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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lesson in re-thinking, 21 Mar 2004
You needn't be a dinosaur addict to enjoy this book and benefit from it. Robert Bakker has become a major name linked with the resurgence of attention given these [almost] extinct animals. This book shows why Bakker's elevated position is deserved - and why his assertions are resented by some of his colleagues. His observations challenge lazy thinking - by his colleagues and the rest of us also.Holding to dogma is easy. Bakker knows that challenging conventional' judgment requires innovative thinking backed by solid evidence. It's precisely the problem Darwin faced when introducing evolution through natural selection. The evidence is there, it simply takes a perceptive eye and logical thinking to clarify its meaning. Bakker is able to perform those feats, bringing fine writing in to use vigorously presenting his onclusions . Much of the fossil data has an extensive history. He has an uncanny ability to make field research understood by a wide spectrum of readers. No arcane ivory-tower scientist here; evidence and conclusions are clear and unambiguous. Supporting his prose are fine illustrations ranging from serious reconstructions to clever speculation. Bakker has contributed useful concepts to anyone wishing to nderstand evolution's processes. His discussion of predator/prey relationships, old news to biologists, is demystified for the rest of us. The ratio of hunters to hunted, strategies of attack and defense, solitary or pack hunting or defense all mark the guerrilla warfare life's been involved in over the eons. By stretching the definition, predator and prey may also include plant eaters and their fodder. We normally view predation as shedding blood and providing meat, but Bakker demonstrates the war of herbivores and plants to be just as dramatic, if slower. All these elements combine in the ecological environment in evolution's drama. If there is a flaw here, it's in Bakker's acceptance of Gould and Eldredge's 'punctuated equilibrium' thesis. It's anomalous that a researcher so fastidious about assessing evidence can accept an idea lacking supporting data. Bakker's heretical outlook makes him a logical associate of iconoclasts like Eldredge and Gould, so perhaps he may be forgiven this lapse. It certainly doesn't detract seriously from what this book has to offer.
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by Robert T. Bakker
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