Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History

Description:

3rd edition. The ideal textbook for non-science majors, this lively and engaging introduction encourages students to ask questions, assess data critically and think like a scientist. Building on the success of the previous editions, Dinosaurs has been reorganised and extensively rewritten in response to instructor and student feedback. It continues to make science accessible and relevant through its clear explanations and extensive illustrations. Updated to reflect recent fossil discoveries and to include new taxa, the text guides students through the dinosaur groups, emphasising scientific concepts rather than presenting endless facts. It is grounded in the common language of modern evolutionary biology - phylogenetic systematics - so that students examine dinosaurs as professional paleontologists do. The key emerging theme of feathered dinosaurs, and the many implications of feathers, have been integrated throughout the book, highlighted by the inclusion of stunning new photographs in this beautifully illustrated text, now in full colour throughout.

* Unlike other introductory books, Dinosaurs is not a list of facts and figures but instead is concept-based, encouraging students to consider dinosaurs as a series of scientific questions to be answered

* Addresses the paleontology of dinosaurs exactly as the professionals in the field do, using phylogenetic systematic methods to reconstruct dinosaur relationships

* Dinosaurs are brought to life in specially commissioned drawings from the acclaimed dinosaur illustrator, John Sibbick

* An accompanying website for instructors contains high-resolution figures, topic question answers and lecture tutorials