength and ferociousness. I sure am glad that humans weren't around when dinosaurs ruled the Earth because we would not have survived long. But when you read this book, you feel like the dinosaurs could leap off the page right into your room. The information available in this book will keep you reading for weeks and weeks, heck, maybe even years. This is a book that you can never tire of going through. It is extremely beautiful and packed with a ton of useful information.