Customer Reviews

Dinosaurs: The Textbook

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have used two editions of this book as one of the texts for a general vertebrate paleontology course. The class, organismic biology majors, with some secondary science, PE., elementary education and geography majors, liked the clear writing, statement of objectives, and reviews of each chapter. Diagrams were also clear. It perhaps needs more background on plate tectonics, stratigraphy/sedimentation and extinction/bird origins.

This book is a basic introduction to the study of dinosaurs. It briefly covers the history of paleontology in general and of dinosaur paleontology specifically. The reader will learn what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur, and why other reptiles aren't. It covers the major divisions of dinosaurs with brief descriptions of all of the large subgroups. If you're looking for a book that will get you beyond general audience level without requiring years of other studies to understand, this will be a good choice.

I teach a course about Dinosaur biology at a local community college and this textbook is exactly what we need for this type of course. This text allows me to teach science to students who think that science is boring or too hard. Although I have added a lot of scientific thinking on top of this text, the book itself does introduce students to thinking like a scientist by presenting both sides of an argument - for example what caused Dinosaurs to go extinct. The text allows me to teach both sides, all the facts behind each, and to allow the students to draw their own conclusions.

I purchased this for a class. When the item got to me it was a very worn black binder with hole-punched copies of pages in the book. The binder was on the verge of falling apart and you could see the cardboard from up under the black cover. The rings didn't even close properly.

Dr. Lucas's text book on dinosaurs is hopelessly muddled and poorly
written. He cannot decide what his audience is or needs. He alternates
between positions and is often vague in his statements. He cannot
decide whether he's writing historically or analytically, for adults,
for children, or for scientists. The result is garbage. Where was the
editor?

What kind of book is this? It don't mention the bible at all. I never done seen a place in the bible that talked about dinosaurs and what not, and so i don't believe in them critters anyway. I once saw a man take a rabbit skelerton and a wolf skelerton and a buzzard skelerton and make it all look like an angel skelerton. I got this here bible and there was nothing in there about the bible or jesus, who we know fought dinosaurs and pterodactyls. Weird, eh?

The book was not in good shape. As far as the content, I thought it was college level and it had a strong emphasis on evolution, to which we are opposed.