The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

David Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

"The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs" contains virtually everything there is to know about dinosaurs, their world, and the scientists who study them. Absolutely up-to-date information is coupled with an imaginative and engaging presentation to provide children with hours of educational fun. 3-D glasses included. 1,500+ color illustrations, photos, maps & charts.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

The ``Millions of factoids!'' in this compendium on dinosaurs may confirm once and for all that bigger is not necessarily better. The information--followed by six pages of picture credits, but without text credits or authors listed--is not arranged in alphabetical, geographic, chronological, or any other determinable order. Instead, sections repeat every 18 pages or so: ``Identikit,'' which offers general profiles of dinosaurs accompanied by full-color scale drawings and occasional photos; ``Dinosaur World,'' which answers broad questions, e.g., ``Why did dinosaurs die out?''; ``Spotter's Guide,'' which offers details about claws, brains, etc.; ``History in Pictures,'' which cover in comic-strip fashion key moments in scientific discovery; ``3-D Gallery,'' which are scenes to be viewed with the special glasses provided; and more. Without a table of contents or index, browsers or researchers will have trouble locating specific information; regardless, the facts are occasionally inconsistent and confusing: On one page, the allosaurus has on ``each hand and foot . . . three strong claws to grip its victims,'' and on another page, it is announced as ``The Four-Toed Terror.'' The pages are packed with full-color inserts, boxes, drawings, photos, and lurid paragraphs of text, with lots of gouging, ripping chunks of flesh, savage blows, razor-sharp teeth, and dagger-like clawed feet. Dinosaur lovers beware--this is humongous bunkum. (Nonfiction. 8-10) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1254 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang; Bk&Acces edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556705964
• ISBN-13: 978-1556705960
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The must have of dinosaurs book!, August 15, 2001

By 

"colibrimgl" (San Diego California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

If your children or even you just love the subject of prehistoric beings you definitely have to have this book. Do not let its size fool you, for in it, you not only ge t to read about every dino known to man, but also activities that children can engage themselves with their parents. The Humongous Book contains 3D pages through wich your child and yourselve can be transported to the Paleolithic times of these giants and what their view of Earth was to them during the time they walked on it. It is definitely a book to have for your children or even yourself if you caught dinomania!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Massive and Impenetrable. Like most Dinosaurs., September 16, 2009

By 

Lawless B "Brian" (Doylestown, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs (Hardcover)

I got this book when I was about 10. Upon reading it, I was overwhelmed with the glitz and glamor of Dino-mania and found the pictures to be extremely entertaining. There are tons of facts and more dinosaurs than I think most paleontologists would be able to identify themselves. However, there is NO table of contents, NO index and NO way to find your way through this 1,256 page book. It was so frustrating to have such a huge book and never know what was in it, it was like having a library without the Dewey Decimal system or the internet without Google. So at age 10, I spent several hours each day of my 5th grade summer creating a table of contents. By page 369, I questioned my life's worth. But I really wanted to be able to look up Dinosaurs alphabetically, so by page 408, I only cataloged the "A to Z of Dinosaurs" sections. I can tell you first hand, the Editorial Review above is wrong: this book comes in sections that are 24 pages long. I found every "A to Z" section, (the last three are on pages 1200, 1224, and 1248). Yep, I found them all.

And then I never touched the book again.