Grady (The Quiet Limit of Our World), science editor for Equinox, sets out on a fun travelogue that brings him from his native Canada to the distant reaches of Chilean Patagonia and back through the Alberta Badlands, trying to find evidence in an ongoing paleontological debate: did dinosaurs not go extinct, but evolve into birds of the modern world? In 1996, this theory really took off with the discovery in China of small fossils that appeared to be dinosaurs covered in feather-like fibers. Working alongside leading paleontologist Phil Currie, an ardent proponent of the dinosaur-bird argument, Grady visits Canada's dinosaur-centered Tyrell Museum, works on a dig for a Gigantosaurus and considers his own place in the order of things, ruminating over the long-standing human interest in extinction; common Victorian wisdom, for instance, eschewed the idea of evolution. For Grady (and Darwin), extinction is a kind of screening process, one by which the living are accepted into the next world by passing through a curtain of death—a flash flood, a massive meteor colliding with the earth or some other calamity that wipes out several species. Modern ornithology says that birds have developed over millions of years into their current incarnation; however, as Currie says, "Pluck the feathers off of a bird... and you've got a dinosaur." Whether he's musing over the migratory patterns of birds or where to buy winter gloves in Patagonia, Grady's intelligent, seasoned, witty writing makes for a pleasurable and thought-provoking read. (Nov. 7)
Forecast:This dignified book could make medium-size waves in the pop-paleontology scene with sufficient review attention and handselling to science enthusiasts. Expect satisfactory sales.
