T. rex and the Crater of Doom (Paperback, Revised edition)

Reviews

Reviewed by Tanya K. - 28 June 2022

T. Rex and the Crater of Doom is a pulp fiction title that really doesn't fit with the nonfiction contents of the book. So if you are expecting dinosaurs, you will be disappointed. This is a book about a geology, astrology, physics and an ancient mystery that gets solved by a collection of scientists all working together. The mystery to be solved is the cause of the mass extinction about 65 million years ago that exterminated the dinosaurs and a large portion of life on this planet. The story Alvarez tells is the description of the scientific investigations which led to the development of the impact hypothesis, the various bits of evidence to strengthen this hypothesis, and the subsequent search for the impact crater. I particularly enjoyed how Alvarez shows how science is supposed to work: by explaining how his ideas developed, how other scientists in different fields ended up involved and contributing to his project, their contributions (whether confirmations or poking holes in his ideas and methods), the blind-alleys, the disappointments and excitement, as well as additional work by other scientists to expand on the original hypothesis. Walter Alvarez tells a compelling story about solving an ancient mystery, while also making complex scientific details accessible to the general public.