Dating Dinosaurs and Other Old Things

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-- The title is misleading; this book is basically an explanation of different scientific systems used to determine the ages of terrestial and extraterrestial objects. The text covers familiar methods such as carbon dating and tree-ring counting, as well as more controversial or experimental processes (heat dating and genetic ``clocks,'' which can be used to trace human ancestry). The explanations are straightforward and help make difficult concepts easier to grasp. The black-and-white and full-color photographs and charts help to clarify the text. This is a valuable reference, for there are few current titles available on this subject for either children or adults. All You Need to Know about Dinosaurs (Sterling, 1991) by Mark Norell focus more dinosaurs, less on dating. Many fields of science and anthropology rely on these methods, which only increases the usefulness of this volume. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Pub . Lib .