palientology book

Have you checked with your local library, or at Amazon.


And I'm not picking on your spelling (I make typos all the time), but it's spelled paleontology. This only reason I mention it at all is if you you go and try to search using the incorrect spelling you might not find any results.

I'd guess your son is major interested in dinosaurs. Dorling Kindersley publishers puts out an excellent series of books under the blanket title of Eyewitness (whatever) that includes one on dinosaurs, and books on other fossil entities.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0394822536/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

They are widely available at bookstores and other retailers who specialize in scientific material for kids.

caw

You can also look for books on fossils (which do sometimes include dinosaurs). There are quite a few good books out there. Puma

kalebhjones said:

how do i find some books regarding palientology for my son? any ideas?

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Stephen J Gould has written some good ones for consumption by the general public, although they're more about evolution than just paleontology.

"Wonderful Life" is very, very good, albeit a bit dated. It's about a famous and very important Canadian fossil site called the Burgess Shale. First, many of the fossils in the shale preserve the imprints of the soft tissue which is incredibly rare. Second, the shale was deposited shortly after the Cambrian explosion, where life on the planet went from microscopic to "big enough to see with the naked eye" so it's very important to understanding evolution. Third, Gould had a tremendous gift for science communication. He's an incredible writer and can make the most complex science very understandable.

You could follow that one up with another book about the Burgess Shale called "Crucible of Creation" (it's not about creationism, just badly named), which is a followup to Gould's book after some advances in the science. This book is written by Simon Conway Morris, who was one of the researchers on the Burgess Shale that Gould referenced alot in "Wonderful Life."

Now, if your son is pretty young, then I wouldn't recommend them. If he's in high school, he'll probably be okay.

Addendum: First, I'm a professional paleontologist, made my living for 30+ years at it. A book may have got me into the field: The Immense Journey, by Loren Eiseley. Eiseley was an anthropologist, interested in human origins, but also a gifted writer. He produced wonderful essays, and some poetry as well. I first encountered his writing in a high school literature text, an essay from the book above mentioned, and it was the only damn thing from the entire book that impressed me. I bought Eiseley's book as a result of that, and soon read several other of his works, including Darwin's Century and The Firmament of Time. His work is simply wonderful. If your son is of high school age, I'd recommend any of those things highly. I also recommend them for any interested adult here. For a younger person, the Eyewitness books would be excellent.

caw