About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
Riley Black is trans. Please do not change gender or pronouns on this page based on older interviews and publicity materials referring to her as male.
Image credit: Riley Black
Works by Riley Black
My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs (2013) 277 copies
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World (2022) 210 copies
Deep Water: From the Frilled Shark to the Dumbo Octopus and from the Continental Shelf to the Mariana Trench (2023) 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Black, Riley
- Legal name
- Black, Riley
- Other names
- Switek, Brian (birth name)
- Birthdate
- 1983-02-26
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Occupations
- vertebrate paleontologist
science writer - Organizations
- New Jersey State Museum
- Short biography
- Riley Black is a science writer and research associate at the New Jersey State Museum who has done fieldwork on fossils in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. She has been a frequent guest on the BBC and has written about paleontology for the Smithsonian magazine, London Times, Wired Science, Eureka and elsewhere. She is also the author of the acclaimed science blog Laelaps and Smithsonian magazine’s Dinosaur Tracking. Written in Stone is her first book.
Riley Black's deadname is Brian Switek, under which her books have been published. - Disambiguation notice
- Riley Black is trans. Please do not change gender or pronouns on this page based on older interviews and publicity materials referring to her as male.
Members
Reviews
Skeleton keys : the secret life of bone by Brian Switek
Interesting overview of bones by a paleontologist. Very modern and respectful. Thought provoking
Если строители дома танцуют от печки, то знакомство со своим телом стоит начинать со скелета. Тем более когда по нему появился столь увлекательный гид. Костная ткань постоянно преобразуется. Даже сейчас, когда вы читаете эти строки, утверждает автор, специализированные ненасытные клетки пожирают старые кости, в то время как другие клеточные пузырьки создают новые клетки костной ткани, изнутри перерабатывая ваше тело. Кости, к слову, пока создают основное препятствие для полетов человека на Марс. Без физической активности они начнут рассасываться, а из-за сниженной прочности станут гораздо больше подвержены переломам. Каждый месяц на орбитальной станции космонавты теряют 1–2% своей костной массы. И да, весь генетический материал в костях полностью разрушается примерно за 6 млн лет.… (more)
I thought this was an interesting and entertainingly written book that told the story of our planet in a manner I haven't previously seen. That said, it needed better editing to avoid the extensive repetition (including the repeated use of the exact same adjectives and phrases). The author's style also mixes known facts and conjecture without noting which is which. While the book does include an extensive explanation at the end of the book as to what is fact and what is potentially fiction, I would have far preferred knowing which was which throughout the entire book, not just as an addendum. I'd recommend the book with those warnings.… (more)
Who doesn't love dinosaurs? For almost everyone, childhood includes some moment of fascination with dinosaurs, and yet what we know about dinosaurs is constantly changing as our technology improves. The author writes this book as a love letter to dinosaurs, but also from an adult perspective that includes an important reality: that loving dinosaurs stops being cool. Despite the scientific importance of continued research and exploration into Earth's history, dinosaurs are somehow left in childhood. This book explores the evolution of our knowledge of dinosaurs, as well as rebuilds a foundation of dinosaur information. A great informational book written with style and enthusiasm, ideal for middle level readers and above.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 11
- Members
- 948
- Popularity
- #27,125
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 29
- ISBNs
- 43
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 1
