Most boys like dinosaurs at one time or another. And what's not to like? They are, at least in the movies, giant monsters with big teeth that run around eating each other all day. That's pretty appealing stuff to most boys (and the likes of Michael Bay or Guillermo del Toro too). And I was no different. I remember having dino toys, books, movies - the whole bit. I even remember reading about paleontology and thinking how cool digging up dinosaurs would be. Now don't get me wrong, I was no Ross and I never considered that as an actual career path, but I did love dinosaurs.
A passion for dinosaurs, however, is not what made me buy my latest book (number four of the year for me), T. rex and the Crater of Doom. I may have lost an interest in dinosaurs as I've grown older, but my interest in learning has grown with me. I try to learn a bit about everything - astronomy and art, physics and politics, economics and exegesis. I don't consider myself an expert on anything (except maybe Primavera P6) and I like it that way. I'd rather listen to the overture than the entire opera. I'll learn about sustainable fishing or using music as medicine from TED, but I don't plan on pursuing doctorates in agriculture or medicine. And that's part of why I loved this book.
T. rex and the Crater of Doom was written by Walter Alvarez, one of the researchers who discovered evidence suggesting that the non-avian dinosaurs, along with 75% of all life on the planet, were killed by an impact event. Essentially, the book covers (spoiler alert, I guess?) the initial findings that Walter and his team made that suggested an asteroid caused the mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, the research that went on for a decade after that to prove it, and a brief explanation of some of the ideas and science behind it all.
I absolutely loved this book. While I had already known about the Chicxulub crater, I was endlessly fascinated by it all. Alvarez did an amazing job writing a book about geology in a highly accessible way. The level of detail he gives is perfect - I never felt like what I was reading was over my head, but instead it got me more and more interested in the science as it went on. The early chapters were especially fun for me, as they introduced some of the basic concepts of geology and showed how they fit in the context of the impact story. I also enjoyed Alvarez's description of the events leading up to the discovery of the impact site and all the work done in the process. His writing makes you feel like you're moving - you're right there next to him as he's swept from discovery to discovery, always struggling on towards the goal of finding definitive evidence for an asteroid impact. Somehow he makes the decade long hunt and all the monotony of geology a quick-paced adventure. Alvarez also does a great job showing the value of cooperation between scientific disciplines and is quick to compliment other scientists, even those who worked hard to poke holes in his theory. He worked with a number of great scientists and makes sure to mention their contributions and hard work that helped him along the way. Just by how he speaks so well of others I can't help but think of him as a friendly guy that I'd like to have a drink with.
This was a great book, but I can't recommend it for everyone. It is science-y, so if you don't care at all about geology or paleontology then it probably isn't for you. It is, however, very accessible, so if you're like me and enjoy learning about a lot of different things then maybe this will fit nicely into your library as it has mine. I learned a lot from this book and found it to be a highly enjoyable read. It's just too bad textbooks are never this much fun... I would have done a lot better in school if they were.
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