Book recommendations

[wings]

... My second choice, would be "The Sauropods: Evoloution and Paleobiology" (link to Amazon) a book that gives in depth looks at many aspects of sauropod research and current scientific understanding regarding these barely understood animals.

Sorry for dredging up an old post, but can I ask you about this book? Is it very technical? What kind of audience is this book aimed at, would you say?
I'm thinking about buying it but I don't want to get one of those books that reads like a medical journal

Thanks

This should be an interesting read for you, though you might find it a tad technical but it does present some of the most recent studies and it is free so we can't complain too much

http://www.ploscollections.org/article/browse/issue/info:doi/10.1371/issue.pcol.v02.i22

[tyrantqueen]

... My second choice, would be "The Sauropods: Evoloution and Paleobiology" (link to Amazon) a book that gives in depth looks at many aspects of sauropod research and current scientific understanding regarding these barely understood animals.

Sorry for dredging up an old post, but can I ask you about this book? Is it very technical? What kind of audience is this book aimed at, would you say?
I'm thinking about buying it but I don't want to get one of those books that reads like a medical journal

Thanks

This should be an interesting read for you, though you might find it a tad technical but it does present some of the most recent studies and it is free so we can't complain too much

http://www.ploscollections.org/article/browse/issue/info:doi/10.1371/issue.pcol.v02.i22

Thank you
Do you have an opinion on Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: Understanding the Life of Giants by Nicole Klein? I have this book. I have not read it in its entirety yet, but looking through the book is pretty interesting. Some of the parts are a bit technical (such as the bits on the micro structure of sauropod bone ) but I liked the sections on neck posture and rearing behaviour.

So if anyone is looking for very in depth information on sauropod biology and behaviour, it might be something to look at.

[wings]

Do you have an opinion on Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs: Understanding the Life of Giants by Nicole Klein? I have this book. I have not read it in its entirety yet, but looking through the book is pretty interesting. Some of the parts are a bit technical (such as the bits on the micro structure of sauropod bone ) but I liked the sections on neck posture and rearing behaviour.

So if anyone is looking for very in depth information on sauropod biology and behaviour, it might be something to look at.

Like you, I quite enjoy the chapters on "construction" (part 3). Content wise I do find the book has quite a good flow; another element that I find valuable from the book are the colour plates (especially those on Mesozoic plants). For me the book seems to be a little short. It is not much of a drawback but I think the book would be even better if they included more examples or studies from other countries as well (rather than mainly concentrating on European examples). As the title suggested I would expect the book would represent more of a global view on these creatures. This might be just a personal preference but regardless it is a great book on the overall biology of the sauropods.

It has been out for some time now; just in case if anyone has missed it, here is a new video from Gurney on reconstruction.

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/release-of-how-i-paint-dinosaurs.html

[tyrantqueen]

I'm wondering if anyone else has the same problem as me. A lot of the time, I want to find out about specific periods of time or certain groups of dinosaurs, but the books that are available are usually very technical and difficult for me to understand. For example, the Life of the Past series has a volume on carnivorous dinosaurs. But there are sections of the book dedicated to describing individual type specimens using paleontological jargon (allegedly that is, I don't own the book and I've only read Google book previews and reviews online).

Since I'm not a scientist, this doesn't really do much for me. Predatory Dinosaurs of the World is a bit more to my tastes, although it's rather out of date. Another book which I was interested in, The Age of Dinosaurs in South America by Fernando E. Novas, seems very interesting but doesn't appear to be aimed at a general audience.

So my question is, should I try to learn these terms? Is it worth it in the long run, and would I be getting anything useful out of these books if I did? I don't intend to pursue a career in paleontology, I'm just very, very interested

[CityRaptor]

Given current trends in Dinosaur Books, I think you should. Seems like general audience books are mostly disappearing while a split into two lines occurs: Scientific books and crappy books for children. That is atleast how it appears to me.

[tyrantqueen]

Given current trends in Dinosaur Books, I think you should. Seems like general audience books are mostly disappearing while a split into two lines occurs: Scientific books and crappy books for children. That is atleast how it appears to me.

There are a few diamonds in the rough still being written (such as Mark Witton's book on pterosaurs).

[HD-man]

So my question is, should I try to learn these terms? Is it worth it in the long run, and would I be getting anything useful out of these books if I did? I don't intend to pursue a career in paleontology, I'm just very, very interested

I think you just answered your own question. When talking about something specific, I always find it helpful to read at least some of the original source material (I.e. The parts of of the paper I can understand): Sometimes, I can understand most of it (even the Materials & Methods); Sometimes, I can only understand the Intro & Discussion/Conclusions; It depends on who/what the paper's by/about, respectively (E.g. From my experience, papers restoring appearance/behavior are easier to understand than are papers describing new species). However, unless you plan on becoming a paleontologist/paleoartist, I wouldn't worry about reading/understanding dino papers in their entirety on a regular basis. Stick to popular books (I.e. Books for "Casual Readers" & "the Enthusiast"), especially those written by/in collaboration with dino experts. There'll always be plenty of those around. In fact, "we live in a golden age of books on dinosaurs and their contemporaries" ( http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/09/24/holtz-rey-2007-dinosaurs-book/ ).

[tyrantqueen]

So my question is, should I try to learn these terms? Is it worth it in the long run, and would I be getting anything useful out of these books if I did? I don't intend to pursue a career in paleontology, I'm just very, very interested

I think you just answered your own question. When talking about something specific, I always find it helpful to read at least some of the original source material (I.e. The parts of of the paper I can understand): Sometimes, I can understand most of it (even the Materials & Methods); Sometimes, I can only understand the Intro & Discussion/Conclusions; It depends on who/what the paper's by/about, respectively (E.g. From my experience, papers about appearance/behavior are easier to understand than are papers describing new species). However, unless you plan on becoming a paleontologist/paleoartist, I wouldn't worry about reading/understanding dino papers in their entirety on a regular basis. Stick to popular books (I.e. Books for "Casual Readers" & "the Enthusiast"), especially those written by/in collaboration with dino experts. There'll always be plenty of those around. In fact, "we live in a golden age of books on dinosaurs and their contemporaries" ( http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/09/24/holtz-rey-2007-dinosaurs-book/ ).

Good points, thank you

[HD-man]

Good points, thank you

Anytime.

[CityRaptor]

Given current trends in Dinosaur Books, I think you should. Seems like general audience books are mostly disappearing while a split into two lines occurs: Scientific books and crappy books for children. That is atleast how it appears to me.

There are a few diamonds in the rough still being written (such as Mark Witton's book on pterosaurs).

Well, I said "mostly". But then again, the situation here in Germany is probably different. If I want a good book, in most cases, I'll have to buy an english one.

[wings]

...So my question is, should I try to learn these terms? Is it worth it in the long run, and would I be getting anything useful out of these books if I did? I don't intend to pursue a career in paleontology, I'm just very, very interested

There are two factors to consider and they are "time" and "accuracy". "Time" wise; I was referring to whether you would like to get the most up-to-date info which is something that most if not all secondary source could not match. As for "accuracy"; since different science writers/ scientists often take different interpretations of the original work (some time they would even contradict one another). It would be wise to look at a few reports of the same study and try to come to a consensus. Jargon is important because it gives the precise and succinct description of the subject to avoid confusion (kind of like the universal language for scientists around the world). For example, if I'm making a description of the bones at the jaw joint, the readers would be unlikely to know for certain if I'm talking about the "articular" or the "quadrate" (unless I write out the exact location of the element that I was referring to, which is quite a convoluted way to communicate if you ask me... kind of like NOW...). I'm not saying you should learn every jargon there is on the topic but learning a few would be beneficial. Whether getting these books is worthwhile really depends on what you are trying to get out of them and whether you enjoy them. If you think reading them is like a chore then I'll say don't buy them.

[tyrantqueen]

...So my question is, should I try to learn these terms? Is it worth it in the long run, and would I be getting anything useful out of these books if I did? I don't intend to pursue a career in paleontology, I'm just very, very interested

There are two factors to consider and they are "time" and "accuracy". "Time" wise; I was referring to whether you would like to get the most up-to-date info which is something that most if not all secondary source could not match. As for "accuracy"; since different science writers/ scientists often take different interpretations of the original work (some time they would even contradict one another). It would be wise to look at a few reports of the same study and try to come to a consensus. Jargon is important because it gives the precise and succinct description of the subject to avoid confusion (kind of like the universal language for scientists around the world). For example, if I'm making a description of the bones at the jaw joint, the readers would be unlikely to know for certain if I'm talking about the "articular" or the "quadrate" (unless I write out the exact location of the element that I was referring to, which is quite a convoluted way to communicate if you ask me... kind of like NOW...). I'm not saying you should learn every jargon there is on the topic but learning a few would be beneficial. Whether getting these books is worthwhile really depends on what you are trying to get out of them and whether you enjoy them. If you think reading them is like a chore then I'll say don't buy them.

Thanks. I guess learning a few words wouldn't be a bad idea I always feel like I should get my money's worth when I purchase books, and when I don't understand what the author is talking about I feel like I'm missing out.

[tyrantqueen]

I'm very late in posting this, but Scott Hartman's site (www.skeletaldrawing.com) has a very handy anatomy primer for learning some jargon words. Very useful Thank you, Mr Hartman


I never notice these things, even when they're right under my nose

[Libraraptor]

http://www.amazon.de/Urmeer-Entstehung-Lebens-Dagmar-R%C3%B6hrlich/dp/3866481233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384636441&sr=8-1&keywords=urmeer

This is a great book about the history of life in the oceans. Nicely illustrated, too!

[tyrantqueen]

http://www.amazon.de/Urmeer-Entstehung-Lebens-Dagmar-R%C3%B6hrlich/dp/3866481233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384636441&sr=8-1&keywords=urmeer

This is a great book about the history of life in the oceans. Nicely illustrated, too!

I don't suppose there is an English translation, is there?

[tyrantqueen]

Looks like Veldmeijer's book, Pterosaurs: Flying Contemporaries of the Dinosaurs is for sale on Amazon again, this time for a more reasonable price, so I'm guessing it's back in print. Speaking of pterosaurs, does anyone know anything about this book?

[HD-man]

Speaking of pterosaurs, does anyone know anything about this book?

It's for "the Specialist".

[tyrantqueen]

Speaking of pterosaurs, does anyone know anything about this book?

It's for "the Specialist".

Good to know, thanks

[wings]

...does anyone know anything about this book?

You took the image from amazon, right? I assume that you can preview some of the pages since there is a sign saying "click to look inside" and in these "preview" pages normally have the contents; maybe there is a topic that you might be interested in. The layout is kind of like the "life of the past" series but even less fancy (since you probably have some of those in your collection so you know what I'm talking about) and you might find it a tad technical to read. The topics from the book are mainly about their phylogeny, anatomy and tracks. The highlight of the book (at least for myself) is the article by Tischlinger et al. on soft tissues (quite a few nice photos of crests, wing membranes, webbed feet and claws under UV lights).

[tyrantqueen]

...does anyone know anything about this book?

You took the image from amazon, right? I assume that you can preview some of the pages since there is a sign saying "click to look inside" and in these "preview" pages normally have the contents; maybe there is a topic that you might be interested in. The layout is kind of like the "life of the past" series but even less fancy (since you probably have some of those in your collection so you know what I'm talking about) and you might find it a tad technical to read. The topics from the book are mainly about their phylogeny, anatomy and tracks. The highlight of the book (at least for myself) is the article by Tischlinger et al. on soft tissues (quite a few nice photos of crests, wing membranes, webbed feet and claws under UV lights).

Yes, I did look inside, but most of the pages in the preview were blank and would not load. It must have been a problem with my browser, I guess
Scratch that, it's working now