Reviews
"Hone strikes a good balance between general biological principles and enthusiastic stories about the particular techniques or dinosaur species that he finds fascinating." ---Frank Brown Cloud, The American Biology Teacher, "If you have a prior interest in dinosaurs this book will enhance your knowledge; if you are just beginning your quest you are bound to be both amazed and educated." ---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds, "The volume takes on the character of the best forward-looking review papers, designed to not simply summarize the field but drive it forward." ---Christopher Griffin, The Quarterly Review of Biology, "An excellent book that shows the opportunities and potential of paleontology as a field for the intellectually curious scientist." ---Wade Lee-Smith, Library Journal, "The volume is jam-packed with gripping descriptions of advances in dinosaur science, while also serving as a handbook for anyone wishing to identify central gaps in our knowledge." ---Barbara J. King, NPR
Synopsis
The revolution in science that is transforming our understanding of dinosaurs In just the past twenty years, we have learned more about dinosaurs than we did in the previous two centuries. This book describes the extraordinary advances in palaeontology that are beginning to solve many of the mysteries surrounding these marvelous prehistoric creatures, including their mating habits, ways of communicating, skin color, migration patterns, and extinction. How did dinosaurs rear their young? What did they eat? What did T. rex actually do with those tiny arms? David Hone draws on his own discoveries at the forefront of dinosaur science to illuminate these and other questions. Each chapter in this lively and informative book covers a key topic in dinosaur science, such as origins, diversity, evolution, habitats, anatomy, behaviour, ecology and dinosaur descendants--the birds. For each topic, Hone discusses the history of what palaeontologists thought in the past, the new insights we are gleaning from recent fossil finds and the latest technologies and the gaps in our knowledge that still remain. He shares his own predictions about the research areas that may produce the next big ideas in dinosaur science and addresses the unknowns we may never solve. How Fast Did T. rex Run? reveals everything we now know about dinosaurs--and everything we don't--and charts thrilling new directions for tomorrow's generation of dinosaur scientists.
