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Longlist, 2025 Non-Obvious Book Awards
Buried within a lost world, astonishing evidence reveals the behavior of extinct animals, giving us a glimpse at both everyday and epic events. If we look at these discoveries carefully, the untold stories of these magnificent creatures come into view, breathing new life into the prehistoric past.
The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs 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. Venturing hundreds of millions of years into the past, Dean R. Lomax takes us on a journey through the grand cycle of life, infused with anecdotes from his own 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.
This book looks into the private moments of long-extinct creatures as never before, letting us see them not just as fossils in a museum but as living, breathing animals with personalities and emotions. Vivid illustrations by Bob Nicholls bring these incredible stories to life in full color.
— Slash, Guns N’ Roses
Every fossil tells a story, and in this beautiful book Lomax and Nicholls present some of the most dramatic and engaging snapshots from the four-billion-year history of life, each one underpinned by actual fossil evidence. Lomax’s enthusiastic and conversational prose pairs perfectly with the stunning photorealistic artwork that has earned Nicholls his reputation as one of the world’s great paleoartists.
— Steve Brusatte, New York Times best-selling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
Lomax brings the past alive. In this beautifully illustrated book, we meet a host of weird and wonderful extinct creatures, together with the scientists who have unlocked their secrets.
— Alice Roberts, academic, author, and broadcaster
The discovery of any new fossil raises the question, "What was life really like back then?" Lomax and Nicholls enthusiastically take up the challenge of answering, drawing from the incredible depths of the fossil record to literally envision what the bones, shells, tracks, and more left behind by ancient organisms imply. The dinosaurs, mammoths, ammonites, and other creatures that inhabit this book are not just strange and impressive but are aptly brought to life in all their affectionate, gross, and surprising detail.
— Riley Black, author of When the Earth Was Green and The Last Days of the Dinosaurs
Lomax has done it again! The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs provides unique stories of life behind some of the world’s most fascinating fossils. Readers will journey through not just the prehistoric past but also Lomax's personal adventures in paleontology. It combines scientific research with unbridled enthusiasm and incredible illustrations by Nicholls, making this approachable book an absolute delight to read!
— Kallie Moore, cohost of PBS Eons
Lomax describes some remarkable fossils that record the intimate lives of ancient organisms, from reproduction and birth to feeding, locomotion, and illnesses. There are dinosaurs here, but also fossil reptiles, mammals, fishes, ammonites, and others. Lomax shows you the fossils, uncovering the discoveries and the discoverers, while Bob Nicholls provides stunning artwork to reveal some of the amazing lives of our ancestors.
— Michael Benton, professor of vertebrate paleontology, University of Bristol
An exciting and entertaining read of some of the most exceptional and unusual fossils that give us insights into the lives and behaviors of all kinds of prehistoric animals.
— David Hone, author of Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior: What They Did and How We Know
There are few books (and indeed writers) that have managed to bring fossils, fieldwork anecdotes, scientific rigour and humour together as effortlessly as ‘The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs’. illustrations are vivid and rich in detail. They do what good palaeoart should. The visual dimension amplifies Lomax’s storytelling, making the private moments of extinct life feel immediate.
— Jon Trevelyan, Deposits Magazine
‘The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs’ is a delight. It does what few palaeo-behaviour books manage – it makes you care about extinct lives, see them as more than bones, and smile (or gasp) at their weirdness.
— Deposits Magazine
Dr Lomax’s passion for palaeontology comes across on every page. The stunning artwork contributed by Bob Nicholls makes this new book a double delight and a worthy sequel to the award-winning ‘Locked in Time’.
— Mike Walley, Everything Dinosaur
If you liked 'Locked in Time,' this book is a no-brainer. If you would like a novel kind of popular palaeontology book, whether for yourself or for somebody else, this book also comes highly recommended.
— NHBS
Lomax has again curated a collection of truly exceptional fossils. Bob Nicholls's excellent artwork—and there is a lot of it—really pops.
— Leon Vlieger, The Inquisitive Biologist
A readable and well-illustrated overview of the subject.
— The Birdbooker Report
This interested amateur will gladly add this book to his library as an enjoyable read and the most extensive work I have seen that provides well illustrated examples of ‘fossilized behavior’ for the nonspecialist.
— Trilobite Tales
Successfully strikes a thoughtful balance between narrative storytelling and scientific content. A compelling and worthwhile read.
— The Palaeontology Newsletter
Dean R. Lomax is an internationally recognized paleontologist, author, television presenter, and science communicator. A leading authority on ichthyosaurs, he is an honorary research fellow at the University of Manchester and an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol. He is the author of more than ten books.
Bob Nicholls is a world-renowned natural history artist who specializes in the reconstruction of prehistoric animals, plants, and environments. His illustrations and models have been published in more than forty books and exhibited in museums, universities, and visitor attractions around the world.
Lomax is the author and Nicholls is the illustrator of Locked in Time: Animal Behavior Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils (Columbia, 2021).
Prologue: Paleo in Perspective
Introduction: The Journey Doesn’t End Here
1. Starting Out
2. Eggs and Babies
3. Family and Friends
4. Moving Along
5. Hide-and-Seek
6. Finding Food
7. Conflict
8. Different Diets
9. Digestion
10. Health and Endgame
11. Stranger Things
Acknowledgments
Further Reading and References
Index