I received an ARC e-book copy of this book from NetGalley to review.

Kenneth Lacovara’s book Why Dinosaurs Matter reads like a TED Talk, in that it’s highly engaging and equally fascinating. Through each chapter, Lacovara, a renowned paleontologist and discoverer of the Dreadnoughtus, takes us through the history of our planet, how it’s been viewed by scientists and scholars in our own human/primate era, how dinosaurs still exist today in their avian form, and highlights of our deep fascination with dinosaurs in general. Lacovara keeps the writing in a conversational tone, covering each topic in short chapters.

But I did feel that he didn’t really touch on the title of why dinosaurs actually matter until the end. It seemed to me like he also had an opportunity to provide more details on the creatures, his field studies and work, the discoveries others have made unearthing our past, and even more cultural references to when dinosaurs are featured. I loved reading about his discovery of the Dreadnoughtus and the time spent studying, then classifying the remains. I equally loved reading about Mary Anning and her fossil findings. Maybe if Lacovara added in more photos for reference (from his excavations or sketches of the dinosaurs he describes), it would’ve been cool to have those visual aids.

Other than that though, I found this book really interesting and informative. I wasn’t a huge fan of dinosaurs before but this book has certainly changed that for sure.

This was the perfect book to read on the tail of AMNH's exhibit on feathered dinosaurs, which covered some of the tenets in Dr. Lacovara's book visually. We often hear "birds are dinosaurs", but what does that actually mean-and is there more significance to T Rex's short arms than endless memes? Like AMNH's Michael Novacek, Dr. Lacovara writes in an easily accessible manner that simultaneously builds on and develops the public's curiosity about dinosaurs while addressing some of the myths that commonly surround these animals. I also enjoyed learning a little more about the Dreadnoughtus, which he discovered.
A light, engaging read

Dinosaurs did not become extinct 65 million years ago. They are still around today. No, there is not a herd of Triceratops grazing in a remote Himalayan valley, nor are there Velociraptors hidden away in a top-secret government base. Dinosaurs are probably in your back yard, perching in tree branch. Birds are modern-day dinosaurs.
Such is the claim made by paleontologist, Kenneth Lacovara in his book, Why Dinosaurs Matter. And he is in a position to know. Lacovara is best known for discovering and excavating Dreadnoughtus, one of the largest dinosaur fossils yet found.
Lacovara is a popular TED Talks speaker, and this book is an extension of his video lectures. Like the TED videos, each chapter is short and focused on a single idea.
He defends his startling assertion that bird are dinosaurs by pointing to their anatomy. Birds have the same hip bone structure as all dinosaurs, something that crocodiles do not have . So, although it defies common sense, a penguin is more dinosaur-like than a crocodile.
Another myth that Lacovara explodes is the idea that dinosaurs were stupid, sluggish, brutes whose extinction was due to their inability to adapt to the gradual change in Earth’s climate. The author presents evidence that dinosaurs were, in fact, intelligent. Many were quite speedy and they managed to colonize every continent on Earth.
In the book’s most dramatic chapter, Lacovara argues that the dinosaurs’ undoing was the result of a freak event; a giant meteorite impact off the Yucatan coast. This explosion so radically altered the climate that 75% of all land animal species perished.
But the warm-blooded, feather-insulated bird ancestors hung on after their cold-blooded brethren died off, thus preserving dinosaurs in the form of avians.
The chapter on Lacovara’s discovery of Dreadnoughtus is also fascinating. Located in an isolated valley in Patagonia, the Dreadnoughtus fossils proved to be so gigantic that it took four years to excavate and transport them.
At one point, Lacovara invited an archeologist to visit the excavation site, where she immediately found two prehistoric hand axes. Lacovara, untrained in archeology had walked past the axes hundreds of times without realizing what they were.
Why Dinosaurs Matter concludes on a melancholy note. Lacovara points out that species today are disappearing at a faster rate than they did at the end of the Cretaceous period. This is, of course, because of human activity. Climate change, habitat destruction, pollution and other factors are leading us into another mass extinction event. However, unlike previous extinctions, we humans have the power to halt it.
Why Dinosaurs Matter is a fun, engaging introduction into an always popular subject. This volume would make an excellent addition to middle and high school libraries.

The idea of this book is pretty much encapsulated in the words from the summary: "What can long-dead dinosaurs teach us about our future? Plenty." It's the story of the dinosaurs as a highly successfully set of creatures who ruled the world -- for a time. It's also the story of their decline and fall, so to speak, and the lessons we can learn from them. Also, a reminder that a penguin is very literally a dinosaur, just as we're very literally primates.

There's nothing revelatory here if you're into dinosaurs, but if you're looking for something more general than David Hone's The Tyrannosaur Chronicles, something to get you up to date on current dinosaur scholarship, this isn't a bad place to start. And I agree with Lacovara: dinosaurs shouldn't be viewed as synonymous with something obsolete. They ruled the world for a reason.

Review goes up on my blog 03/09.