In the last quarter of the 20th Century, Walter Alvarez was one of a select few scientists who had a close hand in discovering the truth about how and why the dinosaurs disappeared some 65 million years ago, and this book recounts that long journey. Detailing what was once believed, and seemingly understood, and moving on to the theories and discoveries that changed those understandings completely, Alvarez takes readers through the earth-shattering change of moving from a sure belief in gradualism--the world changing gradually, including in regard to extinctions--to the point at which he and others came to have faith, instead, in the Impact Theory. Beginning with the tragedy of the mass extinction of T-Rex and so many of the other dinosaurs which called earth home 65 million years ago, Alvarez moves through what is essentially a scientific mystery, exploring and explaining the false starts, the twists, and all of the assumptions, understandings, and discoveries which eventually led to not only faith in the impact theory, but to the discovery of the site of the impact at the Chicxulub Crater. Cthulhu Investigators Companion Pdf Creator. This is more than a book for people who have a lingering fascination for the dinosaurs they learned about as children. This a book of science, discovery, and patience--and, more than anything, a journey to discover one of our longest-standing mysteries. Recommended, of course.

I feel like I didn't do this book justice. Have I forgotten how to read nonfiction, how to take my time instead of whizzing through and getting the big picture? I know I got impatient and missed a few details.

But once the book shifted from background information (a little plodding, a little daunting) to mounting discoveries about the crater. Then things got much more fun. Kinda like CSI: Paleontology! Much more my speed. Still, it reminds me that I don't read enough nonfiction, and that I've become a very impatient person. Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (, Paperback) One of the great mysteries is what happened to the dinosaurs, and it has taken great detective work to give us an answer. Rex and the Crater of Doom, some brilliant, not to mention determined, scientists roam the world and seek out the clues.

What they conclude is that the earth withstood a colossal impact with a meteor (or perhaps a comet) 65 million years ago. The resulting cataclysm destroyed half the life on the planet. Walter Alvarez, a geologist at the University of California at Berkeley, and one of the four scientists who present this theory on the mystery, tells the story in a clear narrative that contains a wealth of scientific material.