The Dinosaurs by William Stout and William Service (book review).
Every time I come across William Stout’s name, it’s associated with illustrating dinosaurs, so I tracked down his book The Dinosaurs from 1981, although it seems other copies are available. Like many serious dinosaur artists, Stout relies on paleontologists to guide his designs. Back some 40 years ago, they hadn’t yet realised how many dinosaurs were likely to have feathers.
Collectively, over the 12 chapters, Stout doesn’t just depict solitary creatures but also explores how they would behave in groups and what the vegetation might have looked like. The illustrations and styles vary across the book, but there’s no indication of when each piece was drawn or painted, making it difficult to gauge the timeline of his work.
Accompanying these illustrations, after three extensive introductions—including one by Ray Bradbury—William Service provides the text, describing how they perceived the dinosaur periods. There is a reference to vegetarian dinosaurs rising up on two legs, which might make you wonder if Steven Spielberg was one of its readers, especially considering his friend George Lucas was a fan of the book.
Objectively, the text reveals that the most significant thing they wouldn’t have known at the time was the proportion of dinosaurs that were warm-blooded, which would have impacted their survival rates.
Something that struck me while reading was the prolific egg-laying of dinosaurs, much like other reptiles. If you can’t survive by evolutionary change, then breed enough to keep the species going. That would explain why evolution was so slow to adapt during these eras. Even so, it’s doubtful this would have made any difference when the meteorite crash wiped out many species, primarily through lack of food and the nascent mammals eating their eggs.
Although dated, the text addresses the dinosaurs’ behaviour and physical characteristics. Stout’s art varies significantly, possibly due to the different descriptions provided by experts. From a historical point of view, and if you’re a fan of dinosaur books, this is worth adding to your collection if you can find a copy.
GF Willmetts
August 2024
(pub: Bantam Books, 1981. 160 page illustrated large softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 0-553-01335-1)
