Written by a paleontologist who specializes in traces of dinosaur behaviors--footprints, teeth marks, nests, burrows, gastroliths, and more--this book paints a far more vivid picture of dinosaur life and habits than mere skeletons could provide. It is also chock full of dad jokes. Seriously, this book is teeming with puns and one-off references to geek culture. That doesn't make it a faster read--it's a dense book packed with scientific information and it'll take you awhile to get through it--but that does help make the experience extremely enjoyable. Also a plus: numerous anecdotes of the author's fieldwork and class trips and detailed explanations of paleontological practices that are accessible in part because they assume the reader is smart enough to understand them. I really enjoyed delving into the science of how we know what we know about dinosaurs, and what as-yet-unmade discoveries could advance our knowledge or turn it all on its head.

A+ read immediately after watching Jurassic World, for sure.