Discover the surprising intimate lives of prehistoric animals, from parenting to predator-prey interactions. Vivid illustrations and engaging anecdotes bring these creatures to life, challenging our understanding of the prehistoric world. Full of fun facts about dinosaurs and other prehistorical animals, this fascinating book is written in a casual, easy-to-read style.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Informative. Didn't get to finish because of other reads, but really liked what I read so far. I can't wait to get back to.it.

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs by Dean R. Lomax is a book whose main title is perhaps a bit aimed at playing on the public’s eternal fascination with dinosaurs, but the subtitle — Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals — gives a somewhat more accurate glimpse into the text, which is both more broad and more narrow than the primary title would indicate. More broad because the book is not focused solely, or perhaps even primarily, on dinosaurs. Instead, Lomax brings in a host of other ancient animals as well: marine creatures like ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, liminal creatures like Tanystropheus, crocodilians, amphibians, birds and their predecessors, insects, and more. More narrow because the book is sharply focused on a particular niche of paleontology — fossils that offer direct evidence of animal behavior, such as predation or reproduction. The fossils themselves are often fascinating, and Lomax employs a nicely conversation, down-to-earth tone, though the book’s style is the weakest element. On the other hand, the text is strongly enhanced by the prevalence of images and diagrams, including a number of artist renditions illustrated by Bob Nicholls that are absolutely fantastic at bringing the text’s stories to life.

As noted, many of the fossils are fascinating in their rarity and in what they reveal. It’s truly incredible to think about what we can know about creatures who lived so tens and hundreds of millions of years ago. And so we learn about the reproductive behavior of two giant millipedes who left tracks of their mating process, what various creatures had for dinner (as well as what they regurgitated back up or pooped out), how they survived injuries or how they didn’t (beheading are tough to recover from), and more activities. We also learn some neat names for certain behaviors, such as “phoresy”, when “one individual of a species catches a free ride on another, often larger species.” And we get several unexpected acts. For instance, if you grew up learning as I did that mammals were tiny little things cowering in burrows or dens underneath the terrifying dinosaurs that preyed on them, you might be surprised to read about the “cat-to-badger sized mammal” that “took down a dinosaur,” an act of predation captured in fossil form.

All of the information is clearly laid out and explained, made all the easier to understand and visualize by enhanced by the photos of the fossils in question and Nicolls’ illustrations that bring the dead back to life. The various examples are made more personal by Lomax’s own experiences, whether he worked on the fossils himself, wrote a paper or did a presentation on the particular topic, of simply visited the fossil or the fossil’s original site. His depth of knowledge clearly helps with the content but more than anything it’s his infectious enthusiasm about the subjects that make the text so engaging. My one complaint is more stylistic/organizational in that outside the moments where Lomax comes to the forefront personally, the language can be a bit dry, sometimes gets a bit thick with numbers, and overall the book feels a bit choppy as we jump from one example to the next. Part of that is just personal; I tend to prefer my non-fiction with a bit more of a narrative feel. And honestly, the stylistic quibble is just that—a quibble. Most people come to non-fiction for content first and style second, and Lomax does an excellent job with the former and an adequate job with the latter. And if one doesn’t marvel at the language or metaphors, one can’t help but do so and how much scientists like Lomax have been able to recreate of a world so far, far removed from our own. Recommended.

Another great book from Dean Lomax. Similar to his previous book, Locked in Time, this book gave a lot of interesting information about the behavior of extinct animals based on trace fossils. It was a fun read. Some of Robert Nichols' beautiful paleoart was included in the ARC. I've already pre-ordered a finished copy for when it comes out in September 2025 and can't wait to view the art in physical form.

An interesting look at a bunch of fossils and what they can teach us about behaviors. Lomax choses some very interesting and illustrative examples. One track he talks about heavily implies that the dino that dragged it's feet in this mud was swimming and just barely scraping along the bottom, thus adding to the evidence for the fact that at least several dinosaurs swam. Looking at some fossils that died just after eating sometimes gives an idea of diet if the fossil happens to have the final meal preserved. Others, such as a huge graveyard of one species shows that they definitively lived as a heard and had a massive die out, probably because of a hurricane or other weather phenomena. This was a fun and pretty approachable book.

A Uniquely Thorough Study of Dinosaurs Based on Cited Evidence
Dean R. Lomax; Bob Nicholls, Il., The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs: Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals (New York: Columbia University Press, September 2025). Hardcover, color illustrations. 360pp: $38.95. ISBN: 978-0-231211-30-7.
****
“Buried within a lost world, astonishing evidence reveals the behavior of extinct animals, giving us a glimpse at both everyday and epic events.” It “tells the remarkable tales of ancient animals through some of the most distinctive and unusual fossils ever found, offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the story of life in deep time… Infused with anecdotes from” the author’s “adventures and sprinkled with a touch of dinosaur humor. These fossils tell real-world stories of prehistoric parenting, the quest for survival, and the endless struggle between predator and prey. Unbelievable moments are captured: saber-toothed cats clashing, mega-millipedes mating, dinosaurs swimming. From ammonite eggs to mosasaur mealtimes, and from a pregnant ichthyosaur that chowed down on a bird to the mammal that took down a dinosaur, these behaviors challenge what we thought we knew about the prehistoric world… Illustrations by Bob Nicholls… in full color.” The illustrations are certainly comedic or cartoonish: starting with the cartoon of the epochs in deep-time. Though most of the illustrations in the body are computer-generated and realistic, as opposed to cartoonish. These are very vivid indeed, color images. Those interested in how these creatures looked would certainly enjoy just looking at these pictures.
The book is logically divided by themes: birth, babies, family, moving, hunting, gathering, conflict, diet divergence, digestion, and health. The diet chapter interested me first because I’m curious if most of these animals were vegan. My hopes were dashed as this chapter opens with an accusation of cannibalism by the mosasaurs in their wars. Though my question is if most dinosaurs were vegan, as opposed to any of them. A “puncture in the left lower jaw” matches “the tooth’s shape”, proving “a Mosasaurus-on-Mosasaurus kill” (198). There are no mentions of vegans or vegetarians in this book. But that’s because other terms are used. The next chapter concludes by indicating that diet of large dinosaurs included “decaying wood and crustaceans”, such as “crabs” that were found on nearby rocks, which “challenges our preconceived ideas about large herbivorous dinosaurs solely eating plants” (237). The chapter on digestion includes an illustration of the act of defection, and a dinosaur towering over the guts-spilled corpse of another dinosaur. Some illustrations are clearly not for kids in this book (230). The photos and digital representations and figures of fossils with explanations are very helpful: I haven’t seen similar archeological details in equivalent books. Interesting details include a “complete lizard” being found in a “stomach” (205).
This book sucks readers in. Those who are interested in the realities of dinosaur life are likely to enjoy reading it cover-to-cover. It is relatively detailed, cites plenty of sources, and yet is conversational to be easy-to-read. It is aimed at the general public, field specialists, and public libraries.
--Pennsylvania Literary Journal: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-summer-2025/

The secret lives of dinosaurs is an incredibly delightful book about behaviours and stories of dinosaurs, with wonderful and stunning artwork from Nichols (inter alia the dinosaur cloaca, one of my personal favourites).

My wonted experience with non-fiction about dinosaurs is having to look up terminology very often and repetitively, but this book was a great exception. Lomax’s storytelling is very humorous and effortless to read and the phraseology isn’t too complex for a beginner to read and understand without too much struggle.

In his masterfully written book Lomax takes us on an enchanting and engaging journey across different paleontological periods. His insights on these dinosaurs' lives and his own experiences while studying them along with his cheesy dinosaur jokes makes an enthralling read that leaves you with a lot of trivia (perfect for impressing friends and family at gatherings).

I would recommend “The secret lives of dinosaurs” by Dean R. Lomax to a variety of people, for instance nerds of all kinds, but also to anyone who wants to learn about dinosaurs or brag about their knowledge to acquaintances.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and am voluntarily writing this review.

Breathing life into fossil vignettes

If you’re interested in dinosaurs and prehistoric life then you’ll love this book. Dean introduces us to some wonderful fossils and looks at what they can tell us about how they lived and behaved. Each chapter looks at a particular aspect of life such as family and friends, finding food, and so on, through the lens of related fossils. Dean looks at each in turn and works back from the behaviours of living related animals to help interpret the fossils, this makes past life more accessible.

I was enthralled from page one and learned from each vignette. I finished the book having learned a lot and feeling that Dean had breathed life back into these ancient animals enabling me to imagine them when they were alive and integrate them into my mental tree of life.

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs strikes a cool balance between scientific, evidence-based, critical information and notes and fun secret facts.
The layout and the photographs are excellent.
Overall, this is an engaging book for dinosaurphiles who are of a certain age and upwards to be able to understand the information presented.
The book is accessible, hence this is a wide range of ages, including children whose reading comprehension is up to the level.
As for the illustrations, I cannot say I was a fan. There was certainly an opportunity to make them both realistic and artistic. They fell too distant and not enough magical to me.

Publishing date: 23.09.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

If you like looking at dinosaur illustrations or want a more informal exploration of their lives, you should read this.

The language is easy to understand and written in a more engaging way. Less essay-like, more encyclopedic. I think even young readers from maybe 12-13 could digest this.

We also get stunning artworks from Nicholls. One little piece of worry from me as an aspiring artist in rough times for lots of artists, the cover may raise a lot of eyebrows and make people question if it is AI. I think a lot of the other works could work fine for a cover and create less suspicion. It isn't AI, but has the very common hazy and blurred style that AI seems to enjoy so much.

Giving this 4 stars

When I was a kid, I loved looking at the dinosaur illustrations in my grandpa’s encyclopedia. This amazing book took me back to that moment. Of course, technology has improved so much that most of the information that we have about our predecessors has changed considerably, and Dr. Lomax compiles much of the knowledge we’ve gained in the last few years. By studying fossils and existing animals, he can deduce the daily lives of not only dinosaurs, but many extinct creatures. It is fascinating to know how they reproduced, took care of their offspring, fought, ate and even pooped. Wherever we have limited information, the author is clear about it. He doesn’t shy away from speculation but makes educated guesses. The really cool part is the photographs and reconstructions of what we’re looking at. The illustrations by Robert Nicholls are amazing! The text is approachable, not overly scientific, and understandable for laypeople like me, or even probably younger readers. This is a fresh look into a fascinating subject.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Columbia University Press.

I got the arc on Netgally.

not only was the information in this book very interesting to read about but it wad written in an engaging and fun way. I love dinosaurs and the history of world before humans but I can never keep track of names and specific things. Mixed in with all the facts where a good dose of humor and comparisons to living animals today to make the reading experience fun and easy to get an idea of even if it's about creatures that are long gone. 5 stars

this book was so resourceful and full of interesting information! honestly if you want a book about dinosaurs and to learn something new, i definitely recommend this. it was all very well explained and entertaining, too! as a dinosaur fanatic, i really enjoyed this.