Review: Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction

Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction by David Norman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’d say this is a short overview of the state of dinosaurs, not the “very short introduction” as promised by the series title. But it is good at what it does – describes the full history of dinosaurs as well as the history of dinosaur research, back to the 1800s. Most of the details covered, though, seem to be more recent, including discussion of feathers, the possibilities some dinosaurs were not cold-blooded, and the cause of their disappearance. I greatly enjoyed learning about the current thought in dinosaur research, with the discussion mostly high level but occasionally drilling down to specifics, especially concerning the author’s own research. The ending was a bit of a downer, reminding the reader that humanity is likely to face the same fate as the dinosaurs. Nice read, and it makes me want to read more about dinosaurs and more in this series.

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