Vertebrate Paleontology

I remember this book from my childhood. I plan to order a copy to send to Sarah Palin, since I understand that she wants to outlaw the teaching of evolution, in favor of creationism. Well, I am now a creationist, but the splendid data in this book cannot be discounted.

I'm certainly no expert on this topic, so this review is going to be basic. The illustrations in this, the 3rd Edition of 1966, are numerous and wonderful. There are several charts in this book, but what really impresses are the old school line drawings -- aomething like 200 of them -- line drawings of incredible complexity and clarity. Sometimes a drawing communicates much better than does a photograph.

This work is an excellent overview of the vast sum of information known about vertebrates. It's concise but a complete coverage of the subject, shedding light on many of the theories and controversies regarding various aspects of the subject. Romer avails himself of embryologic information, as well as geologic, to shed light on the development of these animals. He sheds enough light on the development of various anatomic areas to be interesting but not tedious for the novice reader. For this subject -- this is a great intro.