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Title: The Great Dinosaur Extinction Controversy (Helix Books) by Charles Officer, Jake Page ISBN: 0-201-48384-X Publisher: Perseus Books Group Pub. Date: 01 June, 1996 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (4 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: A thought-provoking book with a few faults
Comment: The Great Dinosaur Extinction Controversy is a well-written book containing interesting theories with scientific data & charts galore. The book succeeds in driving home the point that the Alvarez theory, as currently accepted, is probably not the answer for the extinction of the dinosaurs. However, Officer and Page don't fully explain a couple of their own theories. For example, much of their data is speciously based on the fossil record, which is scarce and not necessarily indicative of all the species present at any time. Also, they mention the sea level lowering dramatically, which would go hand-in-hand with massive global climate changes as the water collected (possibly) at the polar ice caps (this is not explained). The book does a good job, however, of debunking the pseudoscience and mystique of the Alvarez hypothesis. Although Officer & Page have some gaps in their theory, it is better explained than the "impact idea". Unfortunately, massive volcanism is not as exciting as extraterrestrial doomsday objects hurtling toward earth. This book is definitely food for thought, and it shows how certain theories, when promoted by powerful individuals within the scientific community, can be accepted as truth with very little proof.

Rating: 5
Summary: An Excellent, Thought Provoking Book!
Comment: An excellent, well reasoned book with plenty of data to support the volcanic-theory of the KT extinctions. A good example of how a reasoned apporoach to a popular scientific theory is important to read.

Rating: 5
Summary: The book is an excellent study of how a lie becomes fact.
Comment: This is a book debunking, sucessfully in my opinion, the popularly accepted idea that a asteroid hit the earth 65 million years ago. The asteroid impact theory actually consists of two parts,one that a comet hit the earth 65 million years ago and the other that this caused a mass extinction of life on earth. Most professionals knew the second part was nonsense from the get-go, the mass extinction took place over a two million year long period and could not have been caused by an asteroid strike. However there was always the coincidence of the timing of the impact. Officer and Page summarized data that points out that there is no evidence for an impact that cannot be better explained by other sources or indicates that evidence is being contorted (to say the least), i.e. volcanism is shown to have been the source of the iridium layer, the Chicxulub crater the wrong age, etc. The authors may have written a more important book than they intended, in debunking a popular psuedo-scientific theory (there is simply no non-debatable evidence of an impact) they show how nonsense is turned into fact by repetition and politics. Note; the book is written for laymen and not professionals. Then again professionals do not need it.