Customer Reviews
Detailed but inconclusive - By: Sarakani, 25 Sep 2006 
This is a rapidly evolving subject & things have moved on since the book was written.
The author has researched very intensively & the book is heavy on facts, arguments & counter arguments. There is however, little to take home with you.
I've read extreme versions of the tale including the work by Danish ornithologist Heilmann (birds are proto dinosaurs) & accounts by Robert Bakker (birds are derived dinosaurs). I tend to prefer the dinosaurs are birds argument which is gaining more momentum with every new fossil unearthed, but this book tries hard to be impartial & creates too much doubt. The author does not say what she thinks & why which would have been useful.
It is balanced & a good addition summarising our knowledge but there are probably far better works now available.
A must read for anyone interested in the origins of flight. - By: ryngan@imaginal.co.uk, 19 Jul 2001 
As a palaeological detective Pat Shipman makes an excellent review of the various theories for the origin of vertebrate flight. Very readable as well as informative. A must read for anyone interestedin this field.
Heaps of Information - By: , 30 Mar 2001 
This is a good book - THE book to read on the subject. There is no no time wasted on dreary old pseudoscience, but all the arguments, discoveries & controversies that have filled the history of these fossils are covered. And the latest theories & discoveries are fully explained.
That said, the information is disorganised, the diagrams are terrible, the writing style is poor - & do we really need to know about the vampire bat & Brewster McCloud? If the kitchen sink could fly it would have been included.
The subject matter alone should keep you hooked - it did me.
The Power of Knowledge - By: , 10 Oct 2000 Having studied Archaeopteryx at university a number of years ago, I was most excited to see this book on the shelf whilst rambling through a book store. Once home I opened it & started to read. It was three hours later when I put the book down due only to getting hungry.
It is a facinating read whether you have a knowledge of Archaeopteryx or not. Having never read one of Pat Shipmans books I can know say that I will be searching for more. Pat has the ability to convay information that keeps you on the edge of your seat, whilst being interesting & informative.
Well done Pat
