If you think the title Dinosaurs: the Encyclopedia has a movie-sequel ring, you're only partly mistaken; editor Donald F. Glut has already authored The Dinosaur Dictionary and The Complete Dinosaur Dictionary. But you'll find no T. rex running amok here; this is a dense and rigorously scientific tome meant for only the most dedicated dinosaur lover. Part 1 contains an excellent background history of scientific findings in this rapidly changing field. (Also here is a wonderful, paragraph-long sentence detailing possible causes of the dinosaurs' demise, including "brains too small" and "inability to mate, sexual frustration, suicide.") Once into the alphabetical listings, however, it's easy for the layman to get lost. If the description "articular facets of prezygapophyses much enlarged in anterior caudals" makes your eyes cross, perhaps this is not the reference for you. But if your amateur paleontologist shows signs of getting serious, you won't get much more detailed, thorough, or reliable information than that contained here. And there's always the glossary in back, wherein you'll find words such as "ginglymus" and "astragalus" defined in everyday English.

From 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 CityCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Newest supplement in this ongoing series designed to present technical dino-facts based on the latest original research of paleontologists. The foundation volume was published in 1997, followed by Supplement 1 in 2000 and Supplement 2 in 2002. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From Book News, Inc.
Writer and movie director and producer Glut, who specializes in dinosaurs, continues to expand his 1997 reference on the extinct creatures by compiling new information based on recent research by paleontologists and corrected or emended old information. He intends to provide a handy reference tool for professional scientists and students, as well as less technical information of interest to the more casual dinosaur enthusiast. The main section describes the dinosaurian genera; others consider systematics, doubtful taxa that have been named but not fully described or delineated, and excluded genera.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Midwest Book Review
Designed for both the layperson and the paleontologist, this is the definitive reference work to dinosaurian genera. Derived from the most current paleontological research, Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia includes detailed data on all known species. Section I provides a thorough history of fieldwork, laboratory studies, and paleontological research, and outlines several of the scientific theories of dinosaur extinction. Section II provides dinosaurian systematics in an effort to organize the various taxa into a convenient and workable order. Section III is an alphabetically arranged compilation of dinosaurian genera. Each entry gives the genus name and the year it was first published. Other information includes the type species, occurrence, known material or holotype, ;name derivation, diagnosis of the genus, and the author's comments. Section IV details the doubtful genera that have appeared in the paleontological literature. This heavily illustrated volume contains many life restorations prepared by artists recognized in vertebrate paleontology and based on the original fossil material.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Section I provides a thorough history of fieldwork, laboratory studies and paleontological research. Section II provides dinosaurian systematics toward the end of organizing the various taxa into a convenient and workable order. Section III is all alphabetically arranged compilation of dinosaurian genera. Section IV details the doubtful genera that have appeared in the paleontological literature.

SYNOPSIS

Writer and movie director and producer Glut, who specializes in dinosaurs, continues to expand his 1997 reference on the extinct creatures by compiling new information based on recent research by paleontologists and corrected or emended old information. He intends to provide a handy reference tool for professional scientists and students, as well as less technical information of interest to the more casual dinosaur enthusiast. The main section describes the dinosaurian genera; others consider systematics, doubtful taxa that have been named but not fully described or delineated, and excluded genera. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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