World-renowned palaeontologist Dr Kenneth Lacovara takes readers on a journey back to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth in order to discover fundamental truths about our own humanity. Lacovara reveals dinosaurs to be widespread, persistent and innovative creatures that achieved feats unparalleled by any other group of animals. Yet these remarkable creatures remain misunderstood.
In his quest to understand these magnificent creatures, Lacovara blends exploration in remote locations across the globe with the latest imaging and modelling techniques from engineering to medicine.
The dinosaurs died in the world's 5th mass extinction, snuffed out by a cosmic accident. Lacovara argues that with the dawning of the Anthropocene, humans have plunged Earth's biosphere towards a possible 6th extinction. Unlike the dinosaurs, we can see it coming, learn from the past and do something about it.
Kenneth Lacovara has unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk our planet, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus, which at sixty-five tons weighs more than seven T. rex. His discoveries have landed him three times in Discover magazine's 100 Top Science Stories of the year and in Time's Top Stories of 2014. Lacovara was named by Men's Journal as one of "The Next Generation of Explorers" and he is an elected fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York. Lacovara is the founding Dean of the School of Earth Environment at Rowan University and Director of the Rowan Fossil Park. He lives in New Jersey. Why Dinosaurs Matter is his first book.