The Science of Jurassic World: The Dinosaur Facts Behind the Films

by Mark Brake, Jon Chase

Overview

A tale of some of the most amazing creatures ever to grace this tiny planet—unearth how the science fiction of the Jurassic World franchise inspired the evolution of dinosaur science.
 
It all began in 1993. Jurassic Park was a movie landmark in the development of computer-generated imagery and animatronic visual effects. Jurassic Park became the highest-grossing movie of that year, and the highest-grossing film ever at the time, a record held until the 1997 release of Titanic. The field of dinosaur science has blossomed by leaps and bounds and branched out in recent years, in no small part to this iconic movie series.
 
In The Science of Jurassic World, we experience the amazing story of the birth of the dinosaurs, how they evolved to world dominance, how some became gargantuan in size, how others grew wings and flew, and how the rest of them met an untimely end. Chapters include:

• How did Jurassic Park transform dinosaur science?
• Was Dr. Alan Grant’s job a walk in the park?
• What’s with the giant dinosaur poop?
• When will we clone dinosaurs?
• And so much more!

Discover how some of cinema’s most incredible creations do justice to the jaw-dropping evolution of these fantastic creatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510762589
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Series:	The Science of
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	273,959
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mark Brake developed the world’s first science and science fiction degree in 1999. He also launched the world’s first astrobiology degree in 2005. He’s communicated science through film, television, print, and radio on five continents, including for NASA, Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum, the BBC, the Royal Institution, and Sky Movies. He was one of the founding members of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute Science Communication Group. He has written more than a dozen books, including Alien Life Imagined for Cambridge University Press in 2012. Mark also tours Europe with Science of Doctor Who, Science of Star Wars, and Science of Superheroes road shows.

Jon Chase is a freelance science communicator with an honors degree in aerospace engineering, and a master’s degree in communicating science. After producing a science rap video for NASA about astrobiology in 2008, the Guardian identified him as “the next big thing” in education. Jon has worked with the BBC, the Open University, the Science Museum, the Royal Society, and the Royal Institution. He tours Europe with Science of Doctor Who, Science of Star Wars, and Science of Superheroes shows.

Table of Contents

Dinosaur Timeline viii-ix

Introduction: How Did Jurassic Park Transform Dinosaur Science? 1

How Was Deep Time Discovered? 7

Why Didn't All Dinosaurs Become Fossils? 16

How Does Amber Help Us Peer into The Past? 23

Does "Life, Uh, Find a Way?" 30

Was Dr. Alan Grant's Job a Walk in the Park? 41

How Has Rapid Prototyping Tech Transformed Paleontology? 48

How Are Dinosaur Skeletons Reproduced in Museums? 56

How Many Dinosaur Species Are There? 63

How Did the Dinosaurs (Mostly) Die Out? 70

What Is the "Smoking Gun" for Dinosaur Extinction? 81

What Was the Great Dinosaur Rush? 87

Jurassic Backdrop: Continents and Tectonics 95

How Did Dinosaurs Get So Big? 106

What Predators Pose the Biggest Threat in the Jurassic Series? 116

How Do You Feed a Herd of Hungry Herbivores? 126

What's with the Giant Dinosaur Poop? 136

Meet the Jurassic Family: At Home with the Tyrannosaurs 144

Was T. Rex King of the Jurassic World? 152

How Can We Know the Behavior of Extinct Animals? 162

How Did Dinosaurs Acquire Feathers? 173

Did Dinosaurs of a Feather Flock Together? 180

How Do You Train Your Velociraptor like Owen Grady? 190

How Did Dinosaurs Do the Deed? 202

Fallen Kingdom: How Would Trump's America Deal with the Escaped Dinosaurs? 212

Was Mosasaurus the Greatest Sea Beast? 218

Should We Make a Real-Life Jurassic World? 227

Extinction: Will Humans Go the Way of the Dinosaurs? 232

Index 239

Editorial Reviews

This book is a Jurassic joy: a lively and informative tour 'round dino-world. As packed with facts as a velociraptor's mouth is with teeth!”
—Adam Roberts, science fiction novelist and critic, award-winning author of Purgatory Mount

"Recommended for any library collection."
—Booklist

From the Publisher