Dinosaur Encyclopedia

I don't know how well "Dinosaur Encyclopedia" works as an encyclopedia. If you know enough to seek articles on "Camptosaurs and Dryosaurs" or, even more recondite, "Double Beams," you probably already know as much as is in this book.

It is more practical to read it straight through, as a short history of evolution, concentrating on dinos, although that way it is often repetitive.

Or, you could just dip into it on occasion, like a big, unwieldy Reader's Digest.

Nevertheless, although the Dorling Kindersley machine bolo'd the concept, it did a better job on execution.

The book seems to be aimed at young people who have not learned much about evolution in general or dinosaurs in particular, and it assumes most of what they have absorbed is more or less wrong. This is, no doubt, a just assumption, given the huge disinformation industry on these subjects sponsored by the churches.

The heart of the book consists of about 125 double-page spreads on, eg, "Camptosaurs and Dryosaurs," although fewer than half are devoted to dinosaurs. First the earlier animals are introduced; later, the inheritors after the dinos (except birds) departed.

These double-page spreads are devoted, more or less, to orders, although since Dorling tapped the American Museum of Natural History for consultation, such concepts as families, orders etc. are largely junked in favor of cladograms. This is not the place to get into the technical problems with cladistics, but the result is something of a hodgepodge. The big picture tends to be submerged in hard-to-correlate details, not helped by the somewhat jumpy temporal presentation.

There's still something to be said for the old-fashioned organization.

What makes the book worth the price of admission, even so, are the illustrations. The black-and-white illustrations of fossils are often too small and lack enough contrast to be very informative, but the hundreds of color drawings are magnificent -- as long as you keep in mind that they are also largely imaginary.

Best of all, this book, published in 2001, introduces a lot -- though I would have preferred even more -- of the impressive recent fossil finds. China, Argentina and other places that had scarcely been surveyed when I first studied evolution 40 years ago are now cranking out discoveries assembly-line fashion.

Not a bad book to give to a bright youngster, especially if he or she is subjected to the vapid biology classes that the Fundamentalists have foisted on the public schools in so many districts. I'd be tempted to give it a fourth star, except that biographical section at the end is full of weird errors, such as renaming Louis Agassiz as Douglas Agassiz.

This is the kind of error you get when books are assembled by talented but basically ignorant book-assemblers, instead of expert authors.

My son got this when he turned four, and loved it from the start. He still pulls it out and pours over it, a year later. He loves it! I appreciate the different categories being covered (though I agree with the other reviewers - maybe the Paleontology Encylopedia would have been more appropriate) and love the comparison to human size chart on each page. I do wish they would put the pronounciation though, since sometimes I am forced to make it up... He loves flipping through and studying the creatures. I highly recommend for anyone interested in prehistoric creatures!

Thanks for your product - it's too much good!
It's satisfy my better expectatives...


Have a nice day...

I originally bought this book for my grand children who love dinosaurs,and ended up keeping it.This book is not just about dinosaurs but it is about the evolution of life from the beginning.As usual Dorling Kindersley produced an excellent book superbly illustrated.I highly recommend it for people of any age.It is now part of my library.

My four year old loves dinosaurs! This book along with the other books I have purchased have been a great help with him and they are very informative. Some of the best books I have read on dinosaurs. The pictures really help with distinguishing the difference between some of the species. Highly recommended for anyone of any age!