What can long-dead dinosaurs teach us about our future? Plenty, according to world-renowned paleontologist Dr Kenneth Lacovara, who has discovered some of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus.
By tapping into the wonder that dinosaurs inspire, Dr Lacovara weaves together the stories of our geological awakening, of humanity’s epic struggle to understand the nature of deep time, the meaning of fossils, and our own place on the vast and bountiful tree of life.
Go on a journey, back to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, to discover how dinosaurs achieved feats unparalleled by any other group of animals. Learn the secrets of how paleontologists find fossils, and explore quirky, but fascinating questions, such as: Is a penguin a dinosaur? How are the tiny arms of T. rex the key to its power and ferocity?
In this revealing book, Dr Lacovara offers the latest ideas about the shocking and calamitous death of the dinosaurs and ties their vulnerabilities to our own.
Why Dinosaurs Matter is compelling and engaging - a reminder that our place on this planet is both precarious and potentially fleeting. As we move into an uncertain environmental future, it has never been more important to understand the past.
Author Biography:
Dr. Kenneth Lacovara has unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk our planet, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus, which at sixty-five tons weighs more than seven T. rex. Through his work, blending exploration with the latest techniques from medicine and engineering, Lacovara portrays dinosaurs as vigorous, competent creatures—the adaptable champions of an age.
Lacovara is sought around the world for his ability to bring the wonders of science and the thrill of discovery to a wide range of audiences. “He’s got a way of illuminating the bigger picture, of somehow turning ‘why’ into wonder. It’s not just that he’s speaking about what happened way back when, but what it might mean for us today.” Says Chris Anderson, Curator of TED.
He has appeared in many television documentaries and his discoveries have landed him three times in Discover magazine’s 100 Top Science Stories of the year and in Time’s Top Stories of 2014. Lacovara was named by Men’s Journal as one of “The Next Generation of Explorers” and he is an elected fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York.
Kenneth Lacovara is the founder and director of the Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan University in New Jersey. Why Dinosaurs Matter is his first book.
Choose a destination to see accurate shipping times, delivery options, pricing and product availability.
Afterpay logo
Shop now. Pay later. Always interest‑free.
Swing through the checkout with Afterpay.Get your order now, pay in four fortnightly payments.
Afterpay offers simple payment plans for online shoppers, instantly at checkout.Buy what you want today, pay for it over time. Interest free, with no additional fees if you pay on
time.
1
Select Afterpay as your payment method
Use your existing payment card
2
Complete your checkout in seconds
No long forms, instant approval
3
Get your items just as fast as always
Your order ships straight away
4
Pay over four payments, interest free
Enjoy now, pay later
How it works
Simply select Afterpay as your payment method in the checkout or when picking up your items from the Mighty Ape distribution centre,
and enter your details at Afterpay to complete your order
Your payment schedule will be shown in the checkout, and emailed to you
If you are a new Afterpay customer, the first payment will be made at the time of purchase, with
remaining payments over the next 6 weeks
Once you have been an Afterpay customer for 6 weeks, on subsequent orders you may be eligible to
make your first payment in 14 days, with final payment in 8 weeks
If you need to return your items for a refund, the payment plan can be cancelled
If you fail to make a payment, you will be charged a late payment fee of $10 with a further $7
fee added 7 days later if the payment is still unpaid