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A Survival Guide: Living with Dinosaurs in the Jurassic Period
This quirky and informative book, written by dinosaur expert, Dougal Dixon, deals with how humans can survive in the times when dinosaurs roamed the earth, where they would not only face dangers from the dinosaurs themselves, but must wrestle with the change of climate, environment and landscapes.
How would you know which of the gigantic and unidentifiable plants are edible; how would you cook them; how could you create a safe shelter; how would you manufacture the necessary tools for daily life – and how will you prevent yourself being eaten by those threatening dinosaurs?!
That is what makes it such an adventure. Let us see what wonders await….!
How would you know which of the gigantic and unidentifiable plants are edible; how would you cook them; how could you create a safe shelter; how would you manufacture the necessary tools for daily life – and how will you prevent yourself being eaten by those threatening dinosaurs?!
That is what makes it such an adventure. Let us see what wonders await….!
- GenresNonfiction
172 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 26, 2012
24 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 5, 2013
If you have ever fantasized about traveling back to the time of dinosaurs, this book will give some practical information about the environment and creatures in the late Jurassic/early Cretaceous periods. While no one can say with absolute certainty what it would be like, the author does give readers quite a bit to consider if ever such journey was possible.
But before I get into it a little bit more I need to say what this book is not. It is not science fiction. While there is a great deal of supposition it is based on current scientific knowledge. It also is not a novel. So if you are expecting a story like Jurassic Park or Terra Nova you won't find one here. Finally it is not a picture identification book of dinosaurs. There are some illustrations but they are few and don't show all of the wildlife that is discussed.
So what is this book then? It is just what the cover says, a survival guide. Just like the reality tv survival series that have become so popular. It is not going to give you detailed information about all of the different species, as if that would be possible, but instead gives you practical on the ground information that you would need to successfully live where no humans have existed before.
The first section has to do with the geography of the period. The author uses modern day cities as a starting point on your journey to the Morrison Formation. Have you ever wondered about what a trip from Tokyo to the US would involve 150 million years ago? To be honest, it was something I never really thought about before. Never considered mountain ranges, bodies of water or even the position of the continents themselves. Without GPS navigation or detailed topo maps you need to be on top of your orienteering. Also you will need the skills to build equipment to cross oceans, mountains and deserts. You will even need the skills to make basic tools to build the equipment. Remember there is no electricity or fossil fueled tools to help with this.
The second section, after you have made the journey from your point of origin to the Morrison Formation deals with the landscape once you have arrived. For those who live in the western United States there is almost nothing recognizable. First off there is an inland sea where we would expect Utah, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The author goes over the basic geography of the area you may venture to into including rivers and floodplains. There is a great deal of information on finding minerals that you could use for day to day living including salt and iron. A great guide on the best places to look for these and several other basics for living in the area.
The third section discusses the vegetation of the period. This is a time before grasses and flowers so finding out which plants can be used for food is going to be a primary objective. Using modern descendants of ferns, conifers and other plants the author parallels their uses and preparation methods to avoid being poisoned or killed from your dinner salad. While you won't find lettuce, carrots or broccoli there is still quite a bounty of edible plants we have found in the fossil record and the book gives many suggestions on which ones might best suit our digestive systems.
The last section discusses what most everyone was looking forward to, dinosaurs. As I said before, this is not a field guide for the weekend dino watcher. Most of the descriptions are there to give you a basic overview of the most common dinosaurs you would see. Since this is based on the fossil record from the area we really don't know how complete this picture really is. There will undoubtedly be dozens or hundreds of creatures we never even knew existed but we can only really focus on the ones we do know. After the first trip returns I'm sure they will make several modifications for the next groups to follow.
So what does the book cover about dinosaurs? It does cover he main groups; sauropods and theropods. There are basic descriptions of about two dozen of each type. Mostly to differentiate between predators and plant eaters. There are sections on which animals may be used as a food source. While dinosaurs are certainly the stars of the show the author includes lots of information on small reptiles, pterodons, fish and primative mammals. Not exhaustive but should be enough information to know what animals to avoid and which ones we may need to make living possible.
The last few pages are the author imagining what a typical day living in the Jurassic might be like. Certainly everybody in the camp would have jobs and duties to do. It may be farming, fishing, hunting, building or security. While this may seem a bit fanciful in parts I wouldn't say that it is unrealistic. He does a great job of relating that it is more like going on an extended safari than the thrill a minute adventure you often see in movies.
To be honest I can't think of any other book that I have read that is similar. Still I was pleasantly surprised in that it was captivating in the subjects without being a text book. It also challenges you to learn about all aspects of what this trip would entail without dumbing down the content. It tells you what you would probably find useful when trying to figure out if a plant is edible or if you need to avoid the large dinosaur you see across the clearing. This book is now surely one of my favorites and I know what I will revisit it in the future. Great read for any real dinosaur enthusiast. Five stars, Mr Dugal, well done.
But before I get into it a little bit more I need to say what this book is not. It is not science fiction. While there is a great deal of supposition it is based on current scientific knowledge. It also is not a novel. So if you are expecting a story like Jurassic Park or Terra Nova you won't find one here. Finally it is not a picture identification book of dinosaurs. There are some illustrations but they are few and don't show all of the wildlife that is discussed.
So what is this book then? It is just what the cover says, a survival guide. Just like the reality tv survival series that have become so popular. It is not going to give you detailed information about all of the different species, as if that would be possible, but instead gives you practical on the ground information that you would need to successfully live where no humans have existed before.
The first section has to do with the geography of the period. The author uses modern day cities as a starting point on your journey to the Morrison Formation. Have you ever wondered about what a trip from Tokyo to the US would involve 150 million years ago? To be honest, it was something I never really thought about before. Never considered mountain ranges, bodies of water or even the position of the continents themselves. Without GPS navigation or detailed topo maps you need to be on top of your orienteering. Also you will need the skills to build equipment to cross oceans, mountains and deserts. You will even need the skills to make basic tools to build the equipment. Remember there is no electricity or fossil fueled tools to help with this.
The second section, after you have made the journey from your point of origin to the Morrison Formation deals with the landscape once you have arrived. For those who live in the western United States there is almost nothing recognizable. First off there is an inland sea where we would expect Utah, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The author goes over the basic geography of the area you may venture to into including rivers and floodplains. There is a great deal of information on finding minerals that you could use for day to day living including salt and iron. A great guide on the best places to look for these and several other basics for living in the area.
The third section discusses the vegetation of the period. This is a time before grasses and flowers so finding out which plants can be used for food is going to be a primary objective. Using modern descendants of ferns, conifers and other plants the author parallels their uses and preparation methods to avoid being poisoned or killed from your dinner salad. While you won't find lettuce, carrots or broccoli there is still quite a bounty of edible plants we have found in the fossil record and the book gives many suggestions on which ones might best suit our digestive systems.
The last section discusses what most everyone was looking forward to, dinosaurs. As I said before, this is not a field guide for the weekend dino watcher. Most of the descriptions are there to give you a basic overview of the most common dinosaurs you would see. Since this is based on the fossil record from the area we really don't know how complete this picture really is. There will undoubtedly be dozens or hundreds of creatures we never even knew existed but we can only really focus on the ones we do know. After the first trip returns I'm sure they will make several modifications for the next groups to follow.
So what does the book cover about dinosaurs? It does cover he main groups; sauropods and theropods. There are basic descriptions of about two dozen of each type. Mostly to differentiate between predators and plant eaters. There are sections on which animals may be used as a food source. While dinosaurs are certainly the stars of the show the author includes lots of information on small reptiles, pterodons, fish and primative mammals. Not exhaustive but should be enough information to know what animals to avoid and which ones we may need to make living possible.
The last few pages are the author imagining what a typical day living in the Jurassic might be like. Certainly everybody in the camp would have jobs and duties to do. It may be farming, fishing, hunting, building or security. While this may seem a bit fanciful in parts I wouldn't say that it is unrealistic. He does a great job of relating that it is more like going on an extended safari than the thrill a minute adventure you often see in movies.
To be honest I can't think of any other book that I have read that is similar. Still I was pleasantly surprised in that it was captivating in the subjects without being a text book. It also challenges you to learn about all aspects of what this trip would entail without dumbing down the content. It tells you what you would probably find useful when trying to figure out if a plant is edible or if you need to avoid the large dinosaur you see across the clearing. This book is now surely one of my favorites and I know what I will revisit it in the future. Great read for any real dinosaur enthusiast. Five stars, Mr Dugal, well done.
November 23, 2012
This was fun, towards the end, but didn’t quite go far enough for my personal tastes. Less geology and more practical advice, please! The sections on how to butcher various different dinosaurs were amusing, but it could’ve been even more amusing if taken somewhat further, playing with even wilder speculations. As it was, the book seemed to end just as it got going.
August 13, 2014
Fun and easy, if a bit repetitious. The best parts were the detailed how-to's, like the right way to butcher an herbivore.
September 6, 2015
My Amazon review -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OXA4NU...
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2OXA4NU...
March 2, 2016
The author did a great job making the characters come alive. If I ever get stuck in the Jurassic period I would want this book with me to help me survive.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews