Dinosaurs, Spitfires, And Sea Dragons [Paperback]

Christopher McGowan sets out to solve some of the enduring mysteries about dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles. He makes fascinating comparisons between living and extinct animals while presenting topics that range from gigantism to intellect. In addition to exploring the natural history of the Mesozoic Era, McGowan draws on science and engineering concepts to explain curiosities such as the similarities between the aerodynamics of pteranodons and Spitfire planes.The net effect of [this] book is to make one extremely jealous of anyone lucky enough to take Professor McGowans class in evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto& The problem with the several dinosaur controversies is that merely to argue about them requires an appreciation of many aspects of Newtonian physics, aero- and thermodynamics, and both applied and theoretical geophysics. Since one wishes to be read by more than the worlds half-dozen genuine polymaths, one must explain everything along the way, and that is the stunning success of this book. It is a text that can be read with profit by a teenager willing to learn a few new words and by a professional in the field of paleontology.[A] wonderful book& Ultimately the great virtue of this book is that it faces down our instinctive desire to leap from bone to biology and in so doing produces a particular kind of wisdom which transcends its subject matter. For implicit in how McGowan and his kind have approached the dinosaur is a point of view humans almost never assume about themselves. How much are we pure physics? Our walks, our musculature, our electric nerve impulses? &Delicious& In addition to its intellectual strengths, for a book that is often technical,Dinosaurs, Spitfires, and Sea Dragonsis extremely well-written& The lovely word classic is already engraved upon it. But be advised: This is a science classic. It requires close reading. It demands not just that we approach, but that we be prepared to learn. But is not thatlÃ0