Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Zebra (1988), Paperback
Description
Presents the author's theories on dinosaurs, principally, that they were warm-blooded, and takes issue with many current theories held by scholars and the general public. Also offers an explanation of why dinosaurs became extinct.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ex_ottoyuhr
Fans of whimsical dinosaur illustrations *must* read this book. _Jurassic Park_ fans *really ought* to read it. Anyone else with the least interest in dinosaurs should *seriously* consider it... Twenty-two years old, but still breathtaking -- and popular understanding of dinosaurs still hasn't
Show More
caught up to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member ablueidol
Immensively interesting read that gives the reader an insight into the argument and the implications that Dinosaurs were warm blooded. It is also one of the pieces of evidence of why the majority of dinosaurs were wiped out- the comet is only one of the factors!
LibraryThing member lateinnings
I loved this book, and Bakker was (and is) a rebel worth listening to.
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Interesting, though somewhat oddly structured - partly due to his arguments becoming less heretical since this book was written, though. 95% of the book is spent declaring that dinosaurs were warmblooded (now considered a reasonable possibility, at least), with evidence of dozens of types to
Show More
support the assertion. It becomes quite annoying, actually - footprints prove it! Bone structures prove it! Predator/prey ratios prove it! Chapter after chapter after chapter thumping on the same drum. It seems reasonable, and, as I said, is now largely accepted as a possibility - part of my problem may be that he was arguing with a different audience. Then at the very end - the last half of the last chapter - he gets on to a different subject; _since_ dinosaurs were warmblooded, the entire classification system for them is wrong. Among other things, modern birds are part of the same class - and therefore Dinosauria are not extinct! He's definitely a lumper - this and that and the other group should all be subsumed under Dinosauria. Interesting but not convincing to me - I'd like to see a paleontologist's opinion of his argument. And he mentions multiple times, but never goes into detail on, the oddest and most interesting (to me) aspect of this - according to him, the earliest paleontologists generally shared his views, on warmbloodedness and the structures of dinosaurs' lives; sometime in the early 20th century - 1920-1940 or thereabouts - the conventional wisdom totally switched to seeing them as giant, coldblooded, sluggish reptiles. Why, and exactly when, and who/what drove this change...nothing is explained, and it's a fascinating question to me! I'll have to look for mentions of this attitude switch elsewhere. Show Less
LibraryThing member tnilsson
This book opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about dinosaurs. Highly recommended even now that Bakker's theories have gained more traction and no longer seem as radical as when he wrote this book.
LibraryThing member dswaddell
Bakker makes compelling arguments concerning ideas such as dinosaurs being warm blooded and covered in feathers which were controversial in the 80's but have largely been accepted today. A good read.
LibraryThing member Coach_of_Alva
Dr. Bakker explains much of what had been learned about dinosaurs in his time, emphasizing his theory of their warm-bloodedness in the process. Very interesting and entertaining.
Language
Original publication date
1986
ISBN
0821724711 / 9780821724712
DDC/MDS
| 567.9 |