Well, actually it is cold (temperature wise), but you get the point. UPS just dropped of my copy of Dinosaur Odyssey: Fossil Threads in the Web of Life by Scott Sampson. Since I did not make it to SVP this year I missed out on my book buying and having a chance to see all the new material out. So I am very excited to have my copy of this book and I am looking forward to reading it. And added bonus for me is that if you flip to page 148 you will find a photo I took of the Kaiparowits Formation in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The publisher, University of California Press, book description:
"This captivating book, laced with evocative anecdotes from the field, gives the first holistic, up-to-date overview of dinosaurs and their world for a wide audience of readers. Situating these fascinating animals in a broad ecological and evolutionary context, leading dinosaur expert Scott D. Sampson fills us in on the exhilarating discoveries of the past twenty-five years, the most active period in the history of dinosaur paleontology, during which more "new" species were named than in all prior history. With these discoveries--and the most recent controversies--in mind, Sampson reconstructs the odyssey of the dinosaurs from their humble origins on the supercontinent Pangaea, to their reign as the largest animals the planet has ever known, and finally to their abrupt demise. Much more than the story of who ate whom way back when, Dinosaur Odyssey places dinosaurs in an expansive web of relationships with other organisms and demonstrates how they provide a powerful lens through which to observe the entire natural world. Addressing topics such as extinction, global warming, and energy flow, Dinosaur Odyssey finds that the dinosaurs' story is, in fact, a major chapter in our own story."
5 comments:
Scott's presentation in Bristol was really excellent and I really thought of you! Have you seen his two new chasmosaurines? Known as taxon 'A' and taxon 'B', these are probably the most amazing looking dinosaurs for a long, long time. Taxon 'B' is simply astonishing....
Glad to hear it was a good one. It was one of the talks I really wish I could have seen. I have seen his two new critters - they are simply beautiful! I am really excited about them and it has been hard to wait for so long. I can't wait to see them all in press some day.
Yeah' i gots that one in my sights, along with Naish's "The Great Dinosaur Discoveries". Sampson's book got some good words over at Dinosaur Tracking, so it sounds like a great book.
Cold temperature-wise, eh? The weather over here has been nuts. Last Tuesday and Wednesday it was cold and blustering rain. Thursday was just cloudy, and then Friday was really hot (95 at one point). Then this tues day is was cold with a bit of rain and today it's hot. I think it's stuck in a loop.
Darrin's book is high on my list also! The book was really cold when the UPS guy gave it to me. Not sure if it had just come off a plane or what, b/c it was not that cold here yesterday. But it is getting cooler. It has been high 70's to low 80's some this week, but in the 30's (if not cooler) at night. I need a bit more summer. Not ready for winter yet!
I just finished reviewing Darren's book for the gift shop, and I got Scott's on Friday to review. It's sitting in may car now, I should get around to looking at it soon.
Wish I could keep the books I review...
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