Il Mio Amato Brontosauro - Vecchie Ossa E Nuova Scienza (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
In this book, the author, who is a dinosaur fanatic (not sure if he's an accredited paleontologist--I think not), covers a whole lot about dinosaurs and how our understanding of them has grown by leaps and bounds year by year. He covers the standard topics, such as extinction, evolution into birds, feathers, etc., but also some more esoteric topics, such as dinosaur reproductive activity, dinosaur sounds, dinosaur breathing (apparently it was complicated for some), and more. He also talks about dinosaurs in museums, popular culture, and national parks, as well as excavation in various parts of the world. Although I would have liked it better with pictures (I listened to it as an audiobook), I did really enjoy all the information and observations. He covered a great range of topics and while there were still a lot of scientific names, he simplified the science down to a popular-understanding level. My only quibble with the audiobook (other than the lack of pictures, which I suppose they can't help) is that the narrator, also the author, read it in such diffident tones that all his clever, humorous lines lost oomph, and I found I couldn't listen to it early in the morning before getting out of bed--just put me right back to sleep and I had to skip back and listen to it all over again. But overall, fascinating and enjoyable. I listened to this as an audio book on various trips around Arizona, which made Switek's descriptions of the Utah/ Southwest landscape where the digs took place much more vivid and lively for me. I don't know that I would have enjoyed the book as much if I didn't know about dinosaurs a bit already...I could picture a lot of the ones he was describing so I felt familiar with some of the material. It's always fascinating for me to learn about how science changes; how something EVERYONE KNOWS can be disproved and change and that is an ongoing process in studying dinosaurs. Switek's writing make the science very accessible and interesting and he intersperses personal stories throughout the book which lightens the mood.
What do You think about Il Mio Amato Brontosauro - Vecchie Ossa E Nuova Scienza (2013)?
Not quite what I was expecting, but an interesting read nonetheless. I really enjoyed the humor.
—par
Somewhat uneven book but gives a good overview of latest scientific understanding of dinosaurs.
—Ranya
I didn't actually finish it, but not because it wasn't good.
—Lucresia
