The best paleontology books

After Man explores a hypothetical future set 50 million years from now, a time period Dougal Dixon dubs the "Posthomic", which is inhabited by animals that have evolved from survivors of a mass extinction succeeding our own time. After Man used a fictional setting and hypothetical animals to explain the natural processes behind evolution. 

After Man explores a hypothetical future set 50 million years from now, a time period Dougal Dixon dubs the "Posthomic", which is inhabited by animals that have evolved from survivors of a mass extinction succeeding our own time. After Man used a fictional setting and hypothetical animals to explain the natural processes behind evolution. 

Dinosaurs are not what you thought they were - or at least, they didn't look like you thought they did. This is a new visual guide to the world of the dinosaurs, showing how rapid advances in technology and amazing new fossil finds have changed the way we see dinosaurs forever. Stunning new illustrations from paleoartist Bob Nicholls display the latest and most exciting scientific discoveries in vibrant colour.

For the first time, we can claim that each illustration shows dinosaurs as they really were, each aspect of their skin or feathers, colours and patterns based on fossil evidence interpreted with the latest technology. Only 25 years ago, in 1996, the first dinosaur with feathers, Sinosauropteryx, was reported from China. Since then, thousands of amazing new specimens have come to light, and laboratory methods have improved enormously. Who says palaeontology is a dead, old discipline!

We live our lives tethered to the Earth, but how well do you know our planetary home?

Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, Andrew H. Knoll delivers a rigorous yet accessible biography of Earth, charting our home planet’s epic 4.6-billion-year story. Placing twenty-first-century climate change in deep context, A Brief History of Earth is an indispensable look at where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Solomon’s Temple is a historical novel about the first discovery of oil in the Mideast. All the characters are real. All the dates are accurate. All the incidents actually happened. Solomon’s Temple tells the story of the first oil explorationists in Persia whose discovery in 1908 changed the world, and of the visionaries – including Winston Churchill – who understood its impact.

The Volcanic Earth takes readers into Earth’s evolution over 4.5 billion years. Early fragments of rocks remain, while present active zones form a snapshot of newer global volcanism. Volcanoes may command spectacular scenery or hide under seas or ice. They interact with landscapes, the biosphere, the atmosphere, and human populations, often with disaster but some benefits. The book illustrates volcano genesis, within Earth’s underlying heat engine and the upheavals between continents and oceanic plates. 

The book especially illustrates three contrasting zones, born as the Supercontinent Gondwana split apart. Eastern Australia developed continuing basaltic volcanism and long migrating chains of shield volcanoes. New Zealand developed the classic explosive volcanoes of the Pacific margin collision zones, the ‘Rim of Fire’. Western Antarctica remained polar and formed ice-shrouded volcanoes.     

Dinosaurs are not what you thought they were - or at least, they didn't look like you thought they did. This is a new visual guide to the world of the dinosaurs, showing how rapid advances in technology and amazing new fossil finds have changed the way we see dinosaurs forever. Stunning new illustrations from paleoartist Bob Nicholls display the latest and most exciting scientific discoveries in vibrant colour.

For the first time, we can claim that each illustration shows dinosaurs as they really were, each aspect of their skin or feathers, colours and patterns based on fossil evidence interpreted with the latest technology. Only 25 years ago, in 1996, the first dinosaur with feathers, Sinosauropteryx, was reported from China. Since then, thousands of amazing new specimens have come to light, and laboratory methods have improved enormously. Who says palaeontology is a dead, old discipline!

Dinosaurs are not what you thought they were - or at least, they didn't look like you thought they did. This is a new visual guide to the world of the dinosaurs, showing how rapid advances in technology and amazing new fossil finds have changed the way we see dinosaurs forever. Stunning new illustrations from paleoartist Bob Nicholls display the latest and most exciting scientific discoveries in vibrant colour.

For the first time, we can claim that each illustration shows dinosaurs as they really were, each aspect of their skin or feathers, colours and patterns based on fossil evidence interpreted with the latest technology. Only 25 years ago, in 1996, the first dinosaur with feathers, Sinosauropteryx, was reported from China. Since then, thousands of amazing new specimens have come to light, and laboratory methods have improved enormously. Who says palaeontology is a dead, old discipline!

In this quirky tale with a STEM foundation, Chicken Frank wants to convince his doubting barnyard friends that he is a dinosaur. But no one believes him. When the results of a DNA test inspire Frank to hold a reunion with a toothy distant relative, will he become a tasty chicken nugget?

Showing friendship and family can be found in unexpected places, Chicken Frank, Dinosaur! will appeal to dinosaur and animal lovers everywhere. It offers a perfect blend of humor and information in its exploration of evolution, extinction, and scientific debate.

These are 30 poems that encourage love of language. Approved by the Paleontological Research Institution, this bilingual (English/Spanish) book received two 2009 Moonbeam Awards in the Children’s-Poetry and Spanish-Language-Book categories. Tackling dinosaurs from A (Allosaurus) to V (Velociraptor), each poem plays on the meaning (etymology) of the ancient animal's name. The richly hued watercolor collages delight with whimsy, and the expansive bilingual glossary has lots of interesting information about dinosaurs to satisfy the inquisitive nature so many children bring to learning about these beloved creatures.

Appropriate for very young children, who will love the pictures, rhyme, and rhythm, and for older youth, who can appreciate the plays on words, this book is also great for adults who want to enjoy some fun reading or brush up on their Spanish.