Re: the complete dinosaur

["Augustus T. White" <augwhite@neosoft.com>]

jason huff wrote:
> 
> Has anyone read the new book by   James Farlow and M. K. Brett-Surman
> (Publisher: Indiana University Press) _The Complete Dinosaur_?  I'm
> wondering if it is any good.

Just bought it yesterday.  Ask me again in a week or so, but right now 
(after several hours with it, some new CDs, and a couple of really 
superior screwdrivers last night) I'm very impressed.  Coverage of the 
individual dinosaur clades seems to be a bit weak and spotty, but it is 
otherwise pretty comprehensive.  It is also written at the level of the 
advanced amateur, and is thus particularly useful for folks like me.  It 
shows signs of a heavy and consistent editorial hand, which gives it an 
overall sense of organization missing from some comparable books.  The 
book is also pretty careful on controversial issues, with everyone citing 
and explaining their opponents' positions as well as their own.  

I can't really speak to the details of the contents, at least at this 
point, but the editors obviously worked hard to produce a balanced, 
well-organized and relatively complete guide -- and seem to have 
succeeded.

  --Toby White