The preface to this book informs readers that this is the last of a number of edited volumes, focused specifically upon dinosaurs, to be produced by Indiana University Press; these books have emerged under the general umbrella of the ‘Life of the Past’ series that was the brainchild of the general editor James Farlow.

I have watched the emergence of these volumes with some concern. On the one hand it is perhaps of value to draw together scientific papers summarizing new discoveries and developments thematically in this way (armoured dinosaurs, carnivorous dinosaurs, etc.), but it is unclear to me quite what is the intended audience of such volumes. The books are adorned by (comparatively) artistic reconstructions of dinosaurs alive, and have the general ‘air’ of the coffee table volume (which they are not), yet they are structured as if they are compilations of serious articles that have been submitted to the editorial rigour of a scientific journal (which they are not).

What emerges is therefore a bit of a hotchpotch of articles written at various levels, with contrasting degrees of competence and not much evidence of critical review or editorial control. There are always a few tidbits of interest – that is inevitably the case for those that have specific interests in the groups in question – but are they worth the investment? Personally, I would say not (but that is a purely personal opinion, with which anyone may disagree at their leisure). The ‘Life of the Past’ series has been (and no doubt will continue to be) an interesting experiment in publishing conducted by IUP. The dinosaur series, for example, would never have been viable either conceptually or structurally had it not been for the marketing value of the word ‘dinosaur’. Other books in this general series have lain more in the rather unusual territory of what I might call ‘monographs with flashy dust covers’. These have certainly served the purpose of allowing genuine experts to write comprehensive personal texts that might not otherwise have been published by the better-recognized publishing houses (this is a valuable service without doubt).

I am sure that the editors will have been delighted with the products of their heavy labours, over the past few years, on these books. I trust, for IUP's sake, that they will have covered their production costs (but given that they are getting ‘free’ copy in the case of these edited volumes I imagine that their profit margins are actually pretty robust) – I just cannot imagine who will be buying such works out there in the real world (but equally that might well be a failure of my limited imagination). Equally the authors are adding to their CVs, so everyone wins – or so it would seem. I just wonder how posterity will judge such mini-series as the one on the dinosaurs.