Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. W.J.T. Mitchell had a marvelous idea for a book. It is a clever way of looking at the subject, and Mitchell, neither a dinosaur expert nor a dinosaur fanatic, is a promising guide. His concern is largely the iconography of dinosaurs, asking what it means that they have played such an important role at certain times in our history. It is an attractively designed book, with lots of neat pictures and cartoons, but it is not sufficiently fun.
Many small points take away from the possibility of a convincing and coherent larger picture.
Mitchell's uncertain style is also of no help. The book is simply not a fun read, and there are times when it is difficult to slog through. His opinion we could accept, but the presentation gets to be rather awkward. It was a disappointment. To those who are fans of the dinosaur, it may be of interest, especially for the fun pictures and quotes.