From Issue #66 Jun/Jul 2004
Feathered Dragons: Studies on the Transition from Dinosaurs to Birds (Life of the Past) by Philip J. Currie (Editor), Eva B. Koppelhus (Editor), Martin A. Shugar (Editor), Joanna L. Wright (Editor) $49.95 Indiana University Press ISBN: 0253343739 Another fantastic academic dinosaur book from Indiana University Press. This one presents 15 new pieces of research from some of the greatest minds in paleontology focusing mostly on feathered dinosaurs and the dino/bird connection. Included is the discovery of and new research on Bambiraptor by Phil Currie, Velociraptor brain case by Mark Norrell, feathered Chinese dinosaurs by Sankar Chatterjee and Dale A Russell, Robert Bakker's homage to Edward Hitchcock, evolution of birds and theropod behavior at Como Bluff, Wyoming and much more. With beautiful artwork by Michael Skrepnick and others plus numerous photos of the latest fossil finds, Feathered Dragons is the best way to get caught up on much of the latest discovery and theory regarding dinosaurs.
Dragons in the Dust: The Paleobiology of the Giant Monitor Lizard Megalania by Ralph E. Molnar, James O. Farlow (Editor) $35.00 Hardcover: Publisher: Indiana University Press; ISBN: 0253343747 Author Ralph E. Molnar is Senior Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at Queensland Museum in Australia. Just 50,000 years ago Australia's giant lizard, Megalania, walked the earth. These frightful beasts could reach 19 feet in length and weigh as much as a polar bear. On their home turf they were top dog, and it was the rare animal that dared to challenge them. Dragons in the Dust tells the story of these amazing lizards and the world in which they lived. The book explores the Pleistocene ice age. While mammals ruled elsewhere, in Australia reptiles held their dominance. Large monitor lizards survive to this day, but the discovery of fossil remains of Megalania revealed that their ancestors were true giants and formidable predators. How scientists have reconstructed the way these animals lived and what factors encouraged their evolution make up part of the story. What caused their extinction remains a mystery, and one that makes an intriguing conclusion to this portrait of a true dragon of the past. With a beautiful front cover by Mark Hallett, the book also contains numerous photos of this 1 8 foot long monster's fossils and other similar monitor lizards. It's high time for this beautiful book.
The Last Rainbow-Angel's Portal by Brace Blumenfeld $32.95 Paperback 684 pages Writer's Showcase Press; ISBN: 0595275184 Will the same straggles we face today drive the human spirit one thousand years from now? Why does so much evil exist in the world today? Is God completely dispassionate, or are there some other dark and sinister forces at work entirely? Skip forward in time, approximately one thousand years, to a hostile and desperate environment, where on a near sterile earth, mankind clings precariously to life. A sun that has inextricably entered into an early pre-nova stage as well as countless nuclear, chemical, and biological wars have taken their horrible toll, forcing most of mankind deep underground. Starved for the light, those who survive seek shelter in solitude and hallucinate conspiracy theories as the days meld into one another. Vast new alliances have been forged in blood, with once unlikely enemies now close friends. Into this worldwide paranoia a "savior" is born— a male child possessing an extraordinary intellect, the likes of which has rarely been seen by mere mortal man. Shepherded into a special government school at an early age, this child soon grows into a gifted young man and devises a mind-boggling invention capable of regenerating the earth and all its lost resources via inter-dimensional travel. But therein lies the catch. Can such a fantastic device ever really be controlled, or will all of creation be undone? And if not, what are the repercussions for all of mankind? The Last Rainbow is a fantastic new science fiction novel that will keep you turning pages and longing for more. Blumenfeld has an obvious love for SciFi of the past and a vast mind for technology of the future. Voyage with the brave scientists and evil military and political characters of Blumenfeld's book as they enter a different universe and the effects it has on mankind. No dinosaurs here but plenty of action and thought-provoking text that will leave you begging the author for a sequel (which he tells me is in the works) The Last Rainbow can be purchased through www.iuni-verse.com, www.bn.com, www.amazon.com, and www.book-samillion.com
Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution by John A. Long, Michael Archer, Timothy Flannery, Suzanne Hand $79.95 Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press; ISBN: 0801872235 Author John A. Long is the curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Western Australian Museum This richly illustrated reference covers all Australian fossil mammals belonging to extinct species and describes how each group evolved. The text provides general information on each animal followed by a more technical summary of what scientific features distinguish the species. From kangaroos and koalas to the giant Diprotodon and bizarre "thingodontans," prehistoric mammals evolved within the changing and often harsh environments of Australia. As part of Gondwana, Australia was the first landmass to be isolated from the supercontinent Pangaea. In Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea, four expert paleontologists present a history of the development of modern mammals from the unique evolutionary environment of Australia and New Guinea. This beautiful reference contains over 200 four-color illustrations along with fabulously informative describing these extinct mammals.
Lowly Origin : Where, When, and Why Our Ancestors First Stood Up by Jonathan Kingdon $35.00 Hardcover Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691050864 Our ability to walk on two legs is not only a characteristic human trait but one of the things that made us human in the first place. Once our ancestors could walk on two legs, they began to do many of the things that apes cannot do: cross wide open spaces, manipulate complex tools, communicate with new signal systems, and light fires. Titled after the last two words of Darwin's Descent of Man and written by a leading scholar of human evolution, Lowly Origin is the first book to explain the sources and consequences of bipedalism to a broad audience. Along the way, it accounts for recent fossil discoveries that show us a still incomplete but much bushier family tree than most of us learned about in school. Jonathan Kingdon uses the very latest findings from ecology, bio-geography, and paleontology to build a new and up-to-date account of how four- legged apes became two-legged hominids. He describes what it took to get up onto two legs as well as the protracted consequences of that step-some of which led straight to modern humans and others to very different bipeds. This allows him to make sense of recently unearthed evidence suggesting that no fewer than twenty species of humans and hominids have lived and become extinct. Following the evolution of two-legged creatures from our earliest lowly forebears to the present, Lowly Origin is a fantastic,
must read account of what it means to walk on two feet.
Beasts of Eden : Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution by David Rams Wallace (Author) $24.95 Hardcover Wallace (The Bonehunter's Revenge, etc.) uses the Age of Mammals mural at Yale's Peabody Museum as the theme around which he builds the story of the evolution of scientific thought on mammalian evolution and focuses on the scientists who developed them. Stories are told in which respected scientists sent saboteurs to each other's digs and lambasted one another in the popular press, and museum founders who grafted human teeth onto the heads of roosters bringing these men to life. Each character's expeditions and the fossils that led to their fame or downfall are illuminated by quotations from a wide variety of sources. The Peabody mural adds more depth and perspective. A great read on a subject often ignored. Includes b&w photos and line illustrations.
Neanderthals and Modern Humans : An Ecological and Evolutionary Perspective by Clive Finlayson $85.00 Hardcover: 266 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 0521820871 The Neanderthals were a people native to Europe during the Pleistocene period, who became extinct between forty and thirty thousand years ago. Challenging the commonly held view that extinction was caused by the arrival of our ancestors, Clive Finlayson provides evidence that their extinction actually occurred because the Neanderthals could not adapt fast enough to changing ecological and environmental conditions and not their relationship with modern humans. Finlayson makes a good argument and attempts to prove that modern humans did not spell doom for Neanderthals but only appear that way today as they took advantage of the void Neanderthals left behind when they could not cope with the unstable, cold and and climate of Eate Pleistocene Europe.
Jurassic Shark by Deborah Diffily, Karen Carr (Illustrator) $17.99 Hardcover 32 pages Publisher: HarperCollins; ISBN: 0060082496 Thanks to Byron Preiss and Howard Zimmerman who sent us our review copy. Jurassic Shark tells the story of a female Hybodus, a deadly prehistoric predator that lived in the oceans some 1 80 million years ago. Hybodus was a fearless and deadly prehistoric shark similar to Great White Sharks of today, and this colorful book (great art by Karen Carr) looks at her feeding habits, preparations for giving birth, and dangers to herself and her baby. The oceans of the Jurassic world were filled with nightmarish creatures. The twenty-five feet long Plesiosaurs, 40-foot-long Kronosaurus and the 45-foot-long Eiopleurodon were ferocious predators with razor-sharp teeth. They ate anything they could catch. Alongside these megapredators swam Hybodus who would attack anything. This book for young readers tells the story of her fight for survival as she must find a way to keep herself, and her unborn baby, safe in a place where even the deadliest of hunters can become meals for other predators. A fantastic and original read. They also sent us copies of books from their Ray Bradbury Presents series that include Dinosaur World, Dinosaur Planet and more by Stephen Eeigh. All include time travel adventures in the spirit of Ray's famous story "A Sound of Thunder". From IBooks, these works of fiction are beautifully illustrated and perfect for a summer read.
Totally Prehistoric Beasts by Dennis Schatz, Bob Greisen (Illustrator) $16.95 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Silver Dolphin ISBN: 1571458891 The newest title in the best-selling Totally series is Totally Prehistoric Beasts. This activity-based book allows children to learn as they take part in the world of creatures of the past. Totally Prehistoric Beasts describes life after the extinction of the dinosaurs. This kit will help broaden kids' understanding of prehistoric mammals with its 32-page book and snap together parts that make five different prehistoric beasts: Gastornis, Entelodont, Doedicurus, Smilodon, and Wooly Mammoth. Children can also create new creatures with the more than 30 interchangeable plastic parts. Very cool!
Silver Dolphin also sent us Dinosaurs Sticker-pedia. $14.95 This beautifully illustrated and informative dinosaur book for young readers also includes a CD-Rom with 180 clip art images plus it is packed to the brim with over 400 reusable full color dinosaur stickers ! As mentioned last issue, Promotopia, Inc has an exclusive agreement with Japan's premiere model manufacturer Kaiyodo and Japanese confectionary giant UHA Mikakuto to market DinoMania collectibles in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. These are the beautiful and scientifically accurate, hand-painted miniature prehistoric animal figures that were sold in Japan as Chocolasaurs. The first group includes 24 different figures (plus secret figs.) They come individually packaged. You can find them in fine stores and through Tnceratops Hills Ranch (ad in this issue). Promotopia president TJ Scimone told me, "Collecting miniatures is a cultural phenomenon in Japan, where everyone from 6 to 106 buys little miniatures like crazy. They will buy over 10 million miniatures a month in Japan - these range from dinosaurs to obscure Japanese cartoon characters. I'd like to introduce this trend to the US, starting with the Kaiyodo DinoMania dinosaurs. We are starting with Series- 1 and we will introduce Series 2 and 3 after we establish Series 1 with mainstream America." Check out their full page ad plus www.dinomania.com
