Narrated by Graham Mack
Presented by Highbridge Audio

Aw man, there were a LOT of big words in this book!

I'm a dino enthusiast, and I thought the narrator was fantastic, and yet somehow I still found it a little too hard to follow.

Very thorough, though.

This is more of a reference for people who work in a relevant field, so lots of technical terms for the uninitiated. I found it quite difficult to absorb the information because there were too many scientific names and terms to navigate before arriving at the point. Those who understand such terms, however, will find some interesting ideas.

Another thing that bothered me was its readiness to fence sit. I think reiterating the point that we can only speculate on many things related to dinosaur behaviour allows freedom TO speculate. Yet rather than do so, this book works its way AROUND things rather than drawing any possible conclusions in the face of no support.

Basically? I wish this book had more courage.

The narrator did a great job of pronouncing everything and differentiating between parentheses etc, though unfortunately I did find his voice a little monotonous at times. Once again, it was all about straight up technical details - no room for frivolity here. The audio does a decent job of referencing pictures and diagrams in the print and e-book editions, though, so I wonder if seeing those images would alter a reading of this one and add a little more curiosity to the reading.

Some really interesting ideas here, but I think the author has designed it more to be a resource, rather than an interesting exploration that might appeal to all fans of uncovering dinosaur behaviour. I recommend it for those with a closer scientific knowledge, but casual dino fans might be a little underwhelmed.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

Huge thanks to Princeton University Press, NetGalley, and HighBridge Audio for the ARC. Graham Mack did a solid job, with a studious voice to match the subject matter. Although I wish I owned a physical so that I could have followed along with the examples!

Every once in a while, I find myself in need of something nonfiction to really clean the palette. But if I can manage to do so while also learning about dinosaurs, that’s even better. So when I saw the audio on NetGalley, I had to request it. The thing that struck me first and foremost about this, was the author’s aim to give as realistic of a viewing of dinosaurs as possible. While the date of when the first dinosaur fossil was discovered is often debated, did you know that we’ve learned shockingly little since then?

Of course for years people have heard that the dinosaurs on display in the Jurassic Park series are not entirely accurate. The type of raptors they claimed they were for example would be shorter and much more feathered apparently. Then there’s the even less believable movie, 65, starring Adam Driver, that not only showed a slew of dinosaurs together that were not even alive at the same time, but also seemingly made up their own as well. But did you know that shows the likes of Netflix’s Life On Our Planet, and Apple’s Prehistoric Planet aren’t entirely accurate either?

Due to the fact that none of these creatures still exist, it means that none of them can ever truly be studied, and therefore scientists are left with tons of guess work, inferring, and extrapolating. Most of which, has lead to what is considered to be correct today, but as the author points out, could just as easily be disproved tomorrow. The author points out how Trex eggs and nests have never been found, so not only do we not truly know how they mated and reproduced, but we cannot truly know if they guarded their nests or protected their young. Nor can we know if a single parent stayed or both (something popularized in The Lost World…). It just goes to show how little we really know. Even the concepts on group behavior could easily be disproved as the author points out that we cannot even prove that this was standard practice, something coming together due to happenstance, or tracks fossilized over time that weren’t even a group, just different passerby.

The author does a good job of displaying what we know and how we know it, while not knocking the thousands of others that have tried to learn more. As technology changes, and more fossils are inevitably discovered, that knowledge and guessing will continue on ad nauseam. It’s incredible to me just how much goes into, and how hard it is, being a scientist of any kind of.

Just looking into the author's background as a paleontologist and prolific writer on dinos, David Horne is obviously very passionate about the topic. I made the mistake of believing I could keep up with the knowledge presented in this book. This is by no means a beginner book on dinosaurs and prehistoric life. Hone does not take the time to delve into details of the differences in periods, definitions of behavior or biological terms. Which I'm sure is wonderful for the readers who already have a basic understanding of dinosaurs! All of this being said, I still enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator Graham Mack has a wonderful BBC voice (a compliment) and a candor and relaxed nature to him. I am someone who multitasks while listening to an audiobook which proved difficult for me while listening. Also appreciated is the fact that this book only clocks in at just under 6 hours. I hope to read or listen to more of David Hone as it is obvious he enjoys writing and while I was lost for a lot of this text, he has the capacity to express his thoughts concisely and passionately.

I'm a rabid dino fan and this was a very interesting, informative, and well researched read. I appreciated the narrator and it was a good reading/listening experience
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Future of Dinosaurs by David Hone is a treasure trove for dinosaur enthusiasts and anyone fascinated by prehistoric life. While its format leans heavily towards a textbook style, packed with detailed information, this book offers an immersive experience for readers eager to learn about the latest in dinosaur science. Hone meticulously introduces readers to the building blocks of dinosaur biology, evolution, and diversity, creating a strong foundation before delving into the behaviors and social structures that shaped these ancient creatures' lives.

Graham Mack's narration is well done and easy to listen to.

audio-ARC from NetGalley.

This was an interesting - if, at times, frustrating - book. I wanted to be a paleontologist until I was, like, 16, so that part of me found all of this fascinating. But the book felt like it was 99% disclaimer, reminding the reader that we actually don't know anything about dinosaurs & are just asking wild guesses off of individual samples.

That being said, the segments on what we do know, on what we've found, on what the fossils and skeletons tell us? I was eating it up. The varying theories on nest formation, communal egg laying, young rearing, and the discovery of juvenile only herds were so illuminating. The ideas on how they fought - against predators & each other - were equally intriguing, especially as we got into how researchers came to these conclusions by observing the locations of healed injuries, what would have had to happen to create those injuries in the first place, where an animal's greatest areas of protection were, etc.

What stuck with me most fervently, though, was learning that the world's most intact spinosaurus remains were destroyed in WWII & that's why we don't know more about them.

This interesting and informative book explores the latest breakthroughs in understanding dinosaur behavior, from feeding habits to social interactions and more. It should be accessible to most lay readers. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Such an educational book. I learned so much about dinosaurs that I didn’t know. Anyone who loves dinosaurs should definitely read this book.

It was good to think about how difficult it is to figure out how dinosaurs behaved when all we have are fossils. The fossils consist of remains (skeletons, footprints, eggs, etc) of animals, sometimes in close proximity to another animal's remains. But these have to be interpreted. If scientists see footprints of a carnivore that seem to show it chasing what may be a prey animal, does that mean a preditor/prey relationship is proven? No - we don't know the time lapse between when the sets of footprints were made. We don't know if this was a common occurance, or extrememly unusual. And I certainly didn't know that scientists could figure out so much by looking at bone structure, how teeth are worn down, or whether nests were exposed to the air or buried.
I listened to the audio and thought the narrator was good. Interesting read.

I love dinosaurs with a passion and I'm constantly hunting down new stuff to read/watch on them. Most of the time, I've already heard whatever the topic is, but with this book I learned a significant amount of new stuff. The narrator was also amazing for the topic and it was a pleasure to listen to him.

It’s amazing the way our knowledge of dinosaurs has advanced with modern technology. Their behavior, however, remains elusive. Short of a time machine, scientists have been applying what they’ve learned from fossils to try to deduce how they lived and acted. This book is about what paleontologists know, what they can imply from the fossil record, and what they simply have no way of finding out, yet. The author discusses all the current theories and explains how they were formulated, proven or disproven and what we can learn from them. Much of it is also based on the behavior of extant animals. With this book, I not only learned about dinosaurs, but also Komodo dragons and giraffes. The author gives examples of different scenarios that could cause misunderstandings, such as ignoring sexual dimorphism or herd behavior. Despite the audiobook including a printed guide, I’m not familiar enough with dinosaurs to understand which ones he was discussing (except for the T-Rex, of course), so an internet connection helped me there. I enjoyed Graham Mack’s narration, because he sounds like a knowledgeable professor. I can’t wait for the results of current studies, including the addition of ethologists to these teams.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/HighBridge Audio.