Customer Reviews

World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures: The Ultimate Visual Reference To 1000 Dinosaurs And Prehistoric Creatures Of Land, Air And Sea From The Triassic, Jurassic And Cretaceous Eras

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book thinking it was complete... and it was! The author describes every dinosaur or prehitoric creature perfectly, he also did an excellent job on the illustrations. This book (I think) is the most complete reference guide to Prehistoric Animals/Dinosaurs. It is hardcover which makes it even better, and it's less than 20.00$. Who wouldn't buy this book?!?! It has the animals in the time period they lived, and it gives alot of information on one animal. It has a color coatted map that tells where the animal lived! The only flaws is that the print is tiny, but that's probably the only HUGE flaw. The author is correct in every sentance he writes! I recommend this book for people that are starting to learn about Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Creatures or others who want to learn more about them!!

My son has LOTS of dinosaur books, and this one is by far the best. At first, I was disapointed at its smaller-than-usual dimensions, but then I realized it was a GOOD thing! It's easier for his to carry and to look through, and easier on me if I have to shlep it to a restaurant. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Wow! I did not expect this book to be nearly as good as it is. What makes it so great? In a word -- completeness. Most books in this genre contain a bunch of entries about dinosaurs, and maybe a couple other oddballs thrown in. This book gives an almost unbelievable amount of detail about the most incredible forms of paleozoic, mesozoic, and cenozoic life. You will find hundreds of entries about relatively obscure creatures, from early tetrapods to obscure primitive plesiosaurs to esoteric early mammals. Nearly every important prehistoric group of tetrapods and their successors is addressed in loving detail. Interested in cynodonts? They're there. Rhyncosaurs? Of course. Placodonts? You bet. Gorgonopsids? Plenty. An absolutely wonderful comprehensive survey of land-dwelling vertebrates (along with those that later returned to the sea or took to the air).

Contrary to what some of the other reviews say, the book certainly does NOT contain anything like entries on every prehistoric creature, which would be totally absurd. But it does contain detailed entries on nearly every important vertebrate group on land and their descendants.

Finally, the illustrations are superb. If I had one fault to assign, it's that the book is a little too small. While very thick, a bit more height and width would allow more enjoyment to be taken from the delightful illustrations.

This book will NOT disappoint.

When I bought this book I think it would be so and so. Now imagen this, a book that blasts all other books millions of miles away. I loved the book it tells you about not only but "dinosaurs" but other "prehistoric creatures", it even tells about dinosaurs that aren't known well. Each animal in this book has a beautiful watercolor suggesting what the animal may have looked like. The only flaws is that the print is tiny, it doesn't go back waaaaay to the time the first animals lived, and it only covers "vertebrates" not "invertebrates." The flaws are only minor to the excellent illustrations. I would recommend this book to anyone is a starter to dinosaurs or would like to know.

I just recently purchased this book so I haven't read it cover to cover. However, from what I have looked over I will say that I am pleased with my purchase. I have just started to get into dinosaurs. It is just a random intrest that I seemed to develop for no particular reason (as I am known to do). Whatever the case I think this is a good starter book. I was first drawn to it because of the format, simple, readable, unintimidating. I am a novice science nerd so I appreciate the books accessibility. It is organized by time period and shows the progression of prehistoric animals. There are photos of each animal that are paired with individual descriptions. It is also covers basic background material, talking about the different biomes, tracing the lines of ancient species, and presenting the various theories for the dinosaurs extinction. Don't be put off by the fact that amazon doesn't show you the cover photo! I know that most individuals like to see a visual before buying a product (I know I do) but in this case I think it is wise to take a chance. This is an awesome book and the amazon price is less than what you will pay in the bookstore (or at least compared to what I payed)!

I am a big paleontology nut, and this is a wonderful book to have. I love the great Illustrations. I like the depth and scope of the animals covered. Like everyone in to paleontology, all I liked at first was dinosaurs, and more dinosaurs. This book covers them, but also the other animals before and after that I now know to be cooler and stranger in their own right. Creodonts and Gorgonopsids are fun too. There were a few species in here I hadn't heard of before, like the possibly limbless mammal Proterix, etc. Like other reviewers, just wish the book was larger sized.

From Charles Darwin Origin of the Species to Dinosaurs the Up-to Date Encyclopedia I have never seen such an amazing book in my life; giving over 1000 species of prehistoric wildlife from the Dimetrodon to the Nothronychus and the Palorchestes each species is carefully described and drawn separated by their periods, and family groups or orders (Ex: Boneheads: Stegoceras, Colepiocephale, Hanssuesia, and Tylocephale).
Also each paper is informed with a box that gives a more closer look to that animal look, their environment or their behavior/fossil finds. I personally was personally discouraged when it only focused on Tetrapods instead of other Vertebrates (like fish) or even any kind of Invertebrate (like arthropods, mollusks, and arachnids); besides that little discourage everything on the book is perfect, original, and very detailed on the subject.
Last but not least, the author Dougal Dixon (read every work from him) is a geologist/writer and lives in Scotland; he has published more than 150 books and reports about Paleontology or Evolution, which gave rise to his first book After Man (a consice "field guide of life in the future after man is long gone"). He participated on an excavation on a Stegosaurus in 2004 and was a co-author in the book the Future is Wild a companion to the original Amrican Documentary that gives a view of life in the future. The World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures is a vast encyclopedia well defined and appealing to all ages from pioneers in to the subject to experts from many years.

Great amount of information!
I use this book both as a reference for drawing and for a good read. Working on a geology degree, I felt the book didn't seem kiddish by any sense of the word. I think if you got this for a child (Under 12) a lot of whats being talked about would go right over their heads, but the pictures are very well drawn so it would still captivate even children (Good enough until they are old enough to read it!)