Reviews (6)

Great Book
This is a great book, considering how huge it is. Being written in 1998, this book has all the current knowledge. There's more info on the actual era and the technical asspects of dinosaurs than the actual dinosaurs. Despite the price, this book is worth it.

Questions about dinosaurs that go deeper than the surface?
If so, then this is the book for you! The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs is a wonderful, up-to-date book that covers most, if not all, topics concerned with dinosaurs.Well put-together, beautifully illustrated, and written by today's top paleontologists, the Encyclopedia is well worth the price.Although it doesn't get too technical, this book is not for the uninformed.A must have for any serious dino-enthusiast - believe me, it will answer your questions, and lead you to ask more!5 stars may not be enough for this one!(Plus it's massive enough to knock some sense into the not-so-dino-loving loved one or associate in your life!)

This definitely belongs on the shelf of any dino-lover.
When I first received this book for Christmas, I was shocked!The book was the size and weight of a telephone book!It's packed with skeletal drawings, cladograms, paintings... You name it, it's in the text. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dinosaurs    2. Encyclopedias    3. General    4. Paleontology    5. Reference    6. Science    7. Science Fiction    8. Vertebrate Paleontology    9. Nature / General    10. Palaeozoology    11. Reference works   

Subjects:  1. Human Evolution    2. Life Sciences - Evolution    3. Life Sciences - Evolution - Human    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Science / Paleontology   

Reviews (5)

Excellent Review
This is an excellent review that follows current thinking in modern invertebrate taxonomy.The author does not take any controversial positions, and discusses the uncertainties where they are.He provides what i think is an excellent basic review of the biology necessary to understand the book, although when reading a book that is on a subject that is not unfamiliar it is always difficult to judge how easy it would be for someone with less knowledge on the subject.Even though the paperback version being sold is july 2006, it is impossible to have a review that is entirely to the date.If you read source articles you will realize that mitochondrial DNA studies fairly convincingly place placazoa basal to porifera, and a new molecular analysis places urochordates closer to craniata (vertebrata)than cephalochordata, but i am not aware of any summary that includes info that new.

Tough, but rewarding
The title says it all, this is a book about the evolution of phyla. It's a fairly advanced book, if you don't know what a phylum is or what natural selection is you'll probably find it a very rough go. However you don't have to be an expert, I'm certainly not, to enjoy it and learn from it.
Fascinating topic
This is a fantastic book that discusses in great (sometimes excruciating) detail the morphological, developmental, fossil, molecular, and other evidence regarding the definitions, circumscriptions, origins, evolution, and interrelationships of the phyla.Mostly well and clearly written although the text is at times frustratingly redundant, and it will probably be difficult reading for anybody without an intense interest in, and some basic knowledge of, biology.However, it is a must-read for anybody who is interested in this topic. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Evolution (Biology)    2. Life Sciences - Evolution    3. Life Sciences - Zoology - General    4. Paleontology    5. Phylogeny    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Science / Zoology    9. Science: General Issues   

Reviews (4)

An excellent introduction of complex processes.
This textbook was assigned for a mid-level course on climatic environments of the past, with a focus on the Quaternary Period. As a graduate student with an ecology undergraduate degree currently studying Quaternary vegetation dynamics, I found this to be an excellent introduction for those without a background in climatology while still having a lot to offer more advanced students.
A long-awaited textbook......
I read this book twice, and wished I had had something like this available to me a few years ago, when I started venturing out into the unnumbered feedback loops, geochemical vagaries and regional idiosyncracies of Quaternary paleoclimatology, trying to form a general picture of it all. But this text isn't just about the Quaternary, mind you, this is a complete introduction to the main issues in Earth's climatology. Not Good Enough!
Here is a very flashy book.Superb illustrations.Nice layout. Important subject.Read more

Subjects:  1. Climatic changes    2. Climatology    3. Earth Sciences - Geology    4. Nature    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Weather    7. Palaeontology   

Reviews (8)

A dissenting opinion....
In order to temper the unrestrained exuberance of the formerreviews, I think it is appropriate to point out what I believe are a couple of major shortcomings of this book. Excellent
This book is an excellent source for information on learning the bones, how to side them, and many other interesting aspects of osteology.

Complete and concise course
This is quite possibly the most useful book I have ever bought. "Human Osteology" is clear and complete. The photos and diagrams are clear and complete. The text is clear and complete. I have used this book in three separate classes and it has proved invaluable to me all three times. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anatomy    2. Anthropology - Physical    3. Archaeology    4. Bones    5. Forensic Medicine    6. Human remains (Archaeology)    7. Medical / Nursing    8. Physical Anthropology    9. Skeleton    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Dentistry / oral & maxillofacial medicine    13. Forensic science    14. Medical / Endocrinology & Metabolism    15. Palaeontology   

Reviews (9)

Great book
I've read several dinosaur books and I've generally found them to be very good. This one, along with "The Complete Dinosaur", ranks as one of my favorites. The reason I was interested in this book was that I was looking for something that focused on the evolution of dinosaurs and how the various taxa of dinosaurs related to each other. I was also looking for something at an intermediate level. This book exceeded my expectations on all fronts.
Clades of the past
"Dinosaur!"The word still makes children's faces bright with excitement."Can we go to the museum, Dad?" - and a golf game is set aside.The authors note how pervasive the dinosaur has become in our society.We live in "dinosaur-crazy times with documentaries, colouring books and films - "we have thrice feasted on Jurassic Park movies".The authors feel this familiarity is all to the good - we learn something of Nature's ways from some of this exposure.They want us to take the next step and learn something of what the professional paleontologist does to bring the wealth of information about dinosaurs to our ken.We also need to understand what conditions prevailed while dinosaurs dominated the planet for 160 million years.That's a real success story and it deserves our attention.
The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs
The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs written by David E. Fastovsky and David B. Weishampel is primarily designed as a textbook.Although very readable this text can be used as a resource, the chapters build sequentially reflecting the nature our the science.Read more

Subjects:  1. Dinosaurs    2. Evolution    3. Extinction (Biology)    4. History: World    5. Paleontology    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Palaeontology    9. Science / Zoology   

Reviews (3)

Handy book
As a physical anthropology grad student, I am finding this book to be very useful. The hardcover text is great, but this is transportable and packed with information. Would highly recommend it to anyone in forensics, anthropology.

The Human Bone Manual
this book would be best accompanied by an anatomy book.To really get a good visual, it's a good idea to review muscle attachments and origin sites in a(n additional) book with color.so My biggest criticism (and it's so easy to criticize) is that while many of the bones are pictured the as the actual size, there are not photographs of the bones articulated with neighboring bones.I found it hard to side bones because of this.So, it's a pretty good book in spite of my harshness, just not by itself.

Fantastic guide.
This manual is a somewhat more consise version of Dr. White's Osteology textbook. Excellent for anyone with any need to understand the human skeleton in depth. Clearly and assessibly written and includes fantastic pictures, indexes of directional terms, etc. Used widely on archaeological digs the world over. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Analysis    2. Anatomy    3. Animals    4. Classification    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Human skeleton    7. Identification    8. Life Sciences - Evolution    9. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology    10. Mammals    11. Medical    12. Nursing - General    13. Paleontology    14. Science    15. Medical / Osteopathy   

Reviews (4)

Bringing Fossils to Life by D. Prothero
I have not read this book yet (for my fall class in college), but I am happy with the professional courtesy that I received during shipment.I would buy books from the seller again.The book description was accurate and as expected for a used text book.I am happy with my purchase.Thank you.

not bad at all
Like a fellow reviewer, I also took the a class from Don Prothero (using this book, obviously) at Caltech, and I actually did hear his voice reading the book back at us. The book is fairly detailed for a general class, while still maintaining excellent readability, since Don uses a very conversational tone. It should be enough for an undergraduate interested in the subject. He also includes classic research experiments along with the descriptive passages and offers rare insight into what paleontologists do besides looking at specimens. You could not find a better book
This book has got to be one of the finest introductory paleontonlogy books on the market.I actually took Paleontology class from Don Prothero and found that this book was an excellentguide and very well written.At times I could hear his vocie reading the chapters to me.Thre are considerable references to outside sources and Don does an excellent job of removing many of the rote memorization that introductory books of this type often have.Some sections appear to be dwelled on for much longer than seems necessary, but about a week later you find yourself realizing that those subjects really are deserving of the in depth coverage they recieve.I cannot heap enough praise on this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fossils    2. Paleobiology    3. Paleontology    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Geography    7. Science / Paleontology   

Reviews (7)

The Drama of Paleoanthropology
Few are neutral on the subject of human origins.Many find the evolution of the human species a subject that demeans the status of man as a little lower than the angels. Those that accept evolution find themselves on one side or another of the various controversies caused by the new discoveries that seem to appear on a very regular basis.It is this latter ferment that Ann Gibbons describes in her book "The First Human". She has produced an excellent account of the often contentious search for human origins.
Scholarship and Divaship
Anyone working in, or remotely interested in, sciences will appreciate this gem.
"Bones of Contention" [updated] **
If this book is any indication, palaeoanthropology needs new electives in its curriculum.A course in "Field Combat Tactics" appears useful, while "The Intricacies of Site Permits" seems almost essential - perhaps a requirement.Ann Gibbons may not be certified as a combat correspondent, but she does a fine job of narrating the course anthropology has taken in seeking the "first human" and the conflicts that have arisen over the findings.What is notable about the strife among the members of that community is that Roger Lewin seemed to have covered it in "Bones of Contention" in 1987.Things appear to have heated up instead of calming down.
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Subjects:  1. Fossil hominids    2. Human Evolution    3. Life Sciences - Evolution - Human    4. Paleontology    5. Paleontology (General)    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Biology, Life Sciences    9. Science / Paleontology   

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - General    2. Micropaleontology    3. Paleontology    4. Petroleum    5. Petroleum Exploration    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Earth Sciences | Paleontology    9. Historical geology    10. Palaeontology    11. Petroleum geology    12. Science / Paleontology   

Reviews (2)

Magnificent
American Forests and his earlier book Petrified Wood are amazingly beautiful books. I have seen a few of the petrified wood samples in museums which are shown in these books, and the photoimages correspond to the authentic samples. I have two other petrified wood photo books that I have loaned out but I don't remember their titles (mostly chapters by German authors). Daniels two books are the very best. Howard McPherson

The best book on fossil wood bar none
I have been an amateur fossil hunter for 60 years and on rare occasion a book of this quality is printed.
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Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - General    2. Environmental Science    3. Nature / Rocks & Minerals    4. Nature / Trees    5. Paleontology    6. Petrification    7. Pictorial works    8. Plants, Fossil    9. Science    10. Science / Mineralogy    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Trees, Fossil    13. Paleobotany    14. Petrifaction    15. Petrified forests    16. Wood   

Reviews (2)

The Earth Through Time
I first used the 4th Edition, at Marshall University, Huntington, WV. The 7th Edition is an excellent textbook, it covers all the basics of paleo, and geology. Also, it keeps abreast of the latest in geological research. It is use in 3 colleges, in the immediate area. Also, the study guide will assist in a better grasp of the materials. Recomend it to any one that wants a better understanding of earth. I ordered mine through asane@memphis.edu

Mexican opinion.
The book is so good to understand the earth's evolution and the origin of the features of the planet. If you live on the Nortamerican plate this book shows you the history or your place. If you are not in America, may be youwill disgusting because the title describes to much of the evolution innorteamerica and avoids a little the other parts of the word. Although isstill a very good textbook for Historical Geology, and you will enjoy toread it, it's like to read a novel, a novel full of imagens, a very goodedition. Recommended for nongraduated estudents.Read more

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - General    2. Earth Sciences - Geology    3. Historical geology    4. Paleontology    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Textbooks    8. Geology & the lithosphere    9. Science / Earth Sciences   

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geology    2. General    3. Paleontology    4. Paleontology (General)    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Palaeontology   

Subjects:  1. Paleontology    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Science / Paleontology   

Subjects:  1. Dinosaurs    2. Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures    3. Paleoecology    4. Paleontology    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Triassic    8. Palaeontology    9. Popular science   

Reviews (11)

Can hallucinations explain reality?
What does holotropic mean?The dictionary does not define the term, and neither does the author, although he has developed an entire psychiatric treatment and trademarked it as the "Holotropic Breathwork." If we compare it to the meaning of "allotropic" we can deduce that it should mean "of one form." But with one form with what? After reading the book I amguessing that it refers to the universe.Our mind is one with it. Purely a guess; the author does not tell us.
Truth Seeker
A truely inspired journey through an emerging paradigm in consciousness research. This book is an absolute must read for anyone who has seen the futility of modern material science's need to relegate the mind to the status of a physical anomaly.

My Hollow Mind.
The distance between the atoms in my brain is the same overall ratio as the distance between the stars in our galaxy. My head is basically empty space. Just thought you should know.
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Subjects:  1. Consciousness    2. Mysticism    3. Neuropsychology    4. Psychology    5. Soul    6. Spirit    7. Subconsciousness    8. Mind, body, spirit: disciplines & techniques    9. Palaeontology    10. Popular psychology    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (9)

Some self-aggrandizing here...
It is always gratifying to see popular books about science get rave reviews because we scientists benefit from public enthusiasm about what we do. Erwin has a chatty and disarming style that is a joy to read. Unfortunately, it is a public disservice to distort reality as Erwin has done in this book. In depicting his role in the whodunit, Erwin has liberally embellished his own contributions and those of his colleagues. After proclaiming for years that the extinction was unrelated to the Siberian volcanism, this book now implies that such a relationship was his idea. The whitewashing treatment of his team's blunder in misdating the extinction and related events is worthy of the most guileful politician explaining away some scandalous act.
Very interesting and enjoyable read
Even for a novice in the area of natural hsitory and geology, I found this book to be a joy to read, fascinating, and memorable.Dr. Erwin's text brings to life the fun and excitement of learning about Earth's history - as well as educating the reader on what rocks tell us about Earth's past.If I'd read this book back in high school, I might have chosena different major in college!

The Ultimate Whodunit:The End-Permian Mass Extinction
Reading this book gave me the same sort of headache that reading Paul Gallico's THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE did -- I kept stumbling and wincing over badly puncutated sentences, mis-applied terminology, and a host of other stylistic and grammatical problems probably due to the fact that instead of properly proofreading this first edition work, somebody relied on a spell-checker to do the whole job and ignored everything else.That said, however, like THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE as well as Gallico's other work -- and like the work of Ceremonial Magickian Aleister Crowley, essentially an engineer writing for other engineers who would be able to fill in the blanks and make mental corrections of technical boo-boss as needed, not for a public who neither know nor care about the nuts and bolts of the Magickal aspects of reality -- I couldn't put the damned thing down.Like Gallico, Erwin has a powerful sense of story, far and away THE essential ingredient of a great literary work, and what is paleontology all about, anyway, but the study of the long, long story of Earthly life?He also has just as powerful a sens of humor, as well.And his analysis of the problem and possible avenues to its ultimate solution -- an understanding of what caused the End-Permian catastrophe -- is meticulous, painstaking, and fascinating.A wonderful read.I hope that by the time the paperback version comes out the editorial problems will have been corrected -- but even if not, I'll buy it anyway.This is a must for the library of anyone who has any interest at all in the history of living creatures, their tenure on Earth, and what their story has to tell us about our own probable futures.I give it five stars, though maybe with half a point off for the editorial stuff. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Catastrophes (Geology)    2. Earth Sciences - General    3. Extinction (Biology)    4. Geology, Stratigraphic    5. History    6. Life Sciences - Evolution    7. Paleontology    8. Permian    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Biological Sciences    12. Earth Sciences    13. Evolution    14. Palaeontology    15. Popular science    16. Science / Paleontology   

Reviews (6)

The Gold Standard
An outstanding work, David Unwin's book 'The Pterosaurs from Deep Time' should be considered the standard by which other popular (and even textbook!) books on paleontology should be compared.If only something similar could be written about the various sea-reptiles of the Mesozoic!Very well researched, excellent diagrams, photos and artwork, all the latest information, truly brilliant!

Best Pterosaur book in print
This is by far the best book on pterosaurs for the non-technical reader in print.Only the 1990 or 1991 extremely well-illustrated _Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs_ by Peter Wellenhoffer has better photos and artwork; it is out of print and dated in many ways (and difficult to find at a reasonable price).Unwin discusses a number of recent fossil finds, including discoveries of pterosaur eggs with embryos from the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous Lianong Province of China, and eggs from other deposits as well.I was particularly impressed by the specimen that had the fragment of plant material lodged in the lower jaw of the animal, keeping the pterosaur from being able to feed or close its mouth properly.In spite of the fragile and often fragmentary nature of the fossil record for pterosaurs, there are some really fantastic specimens turning up from time to time.
Flying, landing and laying
My credentials. I work on pterosaurs (among other things) at the University of Portsmouth, UK.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Vertebrate Paleontology    5. Dinosaurs & the prehistoric world    6. Science / Paleontology   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (1)

Power of Paleontology
This very fine invertebrate paleontology textbook strikes a nice balance between focus on the paleobiology/taxonomy of the organisms and theoretical topics in the science. The well-crafted illustrations help to make the sometimes intricate details of fossil morphology clear. Clarkson has a knack for bringing forth key details that illuminate ancient organisms (e.g., the hysteresis mechanisms that control the liquid in cephalopod chambers), and he writes with a wry sense of humor (see the Lehmann quotation on p. 245). The importance of convergent evolution is apparent throughout the book, and is one of the main lessons to be learned from the science of invertebrate paleontology. The next edition of this book needs to stop calling the Ediacarans a "fauna" (the term "biota" is preferable, as we are not sure that Ediacarans were indeed animals). I also havequibbles with the higher taxonomy presented in this book for other groups. Overall, however, this is an outstanding presentation of invertebrate paleontology. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fossils    2. Invertebrates, Fossil    3. Life Sciences - Evolution    4. Paleontology    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. EVOLUTION    8. Palaeontology    9. Science / Evolution   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (17)

Good introduction to anthropology
This is a book covering a wide range of topics relating to anthropology. Cavalli-Sforza tells of his experiences with African Pygmies in the Congo, and relates these experiences to ideas as to what hunter-gatherer life was like. He explains the discovery and history of the theory of evolution, and explains the human tree. The spread and migration of humans since the dawn of their evolution is described in good detail. Molecular biology is easily explained. He also describes theories of agriculture's emergence and significance. Cavalli-Sforza juxtaposes what we know of human migrations from DNA with what we know from linguistic evidence. He also discusses cultural anthropology and the concept of race. It is impressive that Cavalli-Sforza has such a good command of a wide range of subjects.
good account of human history
Great Huaman Diaspporas covers the history of humanity from its origins in Africa and how it s