Dinosaurs : A Look Inside Series (Hardcover)

by Neil Clark (Author), James Field (Author), Alex Pang (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Dinosaurs are a huge subject, all right, as hundreds of huge volumes will testify. But suppose you'd like a handy little reference book on these extinct reptiles--maybe one that you could stick in your backpack or even in your pocket? This small but sturdy book from Dorling Kindersley fits the bill, with tons of information on all things relating to dinosaurs and their world. An introduction provides an overview of types of dinosaurs, discoveries, museum displays, historic periods, and dinosaur anatomy. (The anatomy section is fascinating, with comparative discussions of dinosaur heads, necks, limbs, tails, and skin. There's even a cutaway model of the insides of a dinosaur.) Information on specific types of dinosaurs follows, illustrated with drawings, fossils, skeletons, and realistic models that look like actual photos of real dinosaurs. Also included are resource and pronunciation guides, a glossary, and a complete index. Younger children who are dazzled by dinosaurs can enjoy this with an adult's help, and those in fourth grade and up will eat up these facts by themselves. A book to delight all dinosaur devotees! (With adult help, ages 5 to 8; independently, ages 9 to adult) --Marcie Bovetz --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Which dinosaur used its tail as a whip? How did Deinonychus flick its lethal claws? Why did dinosaurs become extinct? The answers to these questions and many more are packed within the pages of Pockets: Dinosaurs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 20 pages
• Publisher: Reader's Digest Young Families; Second Printing edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895776898
• ISBN-13: 978-0895776891
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,486,129 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice introduction, February 20, 2001

By	Eds "ed_mcmuffin" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaurs (Pocket Guides) (Paperback)

This is a great book for a well-rounded general knowledge of dinosaurs. The only down part is that we still do not know much about dinosaurs and are improving our knowledge every day; since this book is relatively old, some things have changed in our view of dinosaurs today. I have documented the few inaccuracies, and hope that the publishers will issue a 2nd revised edition of this awesome book. At the time it was published, it was the most up-to-date compact book of its kind, a real break-through. If you want to have a good idea of what the dinosaurs were all about, then this is the book for you. It is so complete that it covers the facts that you would learn in an undergraduate 100-level course on dinosaurs. For those of you who are interested, the following are some of the things that have changed in the 2001 view of dinosaurs:

1) The Tyrannosaurs are now viewed as more closely related to the Raptors (Dromaeosaurids) instead of the Allosaurs (or Carnosaurs).

2) Its is now known that many therapods had feathers (other than the Aves), including Tyrannosaurs, a fact that was omitted from the book.

3) Oviraptors are no longer believed to be 'egg stealers' as the embryos found inside the eggs were determined to be of the same species.

4) In the extinction explanations section, they mentioned that the Dinosaurs died out gradually. However there is a phenomenon known as the Signor-Lipps effect that states that a sudden extinction can resemble a gradual one due to the fact that evidence and fossils are so scarce (because rarer species have lower sampling rates). This means that we still do not know if their death was gradual or quick. They also mentioned that a volcano was a possible cause. Volcanic activity would have been one of the side-effects of an impact, others being acid rain, tsunamis, and tornadoes. However the two leading theories are now the Alvarez theory (Asteroid impact which leads to a quick wiping out of a species) and the more gradual extinction via ecological change (retreating seas and climate change due to tectonic plate movement), which they failed to mention. It should be noted that the Alvarez theory is more widely accepted than the other.

5) The Classification chart is, as they correctly stated, continually changing and is now different from the one printed in their book.Updated versions can be found on the web.

Apart from these errors (due to continually changing views in dinosaur study), this is a great book that I would recommend to everyone.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Excellent Dino Book For Children and Adults!, July 19, 2000

By	Douglas Brackett (Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dinosaurs (Pocket Guides) (Paperback)

DK has done it again! This book is a wonderful resource for the family and the individual that is interested in dinosaurs. Why?

First, the book is compact. This means it can fit in small areas in your school bag, hip pack or even a pocket. This means you can have the book as source material on-hand without a great deal of personal imposition. If I personally was to use a pocket, I would prefer a trouser's cargo pocket. Why? Because I care about how my books age and how much damage they sustain.

Second, it is a typical DK book - in other words, beautifully illustrated. There are plenty of pictures both of actual fossils and modern science reproductions of dinosaurs.

Third, I love the silhouette comparisons between a 6ft (1.8m) tall human and the dinosaur being spoken of. I only wish that they would have more of them in this book. Between this volume and three of DK's other books (The DK Great Dinosaur Atlas also by William Lindsay and the Ultimate Dinosaur Book and the DK Guide to Dinosaurs both by David Lambert) you will get a wide variety of these silhouettes. Unfortunately, Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Lambert, despite both being from the British Museum, disagree on some of the silhouettes. Oh well, take the one you like best as gospel, eh? I do!

Fourth, it is well organized. It is divided into five sections:

Section 1 introduces the reader to dinosaurs. It speaks of what is a dinosaur, the world of the dinosaurs, the lifestyles of the dinosaurs, anatomy of the dinosaurs, the first dinosaurs, and of course, the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Sections II & III are the typical FUN parts of a dinosaur book that everyone is looking for - the parts that directly deal with the many types of dinosaurs. They are split into the traditional two categories of dinosaurs: the lizard-hipped or Saurischian dinosaurs and the bird-hipped or Ornithischian dinosaurs.

Section IV deals with the sea and air animals that many consider dinosaurs, but are not. Despite not being the stars of the book, the section does provide some good information on these.

Section V is the reference section. This can be priceless for the person who wants to know more about dinosaurs. The main value is two pages of dinosaur museums and sites in the USA and Canada with their addresses. An improvement here would have been the inclusion of WEB site addresses and phone numbers as well. The next valuable part of this section is the cannot-do-without pronunciation guide that most parents find to be a lifesaver. I know my wife depends on it! The section also talks of dino-discovery history, dino records and myths, how dinosaurs are taken out of the ground after being discovered and contains a glossary.

What is bad about the book? Not much! Only two things come to mind, one wishful and one serious. The wishful matter is that I just wish there was even more cool information about dinosaurs in the book. But if that was the case, it probably would not be the small convenient book to carry around. On the other hand the serious matter is that it was published in 1995. That means it is approaching six years old. That means dinosaurs like the Giganotosaurus from S. America and the Carchardontosaurus from Africa are not present. Simply, it is not going to show the latest discoveries. Is this a problem? No! This book is designed to be a handy reference, not an end-all-be-all reference. As long as DK updates this book every ten years or so, this book will be an eternal handy dino guide. If you are looking for something like an end-all-be-all dinosaur reference I would refer you to three books: The Complete Dinosaur by Farlow & Bret-Surman, The Dinosauria by Weishampel, Dodson & Osmolska and Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia and its Supplement I by Glut & Bret-Surman. These are the ultimate books in the field. They are also not written for the common man. The level of writing/reading is fairly intense for the average reader. If you are looking for what would be a good introductory textbook on dinosaurs for the dino-fan with a good interest in the subject and decent reading comprehension, I would recommend Fastovsky and Weishampel's The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs. See my review of that book.