Dinosaur Books

To the publisher I would appreciate it if the publisher could produce an audio adaptation of this book. I would love to listen to this while I drive to work and to let my 16 month old son listen to it as a bedtime story. My goal is to expose him to some of my favorite passions, maths, sciences, physics, geophysics, paleontology, astronomy, electronics, photonics, new science and discoveries etc. The more audio books you can produce of the above genre the more I will support you. Arnold D Veness

Dinosaur Lives: Unearthing an Evolutionary Saga written by John R. Horner is a well-written account of paleontological fieldwork told in an engaging style. This book is the continuation of the book Digging Dinosaurs one of the author's previous books.

Horner is a thinker as has helped out on numerous motion pictures to make the dinosaurs seem real and alive. In this book we get to read (speculation) about dinosaur eggs, their young and their nests as found from the fossil record.

Horner has an infectous style when he write and you can't help but getting into lock-step with him as he writes a telling-tale, making the read feel as if you are there right along side. Our understanding of how dinosaurs grew up, raised their young, and socialized with other dinosaurs are brought out in this book.

There is still a lot of information yet to be discovered, but Horner has been making long strides in elucidating information and answering some of the nagging questions involving dinosaurs. Some of the new evidence and arguments regarding the major dinosaur controversies of the day, being that of warm-blooded verses cold-blooded are tackled in this book.

This book is a quick read and should be on your bookshelf as the author's discoveries regarding the dinosaur are ground-breaking and unparalleled. Paleontologist Robert Bakker is another forward thinker when it comes to dinosaurs.

This book gives some credence to Bakker's theory about the inland sea retreats and the dinosaurs from the eastern part of the North American continent mixed with those of the West, exchanging bacteria and other pathogens for which the recieving group had no inherent resistance. This could be a slow death or a prolonged one depending upon the pathogen involved. Also, climate was changing substantially at that time as well, becoming cooler, and more arid, this could slowly add to the demise of the dinosaurs.

This book was an enjoyable, engaging read.

Touches on lots of topics: various dinosaurs, bone sites, evolution, extinction, digs, past and present bone hunters, the science of the Jurassic Park movie, etc. Very easy to read.

Dinosaur Lives introduces the lay reader (that would be you and me) to a number of exciting ideas. The book provides us with an update to Horner's field work since he wrote "Digging Dinosaurs," but it also delves deeper into some of the bigger ideas concerning dinosaurs. A large portion of the book is devoted to speculation about the behavior of dinosaurs, especially the raising of young and herd/pack associations. What interested me most, however, is Horner's deconstruction of Linnean taxonomy, and the description of cladistics as a more powerful tool to look at relationships between living and extinct creatures. For those of us raised on the idea of speciation, this is powerful stuff. You may find, as I did, that light bulbs start popping in your head as you realize that the very way you think about a subject can severely limit your ability to perceive new ideas.

If all this sounds a bit airy-fairy, Horner does a much better job than I can here explaining some pretty complex stuff in a very simple way. My only complaints about the book are that Horner sometimes can be a bit wordy while telling us what he is about to tell us. I could have used a bit more technical detail in some of his descriptions, and certainly the illustrations should have been more complete. These are minor complaints, however. This is a fascinating book for anyone who likes thinking about dinosaurs, and the endless cycles of life. You don't need to have any prior knowledge to thoroughly enjoy this book.

Mr. Horner has made an extraordinary accomplishment with 'Diggin Dinosaurs,' as it is able to present relative information regarding the topic at hand in a manner to be easily read by the masses and hold the reader's attention. His ability to stimulate the imagination with his illustrative speach and diction is quite amazing, as is his ability to distill the necessary information from the vast amounts of data that is available for analysis. An amazing breakthrough to be certain.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R285V63257WHVK Cullen [...] reviews this book and gives you ideas on how to use to use it interactively with your child. For you I have more video book reviews, free children videos and free activity idea videos at the [...] website. If you have a children's book you would like me to review and offer ideas on how to use it interactively with children [...]. Also, feel free to to add me, Cullen Wood, as a Facebook friend.

What a fun introduction to the world of dinosaurs! And yet with plenty of information to challenge the most avid dinosaur fans--in fact, this is a handy resource for anyone. If nothing else, Barton's crayon-box colors are addicting.

This has been my son's favorite book since he was about 8 months old. I was suprised how well he took to it as such an early age. He is now almost 14 months and still can't get enough of it. It is the one book he will look around for and really insist on having at his high chair during meal times. Agree completely with the other reviewers who mentioned how fun it was to make the dinosaur noises and that the "long sharp claws, long sharp teeth" part is especially fascinating for the child. Even when i don't have the book handy, just by saying the opening lines...a long time ago...there were DINOSAURS -- brings a delighted smile to his face every time.

He also enjoys "My Car" by the same author although that book is not as simple (i.e., talks about car needing oil change, obeying traffic laws, etc.).

Excellent book for the young dinosaur fan. Good drawings, informative writing, and definitely keeps the attention of my most active grandchild (age 3)!

This is my son's favorite, and mine too! Although he's only six months old, I've been reading to him almost every day since he was old enough to pay attention, and he has loved this book from the word go - probably because of the bright colors and simple shapes, but maybe also because when I read it to him it's fun to make "dinosaur noises" and roars, which he finds very entertaining. Although I have read this book so often that I have literally memorized it, I'm not tired of it yet, and that's about as high a recommendation for a baby book as I can make!

I am completely satisfyed one more time! no delay, no problems perfect.

I bought this book a few years back and it is quite excellent. I think the series is updated every few years, and things constantly change with dinosaurs. This book has excellent drawings and actual photos of models, replicas, and skeletons of dinosaurs. Microraptor is in this supplement as well, and dinosaurs evolving into birds is discussed in here as well. Different groups like the sauropods and hadrosaurs are discussed with new discovers and information. Many oospecies and footprints are discussed in here as well. Highly recommended for any paleontologist, dinosaur enthusiast, and/or future paleontologist(like me).

If you are a serious dinosaur lover with some money to spend, this is the book. At the time of publication, every classified species was included, along with pertinent details and from 1-3 pages of write-up. It talks of the holotypes, it has 1-2 photos on every page, it gives it all. It is exhaustive, well written, and just simply outstanding. Put it this way, paleontologists and reconstructionist-artists keep this on their desk like the military folk keep a copy of Jane's, it's simply far and away the best reference on the various species of dinosaurs. Is it pricey? Yup. However, you could easily spend far more buying every dinosaur encyclopedia sold on Amazon and still come up with a fraction of the material that is in this book. To be blunt, no other reference is in it's class. Throw in that periodic supplements are published that describe all of the new species and information discovered from the previous release, and you simply can't go wrong.

If I have to pick one flaw, it's that some of the photographs are of poor quality, however most of these seem to be because the only surviving photo is a zerox or what have you, so the quality is dependant on the source picture, not due to any corner-cutting (of which there seems to be NONE) in the book.

A year after the second supplement, here's another! Donald Glut's indefatigable efforts at keeping us posted about all developments in the world of dinosaurs are nothing short of astounding. Always fascinating reading for specialist and general maniac alike.

In the ever changing science of paleontology, sometimes it is impossible to keep up...until now. Donald F. Glut's Dinosaurs: the Encyclopedia, along with this subsequent and future supplements, reviews and condenses ALL (not merely some) of the technical papers published on the "terrible lizards" and packs them into one place. Want to know whatever happened to Brontosaurus? Look it up! For the budding enthusiast who is not quite sure what all the jargon means, a dictionary of terms is included in the back. If you are serious or want to be serious about the study of dinosaurs, Glut's encyclopedia is the place to start. Personally, I plan to purchase any and all future supplements to this wonderful bible of dinosaur science.

Thanks for your product - it's too much good!
It's satisfy my better expectatives...


Have a good day...

See all my dinosaur book reviews.

This is an excellent resource for those interested in the weightier matters of dinosaurs. Over 800 pages with over 100 authors, Currie's compilation is still current in 2008.

Set out in encyclopedic fashion, each letter-section has been devoted to a range of topics; not just species of dinosaur. For example, under 'T' the chapters are Taphonomy, Teeth and Jaws, Tendaguru, Tetanurae, Thecodontia, Therizinosauria, Theropoda, Thyreophora, Tooth Marks, Tooth Replacement Patterns, Tooth Serrations in Carnivorous Dinosaurs, Tooth Wear, Trace Fossils, Triassic Period, Troodontidae, Trophic Groups, Trossingen, Two Medicine Formation, Tyrannosauridae.

The chapters on dinosaurs are of the genus, not individual species. This is quite different than most other dinosaur books; which is quite refreshing. After reading mostly about individual dinosaurs in books that have fantastic diagrams or paintings, it is nice to have them compared as a genus in a scientific way without the influence of an artist. For example, the chapter on Tyrannosauridae covers 3 pages with only 2 sketches, one of a Tyrannosaurus skeleton, the other of a labelled skull of a Gorgosaurus. Instead of relying on a bevy of flashy pictures that distract the reader from average writing, the discussion centres on the characteristics of the group as a whole and how they differ from Allosauridae and other therapods in anatomical structure - and what these adaptations mean when constructing a working dinosaur. From the skull to the forearms to feet, the exposition is very thorough. One interesting comparison was made between the length of the neck of Tyrannosaurs, Allosaurs and Ceolophysis as a way to distinguish them.

What impresses me most is the balanced discussion. If there is agreement between experts, this is stated. Also, there is no speculation which leads to something dogmatic - like feathers, but rather, differing viewpoints of scientists working in the field.

I'm very impressed with this book. I have a science degree and the interest to appreciate it. However, it does have a reasonably high level of science - especially technical terms, which renders it unsuitable for under 17/18's who don't have a serious interest in the science of dinosaurs. It also doesn't have many pictures - only 4 lots of colour plates, and even these are not dinosaur art.

It is a great book to have if you want to read serious stuff on dinosaurs.

If so, then this is the book for you! The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs is a wonderful, up-to-date book that covers most, if not all, topics concerned with dinosaurs. Well put-together, beautifully illustrated, and written by today's top paleontologists, the Encyclopedia is well worth the price. Although it doesn't get too technical, this book is not for the uninformed. A must have for any serious dino-enthusiast - believe me, it will answer your questions, and lead you to ask more! 5 stars may not be enough for this one! (Plus it's massive enough to knock some sense into the not-so-dino-loving loved one or associate in your life!)

When I first received this book for Christmas, I was shocked! The book was the size and weight of a telephone book! It's packed with skeletal drawings, cladograms, paintings... You name it, it's in the text.

This is a great book, considering how huge it is. Being written in 1998, this book has all the current knowledge. There's more info on the actual era and the technical asspects of dinosaurs than the actual dinosaurs. Despite the price, this book is worth it.

I'm the type of person who rarely reads books for fun. Most of what I read is for my work or on rare occasions I'll grab a book at the airport if I have a long flight. Half the time I'll get bored with it and won't finish it. I'm not even sure how this book ended up on my shelf but I grabbed it about a week ago when I had to go to the hospital and wait for my mother who was having an operation. I literally had a hard time putting it down. Of course it's not fiction but in some ways it reads like fiction in that it tells a story. At times it presents itself as a murder mystery; "What killed the dinosaurs?". Even though the outcome is given away by the title, it's still a fascinating story.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part covers various theories about the cause of the death of the dinosaurs at the end of the cretaceous. The second part in some ways refutes the first part by coming to the conclusion that dinosaurs never really died at all because birds are part of the dinosaur family. I know this is still somewhat of a contentious debate among some, but the book contains some pretty convincing evidence. It's a bit technical at times but you can always get the general idea of what the author is tying to convey.

Even though this book is chiefly about dinosaurs and birds it covers a lot of stuff not directly related to the main topic but interesting never the less. For instance I did not know about the Phylogenetic system of classification before I read it. This book explains it quite well so that someone like me, who is not well versed in biology can easily understand it.

This is an extremely thorough, yet readable treatment of the subject of the evolution of birds and the non-extinction of dinosaurs. The drawings in particular are excellent illustrations of the features of the lineages. The discussion of the evidence for the different causes of the extinction event that took most of the dinosaurs is clear and thorough. This is a must-read if you are interested in these issues!

This book rocked so hard it isn't even funny!! I have loved dinosaurs ever since I was a youngster, and still find myself quite fond of those wacky beasts. This book delivers when it comes to dinos. It basically includes two parts: one concerned with the theories of dino extinction(the meteorite-impact hypothesis is given paricular attention-perhaps because one of the authors was involved in research on this hypothesis), the other with dino evolution into birds. Both are written by experts, and more than that they are experts who know how to write in an engaging and easy to understand fashion that the non-expert can understand and appreciate. The prose made the book hard to put down, and the pictures of the biological poetry we call dinosaurs are enough to bring tears to the true dinosaur lovers eyes. So if you like dinosaurs, geology, or I would even say science in general, or are just a curious soul looking for new things to learn I highly recommend this book.

The Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds written by Lowell Dingus and Timothy Rowe is a dinosaur book that makes a difference. This is a frank account of how we know what we know about the dinosaurs and how the work can and should be approached. There are issues surrounding a dinosaur extinction as though they are elements in a scientific detective story; following a trail of geologic and paleontologic clues toward a solution. This book show the reader the way of intelligent thinking and the conclusions that make sense.

Over the course of this book, it will become clear that the questions being raised today actually have their roots in the debates that raged within the scientific community in the nineteenth century, when Dawin's theory of evolution first burst upon the scene. This book is divided into two parts.

The Search for the Smoking Gun is part 1. The eight chapters include: The Seductive Allure of Dinosaurs, Earlier Extinction Hypotheses, Contrating Volcanic and Impact Hypotheses, Enormoud Eruptions and Disappearing Seaways, THe Fatal Impact, Direct Evidence of Catastrophe, Patterns of extinction and Survival, and Our Hazy View of Time at the K-T Boundary.

These chapters give the reader adequate background information, to take us back to the time of the murderous extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundry of geological time. Here we find a theory of gradual extinction... a theory that most reseachers favor, but could this be true... there are convincing theories.

Part 2: Dead or Alive has ten chapters and it includes: Living Dinosaurs?, Dinosaurs Challenge Evolution, Dinosaurs and the Hierarchy of Life, The Evolutionary Map for Dinosaurs, Death by decree, The Road to Jurassic Park, Crossing the Boundary, Diversification and Decline, The Real Great Dinosaur Extinction, and The Third Wave.

Here we learn why most researchers now believe that birds and other dinosaurs sprung from the same ancient ancestors, all this stems from one of science's theories... evolution. This book is beautifully illustrated and has plenty of morphoroloigal drawings arising for comparitive anatomy.

I found the book to be a wealth of information easily readable and a plethora of detailed compendia on dinosaur facts. This is a book that lays out the extinction of dinosauria with great skill and clairy

I originally bought this book for a class I'm taking, coincidentally being taught by one of the authors, Timothy Rowe. Not only does this book include facts and myths about the extinction of dinosaurs, but it makes them comprehendable, and very entertaining by including recent myths such as those presented in popular movies. A total must read for dinosaur fanatics!

I love this book and my kids love it. It's a fun book to read.

I really liked this book. The bus took the kids on a wild and crazy ride. I like how it swallows them up and spits them out at school. My mom and I love the picture where the teacher is hanging on for dear life. Cool book!

At a friends house, I just read this (four times) to my soon to be five year old daugther. She wanted more (so now I'm ordering it).

Kids love big vehicles (I think because kids have an innate fascination with big animals) so riding a school bus as being swallowed by a dinosaur (which then coughs them up when they get to school) is just perfect.

What I (and I think my daughter) loved most about this was the verse. The story is told in the first person from a boy riding the bus-o-saurus to school. The meter is that of Edger Allen Poe's "The Bells", one of my favorite poems.

This fun, energetic, quirky book was a great birthday gift for my 5-year-old stepson. The terrific upbeat rhythm and fun illustrations will make it a favorite in our home library.

This is what read-aloud is all about!
Starting off with a jazzy, snappy rhythm

Early in the mornin'
when the sun is done a snorin'
the boppin bus-a-saurus
comes a-rippin' and a roarin.'

that continues to the very end

. . he burps us out reversed
with the Tardees going first
and the rest of us in spurts
around the town.

This bouncy bus-a-saurus
had my pre-schoolers boppin' to the beat!
And the zany pictures with the kids bouncing
on the tongue are hilarious! We've gotton a lot of mileage out of this bus!

My 11 year old son loves this book. He has taken it out of his school library for weeks at a time, so I gave him one for Christmas. He creates "battle cards" based on the dinosaurs and "battles" them like they are Pokemon or Yugiho.

My kids loved it and they can't let go.

This is a very different way to present information on dinosaurs for young people. Kind of a "versus" story on dinosaur predators and prey. The picture of T-Rex (on the cover) with three fingers on its hands is inaccurate and distracting.

Excellent book. My 10 year old had requested this book for his recent birthday. I was hesitant because the price at the local bookstore was so high. Amazon came through though and I purchased it for less than half of what it was selling for locally. My son was thrilled with the book. He picked it up and read it for hours on his birthday.

IN A NUTSHELL: GETS KIDS INTERESTED IN LEARNING - READING & RESEARCH

This wonderfully illustrated hard-cover scouting report is our ticket to the dinosaur fantasy league of the mind. This 2005 publication is now only 7.18, and it looks like a $30. book. Dino Wars takes the intrinsic interest we seem to be born with, in dinosaurs, and literally strikes while the iron is hot by mating this interesting topic with a terrific theme that is inventively executed, and totally fascinating to children of all ages -- even baby boomers like me.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT:

Take Dinosaurs, and the plethera of annual pro sports scouting reports that entertain, and provide insight to sports fans from year to year, add a gladiator/ pro-wrestling lilt, and you've got "DINO WARS".

Traditionally, this most exciting topic, within the study of paleontology, has been incidentally and accidentally ruined from the get-go for kids. Simply putting the topic in a very dry setting [like the reference department in the small print section], and ignoring the intellectual curiousity that children bring to the educational table, is how adults have successfully hidden the awesome subject of dinosaurs, and natural history from our curious young. Occasionally, a Steven Spielberg will bring us a "Jurassic Park" or the BBC will allow us to actually experience the "Walking With Dinosaurs" series. In essence, those films illustrated literally, how dinosaurs could be a compelling subject for children of all ages. Now, with Dino Wars, that compulsion is being turned into a magical learning and reading tool, by inserting that same brand of excitment into an educational book that previously has only been experienced through epic films.

THE RESULT IS ---- THE CGI OF THE IMAGINATION [how is the book organized]

1]- First, Sets-up "RULES FOR ENGAGEMENT"; 6 criteria, that when averaged, equal every dinosaurs: "DANGER LEVEL"!

----- These criteria are called "BATTLE TACTICS" and include;
STENGTH, ARMOR, SPEED, AGILITY, SCARINESS & SPECIAL SKILLS - all equally weighted and explained in producing the "DANGER LEVEL."

2]- Defines "THE COMBAT ZONES"; Paleozoic, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Eras.

3]- Organized by Era, dinosaur match-ups fill the rest of the text, all completely color illustrated, and also include illusrated detailed text before each Eras' combatants. The match-ups are chronological, organized by Era, but also include the "Ruling Reptiles" that pre-dated the dinosaurs by about 100 million years.

Logic, and predictable reason permeates this text throughout. Consistent organization which also utilizes systematic illustrations, and comparisons lends a critical structural integrity to the entire work, making it both highly coherent, and subtly simple to use as either a guide or text. In essence, the same format, and kind of information is available in the same level of detail for each, and every dinosaur, and each and every Era, from cover-to-cover.


BOTTOM LINE:

Anyone, but children especially will be drawn to, excited by, and will benefit from, Dino Wars. First, Dino Wars takes full advantage of a child's fundamental preference for combining cool illustrations with reading material. Second, it truly promes and kindles the imagination. Third, it instills the interest and rudimentary techniques for sorting information, and investigating it in a manner that may lead a child to develop interests in academic pursuits and research of all kind.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:
THE CREATION OF EXCITEMENT & INTEREST IN DINOSAURS HAS FINALLY EVOLVED INTO BOOKS!

I was so impressed by this volume, which I have read alongside other non-fiction dinosaur material, that frankly I can't figure out why this book isn't on everybody's shelf. Simply stated, "Dino Wars : The Dinosaurs' Biggest, Baddest Battles" by Jinny Johnson, is essentially the "Chased By Dinosaurs" of children's books. I hope, and look forward to more from this very promising author.

I picked up Dinomummy up from the public library for my son to enjoy. My son just finished reading it to me and then got out his dinosaur card game out to find all the dino's listed in the book. I enjoyed the book as much as he did!

At the age of sixteen, Tyler Lyson made one of perhaps the most amazing discoveries when it comes to dinosaurs: a highly intact and detailed dinomummy. Not just a fossil as many discoveries of dinosaurs are, this one came complete with actual dinosaur skin and possible organs! Although he had always been fascinated with dinosaurs, Tyler hardly knew at the age of six, when he discovered the fossilized jaw of a duck-billed hadrosaur along with his brother, that one day his persistence and dedication would lead to such an amazing find.

Tyler Lyson grew up in Marmarth, South Dakota, and spent a large amount of his time exploring the grounds of Hell Creek, a remote, huge area of badlands not far from where he lived. At sixteen, he discovered the dinomummy, who was eventually named "Dakota" for the state where it was found. He contacted Dr. Phillip Lars Manning, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester in the U.K., and the real fun -- and work -- began.

Together with a large group of scientists from numerous fields and eager volunteers, Tyler and Dr. Manning set about uncovering this enormous and amazing dinomummy. We can follow their journey from head to tail through stunning full-color photographs included within the pages of DINOMUMMY. Dr. Manning also describes the techniques and equipment used to unearth, protect, and transport Dakota back to his lab for further study.

For anyone who loves dinosaurs, DINOMUMMY is a must-read! This is a fascinating look into a truly important discovery, and its easy-to-read language and helpful illustrations and captions make it perfect for even the youngest reader.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

My son loves this book. He carried it around on Christmas day like a trophy,and read it to his siblings right away. Now he wants the adult version to learn more.

My son is interested in archaeology,and dinosaurs especially, and so is really enjoying this book. It's very well written and illustrated.

My 9 year old granddaughter, interested in dinosaurs since she could walk, received Dinomummy for Xmas. Our Santa handed it out---about the 3rd present she received. When she opened it, we lost her! She read the entire book as fast as she could, loved it and lost interest in other presents for a while. The pictures are stunning, as is indicated just looking at the cover. Wonderful book. Hallett Luscombe

In writing Dinosaur Training, Brooks Kubik has blessed us with the finest strength training book written in more than thirty years, and one of the greatest and most inspirational strength training books of all time. If you want to learn the real, no-nonsense secrets to building true, functional strength that will last a lifetime, each page of Dinosaur Training is packed with those secrets. No gimmicks here, just hard work and how to do it the right and most productive way.

Kubik is no armchair authority. A former world record holder in the bench press, he is a lifetime drug-free lifter and athlete who practices the tried-and-true, old-school strength-building methods he details in Dinosaur Training. Today, past the half-century mark in age, Kubik is far stronger and fitter than the vast majority of much younger athletic men, a living testimony of Dinosaur Training's effectiveness.

In conclusion, I give Dinosaur Training my highest recommendation, and I strongly urge you to do yourself a special favor and purchase a copy. It will be the best strength-training investment you will ever make.

As other reviewers have noted, this is a great book if you want to get strong , I mean REALLY strong. It's for people who are mostly interested in functional strength and don't care much about appearance. I personally use many of Kubik's methods like heavy 5x5's, lots of grip work, and odd object training, and have enjoyed wonderful results.

Interestingly, Brooks Kubik no longer does the type of training espoused in this book. Now he's into bodyweight training. Why? Apparently it was too hard on his joints. Too many aches and pains at age 49. So older trainers, beware. The heavy singles and other methods described in Dinosaur Training may be too much for you. And mind you, Kubik is no ectomorph. I own one of his videos, and he's built like a brick ---- house. So if his joints are shot at age 49, where will you be at age 55? It surely gives one pause for thought.

Some people don't seem to realize that this book is still available, although not at amazon.
Go get it!
It is an inspirational book written for people who care about good health, dinosaur strength and who want to achieve their fitness goals the natural way. I mean without roids!
Be aware though that this is not a quick fix. It will take you up to 10 years to attain the strength of a mammoth, but it will be worth it.

First, I don't know where the previous poster gets his info, but Kubik DOES still train with weights. On his website, in an article dated March 08, he mentions working with dumbells.

Second, this book is still available in many online stores. I don't know why it is going for over $100 on Amazon. I bought it in summer 08 for 17 bucks.

The book: As my title suggests, DT is the best book on training I have ever read. And I have read many over the last 20+ years. The book provides, in incredible detail, the prescription for bigger stronger muscles. The problem with so many other books is that they tell you what you want to hear instead of what you need to hear. DT tells it like it is. Hard work + heavy weights + progression + compound movements + abbreviated workouts = success. After 25 years of weight training I have finally gotten stronger and bigger, at age 39, following these principles. Ironically, I gradually figured it out on my own in the last couple of years. DT confirmed what I learned on my own, though it did also add to my knowledge base. There is no hype in this book, no pictures of steroid freaks, and nothing complicated. Kubik makes it clear from the start that this is a book for people who are drug-free, willing to work brutally hard, and not get swept up by what the crowd is doing this week. Following DT's priciples you will be successful. After YEARS of complete failure using every other training theory out there, it is a dream come true to finally have some success. The only thing to remember about DT is that 99% of the people in this world are too mentally weak to do it properly. I've watched videos on Youtube of people doing 20 reps squats for example. I've yet to see anyone doing them with the necessary intensity. I only wish I saw the light sooner. I must have spent THOUSANDS on books, suppliments and those idiotic Joe Weider magazines over the 1990's! Joe weider is a con man and manipulator who should be in jail! But "that's a whole other can or worms" as they say.

Brooks Kubik wrote the most inspiring strength training book of all time. I defy anyone to read this book and tell me otherwise.

What is it? Brooks has compiled a book of old strong-man techniques for building incredible, superhuman strength. The old school training methods were written before you could shoot yourself full of chemicals and puff up like a distressed blowfish. In the old days, bodybuilders were not expected to look pretty or be "hooge" veiny looking ding dongs they are now a days; they were expected to be exemplars of terrifying strength. Men who could bend pieces of iron, or tear up solid objects with bare hands, or toss around human beings as if they were nerf toys. Brooks book is a manly bellowing back to the days of tossing around giant logs, pushing around enormous dumb bells and bar bells, and picking up objects that ordinary human beings would have a hard time moving with a fork lift. He isn't hearkening back to the golden, "muscle beach" days; he's hearkening back to some atavistic time when weightlifters were men who wore singlets, and grew giant walrus moustaches, and worked in a circus.

The book outlines many exercises and odd lifts which have been forgotten. It also advocates for use of odd shaped objects, and away from the use of machines to achieve functional strength goals. Personally, I actually do find machines occasionally useful, and I figure Brooks probably did once in a while as well, as he hints here and there, particularly in the first edition of the book. But abhoring such things as evil is a good and necessary thing to do.

This is not a complete training book. It doesn't talk much about nutrition, and disdains the idea of periodization (probably out of spirit more than anything else, but it is still necessary to rest sometimes). This is a book that, when you read it, makes you want to get out and train. Preferably using some kind of scary impliment made out of rusty iron girders, anvils or anchor chain. But even if not; it makes you want to acquire old fashioned herculean strength.

This is a really fun book. My daughter, son and I really enjoy comparing notes, thinking about which dinos we might want as pets and how various dinos stack up against fish, cats, dogs and the like. It is nearly believable that there are markets throughout the world to purchase your very own raptor!

The dustjacket of "How to Keep Dinosaurs" gives the reader a great and accurate preview of the book: the front shows an intelligent, fun-loving little compsognathus chasing a tennis ball, with a food-dish labeled "Dino" on the floor; the back shows a rowdy, beautifully-feathered incisivosaurus having a pillow-fight with a little girl, with the pillow clearly on the way to Pillow Heaven afterward.

Robert Mash's "How to Keep Dinosaurs" is the hilarious, tongue-in-cheek, definitive guide to breeding, raising, feeding, housing, training, and optimally utilizing different breeds of dinosaurs. Along the way, Mash pokes fun at political correctness, Americans, British, politicians, talkshow hosts, and a variety of other concepts, people, and professions. The book starts with an introduction describing the history of human-dinosaur interactions, then moves on to suggest the kinds of equipment dinosaur owners will find handy. Following this are sections on dinosaurs for beginners; dinosaurs that make good house-pets; dinosaurs that have entertainment value (e.g., riding); dinosaurs that are good as guard-animals and in related security/law enforcement areas; dinosaurs that are prime candidates to be raised for meat, eggs, feathers, or hides; and, finally, dinosaurs that are spectacular but only suitable for zoos or safari parks. At the end, there is a brief list of common dinosaur ailments (e.g., many are prone to extreme flatulence and/or constipation), and a family tree showing how the dinosaurs described in the book fit into the overall taxonomy.

Each animal listed is accompanied by a beautiful, full-color "photograph" that often shows the beast interacting with a human. The linguistic background of each animal's name is given, but these derivations are intentionally skewed for humor. There is a well-written description of the animal's strengths, weaknesses, and quirks, plus advice on feeding, housing, and breeding them, along with recommendations on what the dinosaur is most suitable for. There is a map of the world showing the best locations to purchase that particular species, and the specific stores are named. Finally, there is a set of symbols that summarize important information about the animal (e.g., an icon of a teddy bear means the animal likes children; an icon of a teddy bear missing a leg means the animal likes children to eat).

The "photographs" in this book deserve separate mention. Many beautiful, colorful, often full-page pictures are included to depict the dinosaurs and emphasize each animal's special traits. Many dino-human interactions are shown in these pictures. A prime example is the final picture, which shows a magnificent, and quite colorful, Tyrannosaurus Rex, with a family standing very nearby, and above, on an observation platform. They are taking pictures of, and pointing at, the magnificent hunter supreme. The caption reads, "A picture taken mere seconds before tragedy struck . . ."

There is only one sentence in the book where the author "slips" and alludes to the fact that dinosaurs just happen to be extinct. That one instance relates to how all the restrictions involved in dealing with endangered species do not apply to dinosaurs, as they are already extinct. I think this "slip" was intentional, with the multiple and divers purposes of poking fun at zealous conservationists, giving parents one needed statement in case their children take the book as fact, and professionally stamping the book as fiction.

While "How to Keep Dinosaurs" is fiction and made for humor, the author knows his paleontology. The species named, and their characteristics, all fit with modern paleontology and are extrapolations thereof. More recent theories about how avian the dinosaurs might have been are strongly incorporated (i.e., many of the animals depicted have primitive plumage). I am no paleontologist, and I do not know whether or not Mr. Mash is either, but he is certainly closer to being one than am I.

This book is big (length-width) but only 96 pages; with the many illustrations, it could be used as a coffeetable book. It is extremely well-done and a lot of fun. Want a chuckle? Buy this keeper.

I breed and show Boxers and am used to the standard "Owners guides" published on almost all dog breeds. This book reads as such and is CHARMING! It takes itself seriously from cover to cover, including an author photo showing his pet dino in his yard. Its fantastic, and is a SUPER coffee table book, after you are done with this clever read! Recommended to any dog/cat/horse fancier who may be beginning to take themselves too seriously.

So many people just go out and pick the cutest dinosaur they see in the pound or pet store and use this as a decision on which one to take home. If only more pet owners took responsibility before purchasing their pets and researched how big they would get, how their temperament is with children and other pets, how much they will cost in food and other expenses and how big a yard they really need to run around in then there wouldn't be so many dumped animals or feral once were pet animals running around in our national parks. Whilst there are many decision helping and informative books out in the marketplace on dogs, cats, birds and fish, there has been a severe lack of information on the large reptilian pets that are growing in popularity.

Thankfully Robert Mash has written an extremely helpful guide to dinosaur ownership complete with sensational photographs of humans interacting with their best friends around the house, out in the parks and on the sports fields. The photographs alone mean that even those who have no interest in owning a dinosaur will still be able to get great enjoyment from this book. Those doing school assignments and others who wish to use this as a research book on the facts of different types of dinosaurs will find this a lot more entertaining and easier to read than most research books. A must for any dinosaur lover.

This book is saving my sanity. Our five-year-old has been obsessed with dinosaurs for so long that we've read pretty much everything you can get your hands on about the beasts. This refreshing and extensive manual has us laughing while reading it out loud over and over again. Our son loves the handy symbol key, which allows him to look up critical traits on each dinosaur, such as which ones "like children," or "like to eat children," or are, alas, "worryingly stupid." He's got it all figured out now, which ones we should get. The photos are great.