Interesting. Well written and engaging. The book was first published in 1986 so might be a bit outdated, but still provides some fascinating details about dinosaurs that weren't in the general dinosaur books. ( )

When I was a kid back in the 1970s, dinosaurs were tail-dragging beasts that lumbered across a swampy landscape with spewing volcanoes in the distance. They were invariably gray or green, cold-blooded, and they were most certainly dead. In the late 80s that view changed, and shortly thereafter the movie Jurassic Park showed us some fearsome and fast-moving bird-like monsters that dined on lawyers. I like the newer version much better!

Apparently, this was the book that challenged the old view and presented dinosaurs in a much different light. Bakker presents a very compelling case (at least for a non-paleontologist like myself) that they were warm-blooded and very likely the ancestors of modern day birds. He does this by looking at bone structures and where muscles attached, wear and tear on teeth, and footprints (among many other things), and while I'm not a paleontologist, I still found it very understandable. The book is heavily illustrated (by the author) which helps, too. And although the book was written thirty years ago, and much of his argument seems to have already become accepted, I found it a very enjoyable book. ( )

Bakker was the first to propose dinosaurs were warm blooded. ( )

Bakker makes compelling arguments concerning ideas such as dinosaurs being warm blooded and covered in feathers which were controversial in the 80's but have largely been accepted today. A good read. ( )

This book opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about dinosaurs. Highly recommended even now that Bakker's theories have gained more traction and no longer seem as radical as when he wrote this book. ( )