Books on dinosaurs have generally arranged them in terms of their classification or according to when they lived. This major new book looks at dinosaurs from a historical perspective, from the earliest scrappy finds and best guesses of the early 1800s to the spectacular key discoveries that changed people's minds and brought dinosaurs alive in the public consciousness.
Key finds for each century are examined in chronological order, with information about the dinosaurs themselves interwoven with accounts of their actual discovery and the extraordinary scientists and explorers who found them. On this fascinating journey, we come back to the same sorts of dinosaurs more than once as new discoveries changed ideas on their appearance, biology or behaviour. The amazing new discoveries in China and South America in the last few years are fully documented, as are the major new finds of the 21st century.
Darren Naish is a vertebrate palaeontologist who has published several popular books on prehistoric life. He is an associate editor for the journal Cretaceous Research and has made a number of media appearances in connection with his work.
"[...] beautifully illustrated with photographs and paintings, and crammed with scientific and historical facts, this should please dinophiles young and old."
– Good Book Guide (November 2009)
"[...] is not only extremely well-illustrated with photos and artwork but is also both authoritative and a pleasure to read."
– New Scientist (December 2009)