A History of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils

Paul M. Barrett
Natural History Museum, £17.99

This latest book on dinosaurs from the author, a palaeontologist at London’s Natural History Museum, comprises 50 short chapters which each focus on a fossil from the museum’s collection – or from a similarly renowned institution.

The chapters form three sections: the first explains what a dinosaur is (and what it is not, correcting some common misconceptions) and how they evolved; the second describes the major subgroups; and the third shows what fossils can reveal about dinosaur biology, including their appearance and behaviour.

The book is detailed enough to give a good overview of the current state of knowledge without becoming overwhelming, and contains fossil images that are clear and generally well described. There are reconstructions of some dinosaurs, but it might have been helpful to do this for more examples. It’s also worth noting that an evolutionary tree showed the major groups and subgroups, yet it wasn’t always clear which of the described species belonged to which subgroup.

My final criticism regards the use of inappropriately superlative statements, given the gaps that exist, and will always exist, in the fossil record and our knowledge. For example, while the extant bee hummingbird may be the smallest dinosaur we are currently aware of, that does not justify the implication that it is the smallest ever. Similarly, while it may be the case that Tyrannosaurus had the strongest bite of any land animal so far studied, that doesn’t prove that it ‘had the strongest bite force of any land animal that ever existed’.

Nevertheless, overall, this is an attractively presented overview of a perennially fascinating subject.

Mike Smith FRSB

Reviewed by Mike Smith FRSB