General

Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds

Scientists have recovered more than a billion fossils, but no discovery has been more breath-taking than the fossils recently found in northern China, findings which prove that several families of dinosaurs had feathers, or feathery hair-like coverings, adorning their bodies.
Now in the beautifully designed Feathered Dinosaurs, paleontologist John Long and illustrator Peter Schouten provide a stunning visual record of these extraordinary prehistoric creatures, illuminating the evolutionary march from primitive, feathered dinosaurs through to the first true flying birds. Schouten, an acclaimed natural history artist, has created 80 full-color paintings that capture the striking physical traits of these feathered dinosaurs. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the lifestyles of modern birds and mammals, plus the extant scientific data regarding how these dinosaurs might have looked and behaved, Schouten has produced not only the most beautiful but also the most accurate visual representations of these animals in print. Equally important, John Long, a noted paleontologist and widely published science author (with some 24 books to his credit), provides an engaging companion text that places these feathered dinosaurs within the larger family of dinosaurs--for instance, outlining their relationship to T. Rex and Velociraptor, species well known to Jurassic Park fans--and discusses the factual information that can be deduced from their fossil remains, in effect providing an insightful natural history of this remarkable group.
A true marriage of art and science, Feathered Dinosaurs presents an unprecedented visual record of one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history of vertebrate paleontology--the discovery that many predatory dinosaurs were cloaked with feathers, perhaps just as colorful and fanciful as those of their living relatives.

Mini Dinosaurs Tattoos (Temporary Tattoos)

Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway: An Epoch Tale of a Scientist and an Artist on the Ultimate 5,000-Mile Paleo Road Trip

“Would make anyone want to go on a fossil hunt.”—True West

Cruisin'the Fossil Freeway follows the most unusual travels of a paleontologist and artist as they drive across the West in search of fossils, encountering “paleonerds” like themselves and evidence of everything from suburban T. rexes to ancient fossilized forests.

Chased By Sea Monsters

Following the hugely successful Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, DK dives into the past to swim with prehistoric reptiles and mammals in Chased by Sea Monsters. Exploring the underwater world where he "encounters" amazing creatures, Nigel Marven presents a unique record of a lost world never revealed before now.

The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life

The most exciting view of prehistoric life.

"Comprehensive, illustrated encyclopedia to prehistoric animals... lifelike detail... this easily readable book should appeal to dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages."
-Science News

Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Tyrant King (Life of the Past)

With its massive head, enormous jaws, and formidable teeth, Tyrannosaurus rex has long been the young person's favorite creepy carnivore in the Mesozoic zoo. Nor has T. rex been ignored by the scientific community, as this new collection amply demonstrates. Scientists explore such questions as why T. rex had such small forelimbs; how the dinosaur moved; what bone pathologies tell us about life in the Cretaceous; and whether T. rex was a predator, a scavenger, or both. There are reports on newly discovered skeletons, on variation and sexual dimorphism, and how the big beasts chewed. The methods used by the contributors to unlock the mysteries of T. rex range from "old fashioned" stratigraphy to contemporary computer modeling. Together they yield a wealth of new information about one of the dinosaur world's most famous carnivores. An enclosed CD-ROM presents additional photographic and filmed reconstructions of the mighty beast.

Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep

Sharks and dinosaurs, dinosaurs and sharks, we find them both alien and awe-inspiring, at once utterly inhuman and somehow irresistibly compelling. But forget Jaws and Jurassic Park—nothing can prepare you for Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep, an amazing plunge into the Cretaceous oceans of 80 million years ago, a merciless realm ruled by the most ferocious animals ever to stalk the seas of planet Earth. More terrifying than anything known to humankind, it scarcely seems possible that these swift, massive underwater predators actually existed, but they did—and this is their frightening, fascinating, unforgettable story.

Featuring incredibly realistic computer-generated images and 3-D film clips—with 3-D glasses—field photography by National Geographic cameramen, and much more, the book interweaves dramatic scenes of the far, far distant past; up-to-the-minute scientific profiles of nearly two dozen sea monsters; and a group portrait of the eccentric Sternberg family, Kansas-bred pioneers of marine paleontology. From giant sharks and fierce reptiles to the fossil-hunters who proved that today's land-locked Great Plains were once submerged, to the cutting-edge Large Format Film technology that made Sea Monsters possible, this book and the movie behind it will forever change how we think about marine predators—and make us look at the oceans of our world with new eyes and a shivery mix of wonderment and ancient, instinctive fear.

Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Life in the Triassic (Life of the Past)

Before the Age of Dinosaurs there was an age in Earth's history known as the Triassic. It was a world of truly fantastic creatures, a genetic stew of the ancient and the modern. During this time the Earth took its first steps toward the creation of modern terrestrial ecosystems. This incredibly exciting period is brought vividly to life in the words of paleontologist Nicholas Fraser and the consummate artistry of Douglas Henderson. Together they have created a book in which the riches of Triassic life are presented with clarity, scientific accuracy, and imaginative recreation. Every lover of the life of the past will treasure Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

"Fraser (curator, vertebrate paleontology, Virginia Museum of Natural History) has prepared a serious work on Triassic paleontology. The text is accompanied by numerous color plates of animals and scene reconstructions as well as quality line drawings and illustrations... The book itself is rather readable and represents a comprehensive review of Triassic vertebrate evolution accessible to both experts in the field and generalists ... Fraser presents a comprehensive picture...A refreshing approach in a market saturated with "just so" stories and sanitized tales of evolution. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students through professionals." -- Choice May 2007

The Dinosauria

When the The Dinosauria was first published more than a decade ago, it was hailed as "the best scholarly reference work available on dinosaurs" and "an historically unparalleled compendium of information." This second, fully revised edition continues in the same vein as the first but encompasses the recent spectacular discoveries that have continued to revolutionize the field. A state-of-the-science view of current world research, the volume includes comprehensive coverage of dinosaur systematics, reproduction, and life history strategies, biogeography, taphonomy, paleoecology, thermoregulation, and extinction. Its internationally renowned authors--forty-four specialists on the various members of the Dinosauria--contribute definitive descriptions and illustrations of these magnificent Mesozoic beasts.
The first section of The Dinosauria begins with the origin of the great clade of these fascinating reptiles, followed by separate coverage of each major dinosaur taxon, including the Mesozoic radiation of birds. The second part of the volume navigates through broad areas of interest. Here we find comprehensive documentation of dinosaur distribution through time and space, discussion of the interface between geology and biology, and the paleoecological inferences that can be made through this link. This new edition will be the benchmark reference for everyone who needs authoritative information on dinosaurs.

What Bugged the Dinosaurs?: Insects, Disease, and Death in the Cretaceous

Millions of years ago in the Cretaceous period, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex--with its dagger-like teeth for tearing its prey to ribbons--was undoubtedly the fiercest carnivore to roam the Earth. Yet as What Bugged the Dinosaurs? reveals, T. rex was not the only killer. George and Roberta Poinar show how insects--from biting sand flies to disease-causing parasites--dominated life on the planet and played a significant role in the life and death of the dinosaurs.

The Poinars bring the age of the dinosaurs marvelously to life. Analyzing exotic insects fossilized in Cretaceous amber at three major deposits in Lebanon, Burma, and Canada, they reconstruct the complex ecology of a hostile prehistoric world inhabited by voracious swarms of insects. The Poinars draw upon tantalizing new evidence from their amazing discoveries of disease-producing vertebrate pathogens in Cretaceous blood-sucking flies, as well as intestinal worms and protozoa found in fossilized dinosaur excrement, to provide a unique view of how insects infected with malaria, leishmania, and other pathogens, together with intestinal parasites, could have devastated dinosaur populations.

A scientific adventure story from the authors whose research inspired Jurassic Park, What Bugged the Dinosaurs?? offers compelling evidence of how insects directly and indirectly contributed to the dinosaurs' demise.