Paleontology: An Illustrated History

My 16 year-old grandnephew wants to be a Paleontologist, and suggested I buy him on a book on the subject for Christmas. I put on a search and Amazon popped up with this book. When he opened it yesterday, I got a big smile and the comment after paging through - “this is a great book”.

As a paleontology hobbyist who also likes the history of Science, I can recommend a new book “Paleontology An Illustrated History.” The author David Bainbridge is a science writer, reproductive biologist, and verternary anatomist at the University of Cambridge. He has published several books, but this is the first on paleontology.There are four chapters, each of which is divided into four subtopics. The topics are generally in chronological order of the discovery, as opposed to the time the fossil organism lived. Most of the subtopics are “special topics”, i.e. they concentrate on something specific, e.g. Marsh and Cope, Mary Anning, Luis Leaky, Lyuba the baby mammoth. etc. The “history” starts in ancient Greece, when were interpreted as remains of mythological beasts. It was not until the late 1600s that fossils were recognized as being the remains of past life. Paleontology as a science did not start until the early 19th Century. Some argue it reached its zenith in the second half of the 19th Century after dinosaurs were discovered in the American West. The last chapter of the book covers the modern era from 1980 to 2020, when paleontology started to become a high-tech, information-rich endeavor, using analytical chemistry, CT-scanning, cladistics, etc..As the title suggests, this is a very illustration-heavy book. I would call this a “coffee table book”, except that it is not particularly large (7 X 9.5 inches). There is about 4-5 pages of text per topic, but most of the information is in the captions of the illustrations. The illustrations are equally divided between scientific diagrams from the published literature (which I greatly appreciate), photographs of fossils, photographs of famous paleontologists at work, and restorations depicting the living organism. After following paleontology as a hobby for decades, I have seen some of the illustrations before, but I would say at least half are new to me. Which is a good thing.

I absolutely loved this text! I could not stop reading and competed it in one sitting. The graphics and history of paleontology are amazing. This is a great read for the hobbiest to the professional looking for the basic history of paleontology.

It's mostly illustrations with a smattering of text to give the illustrations context. Totally fascinating!

This book is an account of how we have come to know much of what we know about ourselves and our world....told through a history of vertebrate fossil discoveries. It is loaded with illustrations that range from primitive drawings and paintings to photographs to detailed diagrams. But the best part is Bainbridge's engaging writing style. From the very first pages, there are so many 'AHA' moments that the book reminds me of Brownowski's "Ascent of Man" except that reading Brainbridge is so much easier! Because of the variety and quanity of illustrations, the book could have appeal for almost any age group and - just as a historical perspective on paleontology - would be a nice addition to any home reference library. i wish I had read this book decades ago! I received it as a gift. I'm not normally a big reader of non-fiction and have had only a passing interest in fossils, but I find myself savoring the chapters of this book as much as a good whodunnit.

If you want to learn something about Paleontology, do not buy this book. It is remarkably absent of any useful information on the topic. The book is mostly just pictures. The text that does exist is so brief to render it entirely useless.

Very thorough, well written book. Excellent illustrations.

THE WAY FOSSILS ARE FORMED COULD BE EXPLAINED TO COMPLETE THE PICTURE