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Title: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: The Triassic in Petrified Forest by Robert A. Long, Rose Houk, Doug Henderson ISBN: 0-945695-02-0 Publisher: Treasure Chest Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: A beautifully-illustrated and clearly-written book. Bravo!
Comment: 220 million years ago, Arizona was near the equator. The trees that became the Petrified Forest grew on a broad, humid floodplain with lakes and swamps, somewhat like today's Amazon basin, or a more tropical Louisiana. Most of the trees that were petrified were araucaria conifers, related to present-day Norfolk Island pines. Swimming in these waters were prong-toothed sharks and thorny-snouted fish. Giant carnivorous metoposaurs lurked in the muddy swamp bottoms, while great crocodilian phytosaurs hunted the first true dinosaurs on dryer land.

Doug Henderson's moody, atmospheric paintings bring these scenes to life. Robert Long, formerly park paleontologist at Petrified Forest, assures scientific accuracy. Veteran natural-history writer Rose Houk brings polish to the text. McQuiston, as usual, provides an elegant book design. This is a beautiful book. It would be a fine companion for (or memento of) a visit to the Petrified Forest, and a nice gift for a dino-lover. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5
Summary: An outstanding synthesis of art and paleontology.
Comment: I recommend this book without hesitation for anyone with an interest in paleontology. It provides a balanced view of all forms of life evident at the Petrified Forest National Monument during the Late Triassic, from fish and invertebrates to plants large and small and on up to the most gruesome ruling reptiles and amphibians.

The text is accurate and precise without ever obtrusively presenting theory as fact. This book will age well as future discoveries further refine or reshape our view of the world at that time.

The pencil (charcoal?) and pastel drawings are scientific illustration at its best, with just enough art and dynamic enhancement to make you feel like you really are skipping nimbly around 20 foot phytosaurs, or swimming with freshwater sharks through prehistoric logjams. Each full page drawing is explained by a facing page. Scale and perspective change early and often, leaving you eager to turn the page for the next visual diorama.

The layout is clean and visually elegant, the text easy on the eyes, and the illustrations are easily seen in light from any angle against the high quality semigloss paper.

I have had this book for ten years now, and I still frequently pick it up and let myself drift backwards in time with it until I am rocking gently in warm clear waters in a far prehistoric time. This is truly a first class publication by the Petrified Forest Museum Association. The authors and Museum Association are to be commended!