Give audiobooks, support local bookstores! Start gifting
Why Dinosaurs Matter by Kenneth Lacovara
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Illustration of person sitting

Shop small, give big!

With credit bundles, you choose the number of credits and your recipient picks their audiobooks—all in support of local bookstores.

Start gifting
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

Why Dinosaurs Matter

TED Books: Book #17

$18.89

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Kenneth Lacovara

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more
Length 4 hours 23 minutes
Language English
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

What can long-dead dinosaurs teach us about our future? Plenty, according to paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara, who has discovered some of the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth.

By tapping into the ubiquitous wonder that dinosaurs inspire, Lacovara weaves together the stories of our geological awakening, of humanity’s epic struggle to understand the nature of deep time, the meaning of fossils, and our own place on the vast and bountiful tree of life.

Go on a journey––back to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth––to discover how dinosaurs achieved feats unparalleled by any other group of animals. Learn the secrets of how paleontologists find fossils, and explore quirky, but profound questions, such as: Is a penguin a dinosaur? And, how are the tiny arms of T. rex the key to its power and ferocity?

In this revealing book, Lacovara offers the latest ideas about the shocking and calamitous death of the dinosaurs and ties their vulnerabilities to our own. Why Dinosaurs Matter is compelling and engaging—a great reminder that our place on this planet is both precarious and potentially fleeting. “As we move into an uncertain environmental future, it has never been more important to understand the past.”

Dr. Kenneth Lacovara has unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk our planet, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus, which at sixty-five tons weighs more than seven T. rex. Through his work, blending exploration with the latest techniques from medicine and engineering, Lacovara portrays dinosaurs as vigorous, competent creatures—the adaptable champions of an age.

Lacovara is sought around the world for his ability to bring the wonders of science and the thrill of discovery to a wide range of audiences. “He’s got a way of illuminating the bigger picture, of somehow turning ‘why’ into wonder. It’s not just that he’s speaking about what happened way back when, but what it might mean for us today.” Says Chris Anderson, Curator of TED.

He has appeared in many television documentaries and his discoveries have landed him three times in Discover magazine’s 100 Top Science Stories of the year and in Time’s Top Stories of 2014. Lacovara was named by Men’s Journal as one of “The Next Generation of Explorers” and he is an elected fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York.

Kenneth Lacovara is the founder and director of the Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan University in New Jersey. Why Dinosaurs Matter is his first book.

Dr. Kenneth Lacovara has unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk our planet, including the super-massive Dreadnoughtus, which at sixty-five tons weighs more than seven T. rex. Through his work, blending exploration with the latest techniques from medicine and engineering, Lacovara portrays dinosaurs as vigorous, competent creatures—the adaptable champions of an age.

Lacovara is sought around the world for his ability to bring the wonders of science and the thrill of discovery to a wide range of audiences. “He’s got a way of illuminating the bigger picture, of somehow turning ‘why’ into wonder. It’s not just that he’s speaking about what happened way back when, but what it might mean for us today.” Says Chris Anderson, Curator of TED.

He has appeared in many television documentaries and his discoveries have landed him three times in Discover magazine’s 100 Top Science Stories of the year and in Time’s Top Stories of 2014. Lacovara was named by Men’s Journal as one of “The Next Generation of Explorers” and he is an elected fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York.

Kenneth Lacovara is the founder and director of the Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan University in New Jersey. Why Dinosaurs Matter is his first book.

Illustration of person sitting

Shop small, give big!

With credit bundles, you choose the number of credits and your recipient picks their audiobooks—all in support of local bookstores.

Start gifting
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today
Give audiobooks, support local bookstores! Start gifting