Book Description
This is the first supplement to the highly acclaimed Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia that was named an ALA OUTSTANDING REFERENCE BOOK. Some of the reviews of the 1997 work: "Highly recommended"-Choice; "grander than anything ever accomplished of similar title or reputation"-Dinosaur World; "the most thorough and most scholarly dinosaur encyclopedia yet"-Rettig on Reference; "THE dinosaur encyclopedia"-VOYA; "a welcome resource"-ARBA; "a monumental archive of information"-BioScience; "solidly scientific.... Plentiful illustrations and photographs [over 1,400] provide for fascinating browsing"-Reference & User Services Quarterly. The new work, which maintains the arrangement of the primary volume and is up to date late into 1998, includes well over a dozen new dinosaurian genera and even more new species and new life restorations. Section I provides introductory text on subtopics such as "The Mesozoic Era," "Ectothermy Versus Endothermy" and "Dinosaur Extinctions." Section II continues the workable ordering of dinosaurian systematics. Section III continues the alphabetical compilation of new dinosaurian genera. Section IV continues the detailing of doubtful genera that have appeared in the paleontological literature.

About the Author
Screenwriter, novelist, dinosaurian authority, and filmmaker Donald F. Glut lives in Burbank, California. He is the author, among numerous other works, of Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia (1997) and Carbon Dates: A Day by Day Almanac of Paleo Anniversaries and Dino Events (1999).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This reference work is the third supplement to Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia (a 1998 American Library Association Outstanding Reference Book) and follows the intent and format of the encyclopedia and the first two supplements ("superb...the scope is phenomenal"-ARBA; "recommended"-Booklist/RBB).

This continuation of what is now the standard encyclopedia provides up-to-date concepts, based on the latest original research of paleontologists, on such topics as the Mesozoic Era; new discoveries, ideas and studies; ectothermy versus endothermy; dinosaurs and birds; dinosaur extinctions; dinosaurian systematics; dinosaurian genera; nomina nuda and excluded genera; and an appendix discussing dinosaur tracks and eggs.

Donald F. Glut is a prolific book and article writer, and movie producer-director. Among his many works are Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia  (1997, $195) and its Supplement 1 (1999, $95) and Supplement 2 (2002, $95), Jurassic Classics: A Collection of Saurian Essays and Mesozoic Musings (2001, $29.95) and Carbon Dates: A Day by Day Almanac of Paleo Anniversaries and Dino Events (1999, $29.95). He lives in Burbank, California.

FROM THE CRITICS

VOYA - Tom Pearson

Here is a riddle for all librarians who work in college and large public libraries: what is it that you cannot afford to buy, yet cannot afford not to have? The answer, of course, is Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia. The title says it all: this book is now the dinosaur encyclopedia. It blows its closest competitors not just out of the water but into earth orbit. How exactly does this book differ from earlier works of its type? It gives the reader more, that is how. There are more articles; more illustrations and photographs; more glossary, bibliography, and index entries; more everything-period. Paleontologists both professional and amateur will want to have it, as will museums and universities with a paleontology department. Entries in this work are arranged alphabetically by dinosaurian generic name. Entries include first appearance in the scientific literature, cladistic (rather than Linnean) classification, name derivation, geographic area and geologic era, known types of skeletal material uncovered to date, a diagnosis of genus, a comments section, and a list of key references in the scientific literature. It has perhaps occurred to you that a book technical enough in nature to be of use to a professional paleontologist is possibly too technical to be of much use to the casual dinosaur enthusiasts you serve. This type of reader will not be able to read any of the articles in this book without making extensive use of the glossary. So what is the average school or public librarian to do? I recommend that she purchase The Dinosaur Society's Dinosaur Encyclopedia by Don Lessem and Donald F. Glut (Random House, 1993). It is well illustrated, both extensive and recent enough to answer most dinosaur questions you will receive, yet cheap enough ($25) that most libraries can afford it. It provides basic information (order, suborder, and family; type species; length in feet and meters; geologic era; locality; and preferred diet) on six hundred dinosaur species. It also gives the correct pronunciation for each species, something most dinosaur guides do not provide. Glossary. Index. Illus. Photos. Biblio. Appendix.

Library Journal

Here are two new encyclopedias for the more serious dinosaur enthusiast. Intended as a companion to the classic taxonomic reference, The Dinosauria (LJ 3/15/91), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs emphasizes discoveries published in the scientific literature since 1990. In this context, the paucity of maps and illustrations seems a less serious omission. Written by well-known paleontologists and organized alphabetically by subject, the signed articles cover kinds of dinosaurs, biology, geology, research, and museums where dinosaurs are on display, including a worldwide list of museums and sites. There is some overlap with The Dinosauria in dinosaur descriptions, but this encyclopedia offers authoritative articles on many topics not covered in that work, such as "color," "intelligence," and "ornamentation." While the language may sometimes be too technical for the general reader, Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs provides a nice link between popular and scientific dinosaur studies. The author of The Complete Dinosaur Dictionary (Carol Pub., 1995), which was aimed at young adults, Glut now offers a far more detailed and technical work oriented toward dinosaur material in museum collections. Following 74 pages of background information, the encyclopedia is devoted to an alphabetical list of dinosaur genera. Each entry tells the date of discovery, name derivation, occurrence, age, and diagnosis; gives a list of key print references; and refers to important museum specimens that have furthered the study of dinosaur paleontology. The black-and-white illustrations are mainly photos of museum specimens and reconstructions, with a deliberate avoidance of fanciful interpretation. The emphasis on museum collections makes this a unique work. Both titles are recommended for academic and larger public libraries.Amy Brunvand, Univ. of Utah Lib., Salt Lake City

Booknews

A definitive reference on dinosaurian genera, designed for the layperson and the paleontologist. Section one provides a history of fieldwork, laboratory studies and paleontological research, as well as an outline of the scientific theories of dinosaur extinction. Section two describes a dinosaurian systematics for organizing the various taxa into a workable order. Section three contains an alphabetically arranged compilation of the dinosaurian genera. The final section details the doubtful genera that have appeared in the paleontological literature. Many depictions of life models illustrate the text. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews