Play Audiobook Sample
How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.04) - 337 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
In movies, in novels, in comic strips, and on television, we've all seen dinosaurs—or at least somebody's educated guess of what they would look like. But what if it were possible to build, or grow, a real dinosaur without finding ancient DNA? Jack Horner, the scientist who advised Steven Spielberg on the blockbuster film Jurassic Park and a pioneer in bringing paleontology into the twenty-first century, teams up with the editor of the New York Times's Science Times section to reveal exactly what's in store. In the 1980s, Horner began using CAT scans to look inside fossilized dinosaur eggs, and he and his colleagues have been delving deeper ever since. At North Carolina State University, Mary Schweitzer has extracted fossil molecules—proteins that survived 68 million years—from a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil excavated by Horner. These proteins show that T. rex and the modern chicken are kissing cousins. At McGill University, Hans Larsson is manipulating a chicken embryo to awaken the dinosaur within—starting by getting it to grow a tail and eventually prompting it to grow the forelimbs of a dinosaur. All of this is happening without changing a single gene. This incredible research is leading to discoveries and applications so profound they're scary in the power they confer on humanity. How to Build a Dinosaur is a tour of the hot rocky deserts and air-conditioned laboratories at the forefront of this scientific revolution.
Download and start listening now!
"Although it starts off slow, the research behind this book is extraordinary. The new evolutionary field of evo-devo is coming up with surprising new insight as to how embryos develop. Very much ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, it seems as though in many animals the embryo undergoes the transformation of it's genetic ancestors. In the case of a chicken, for a brief stage in the chicken's development it resembles something more like it's dinosaur ancestor. (In humans, the tadpole stage is probably parallel-we all have gills and fish tails during our embryonic development). Jack Horner wants to halt development at the "dinosaur" stage of a chicken embryo and grow it into a baby dinosaur (albeit with a chicken genome). This is probably the future of biology."
— Nicholas (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Provocative.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Sure to appeal to dinosaur fans, this readable account of innovative science is recommended for public as well as academic library collections.”
— Library Journal -
“Horner wants to introduce readers to ‘evo devo,’ a jazzy moniker for evolutionary development. But first he wants to tell a story—and it’s a good one…The polished narrative has a comfortable, intelligent flow…[It’s] evo devo for the everyday reader, with the personal stuff adding color.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Combining gross and molecular anatomy with genomic information, Horner believes, makes re-creating a dinosaur a genuine prospect that he urges his colleagues to pursue. Straight from the scientific frontier, Horner’s work should excite anyone who’s dreamed of walking with dinosaurs.”
— Booklist -
“The authors cover highly technical scientific fields in a manner accessible to lay audiences, who will be captivated by Audie Award nominee Patrick Lawlor’s Mr. Wizard-like zeal.”
— Library Journal (audio review) -
“Patrick Lawlor’s narration of Horner’s fascinating book is mostly enthusiastic and engaging, and he’s comfortable with the scientific jargon.”
— AudioFile -
The authors cover highly technical scientific fields in a manner accessible to lay audiences, who will be captivated by Audie Award nominee Patrick Lawlor's Mr. Wizard-like zeal.
— Library Journal Audio Review
How to Build a Dinosaur Listener Reviews
-
" I enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book immensely. The last part just seemed to drag on. I guess when it comes to creating this creature, not so intriguing. "
— Jae, 2/12/2014 -
" Jack Horner (one of those paleontologists who seems to show up in a lot of science films and Discover articles) talks about his plan to genetically manipulate a chicken to turn it into something like a dinosaur. His two points seem to be that a) we would learn a lot about how structures are formed in the body and b) it would be pretty awesome, with the emphasis on b). "
— Douglas, 2/9/2014 -
" I can't help but think if I actually finished this when I started it in summer of 2009 I might've found genetics/biochem sophomore year a lot more interesting and would've done better, but that's playing the coulda shoulda woulda game. Fascinating read, especially considering what it would take to produce atavistic features in a chicken. "
— Danielle, 2/7/2014 -
" Anything about this science gets 5 stars because it's dinosaurs and dinosaurs always get 5 stars! haha! A quick read, more about imaginative science than perfect science, which is fun. Kids could read this, which is also important. Saw a special on 60 minutes about this concept and book, can't wait for a chickensaurus. "
— Nicholas, 2/2/2014 -
" Until that chickenosaur is created, I remain unconvinced... Empty promises, Horner! "
— Tiffany, 1/31/2014 -
" Interesting concept, reverse engineer a chicken into a dinosaur like creature. "
— Timothy, 1/20/2014 -
" I hadn't really thought much about dinosaurs since first grade. It turns out that the last decade has brought a lot of advances in the science -- also a several new discoveries of non-avian dinosaurs. "
— Farfoff, 1/16/2014 -
" Good idea, not very well-written. Dawkins is much better at writing. "
— Hip, 1/3/2014 -
" This book explains things enough for people that aren't scientists, but gives enough interesting information for those that are. Plus I loved the way that he approached criticism from creationists; it was very amusing at times! "
— Jenn, 11/23/2013 -
" Horner explores the connections between developmental biology and paleontology and he seems serious about creating a chickosaurus to demonstrate the dinosaur ancestry of birds, ie. the chicken. "
— Harley, 3/20/2013 -
" Really enjoyed reading it before visiting the Museum of the Rockies. A must read for anyone who loves dinosaurs! "
— Joi, 6/2/2012 -
" Really great introduction to evolutionary developmental biology, as well as a nice review of the history of paleontology. I like how this book pushes the reader into an emerging field while catching him up on the science behind it. And I'm looking forward to the chicken-o-saurus. "
— Emily, 7/29/2011 -
" Pretty good, though he wanders away from the subject sometimes, the majority of the time the information contributes to the understanding of the points covered in the book. "
— Heather, 8/19/2010 -
" This book is really fluffy on content. The concept is great and there's a lot of cool embryology stuff, I just like my science writing a little denser. "
— Malia, 9/10/2009 -
" Excellent! I have never outgrown my fascination with dinosaurs! Interesting discussions of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). "
— Carol, 9/6/2009 -
" Surprisingly un-engaging argument for reverse-engineering a dinosaur from chicken DNA. Interesting, but poorly written. Continuity in organization is a real problem. "
— Brian, 6/8/2009
About the Authors
James Gorman is deputy science editor of the New York Times and editor of its Science Times section. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including three with renowned paleontologist Jack Horner.
Jack Horner is a regents professor of paleontology at Montana State University, curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies, and a world-renowned paleontologist. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, he is the author or coauthor of several books on dinosaurs, has helped create several documentaries, and does field work in Montana and Mongolia.
About Patrick Lawlor
Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.