Hunting Dinosaurs

In what may be the ultimate book for dinosaur buffs, photojournalist Psihoyos and his associate Knoebber lead readers on a trek from bone quarries to laboratories to exhibit halls. Traveling around the world, carrying the skull of 19th-century bone hunter Edward Drinker Cope as credential and charm, they interview leading fossil hunters, including Bob Bakker, Jack Horner, Paul Sereno and John Ostrum. The authors meet with a French scientist who believes that birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs, with an Italian priest who stole sidewalk slabs containing dinosaur tracks from a Brazilian city and a specialist in dinosaur dung (coprolites). They lead readers on a trail of dinosaur tracks throughout the American West. Psihoyos's stunning color photographs enhance an informative and entertaining text. A treasure. Author tour. (Oct.)