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Summary: "Doc Col" as we called him in High School!
Review: "Doc" Cologrande was THE MOST AWESOME teacher in High School. I had him for Science 3 years straight! (yup - even he couldn't believe it!)I have not read this book - but believe me. If he wrote it - you will love it.If "Doc" Col" talked about it - it was interesting. Absolutely the best! Dave Patnaude
"Doc Col's" class 1985-1987
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Summary: best illustrated dinosaur book available
Review: "Doc" Cologrande was THE MOST AWESOME teacher in High School. I had him for Science 3 years straight! (yup - even he couldn't believe it!)I have not read this book - but believe me. If he wrote it - you will love it. If "Doc" Col" talked about it - it was interesting. Absolutely the best! Dave Patnaude
"Doc Col's" class 1985-1987
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Summary: Testimonials from students.
Review: As a long time student of Mr. Colagrande's, I have come to appreciate his witty and ingenious approach towards teaching as well as writing. He keeps a firm resolve on his beliefs about dinosaurs and their habitats, while at the same time not relinquishing his broad sense of humour. When news came about the release of his new book, I was delighted. So delighted that i took a copy off his desk. I hope he doesn't notice. I wasn't about to pay 30 something dollars for a book. Thats crazy. But after reading this masterpeice of scientific literature, I may have changed my mind about reading in general. I know this book will capture the minds and imaginations of all readers whether young or old. Job Well done. -Pete and Brett.
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Summary: WALKING WITH A DINOSAUR ARTIST
Review: Gorgeous. Beautiful. Stunning. Exhilarating. This book is enough to send one running for the thesaurus to find new adjectives to describe it! One of my favorite paleo books to come along these last few years, Larry Felder and John Colagrande have combined to create a truly beautiful book. If you loved "Walking With Dinosaurs" this book is a must-have. In many ways I even prefer it. Whereas the CGI dinos of WWD are pretty amazing there is just something about the touch of a brush to canvas, the interaction between artist and paint that I'll prefer anytime. Felder's images are full of warmth and vitality, almost as though a they are being visualized by a Renaissance artist. The science behind the images is fully 21st century, however. Felder is on the very edge of the new breed of paleo artists who depict dinos as vivid, highly colorful, sophisticated creatures. Whether you prefer your dinos drab or day-glow, however, there is no denying the splendidness of these paintings.
As for the text, Cologrande has crafted a wonderful, free-flowing narrative of life in the Mesozoic. As with "Walking With Dinos" (which this book can't avoid being compared to) there is a large amount of speculation involved about the day-to-day details of dino life. But Cologrande obviously placed a high priority upon grounding his speculations in as much solid science as possible. No wild flights of fancy are found here. In fact, in text this book is substantially superior to WWD.
As a paleoartist myself I find this book to be a constant source of inspiration and amazement. Jack Horner called it "jet fuel for the imagination." I can't think of a better description. BUY IT!
Rating: 
Summary: an uneven but ambitious book
Review: I don't know quite what to make of this book. Parts of it are excellent. Parts of it are, well, not so good. The good first. The authors make an effort to depict entire environments throughout the Mesozoic of North America, not just focusing on showy (though fascinating) dinosaurs. Reading like a nature show transcript, Colgrande and Felder don't discuss scientific theories or paleontoligsts, but try to place in you the actual landscape of the past, whether a Triassic rain forest or a Jurassic inland sea. Plants, invertebrates, birds, mammals, other reptiles, pterosaurs, marine reptiles are all discussed being born, living, and dying in lush worlds. Some of the descriptions are quite engaging. I especially loved the Triassic rain forest (preserved as the petrified forest) and the Niobrara Sea. Another plus are some of the illustrations. The ones of marine life are inspired, and others are quite excellent. In a field increasingly crowded with prehistoric art, some of this stands out. Now the bad. This book is full of theories, and it doesnt' really tell you that, or doesn't stress it. Some, such as the idea that hypsilophodontids might have been corpophages is interesting, but it is just that - a theory. No evidence of it. And some of the theories (or illustrations showing such theories) are arugably wrong. Several dinosaurs species are shown as feathered as young, but scaled as adults. From what I understand this just not possible. Those are two entirely two different types of external covering, and it is not possible to switch from one to the another; if you are born with feathers, you live your life with feathers, you don't switch to scales at a certain age. Yes, birds have down while in the nest, but later get feathers, not scales. While this makes for some pretty pictures, and yes some dinosaurs species may have been feathered their entire lives, there is no evidence to suggest feathered (or furred for that matter) hadrosaurs. Another bad point is ironically the illustrations. Though some are quite good, others are not good. Some come across as wooden or simplistic, while others are strangely unconvincing. One or two I would even describe as bad. Perhaps the illustrator wasn't quite as trained as he should have been, perhaps a few subjects were beyond his grasp, or maybe this was simply too much to paint, an overly ambitious project. This book is an interesting one and can certainly inspire debate among amateur paleonotologists such as myself, but this might not be the best book available.
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Summary: Buy this book!
Review: I have been collecting "dinosaurabilia" for 40 years, including many of the paleontological works of Charles R. Knight, America's first dinosaur painter. The only time I have ever been tempted to add an original painting by any other artist to my collection was when I first saw Larry Felder's depiction of a baby Parasaurolophus a few years ago. "Duckling Bill" is now the centerpiece of my entire "Metropolitan Museum of Mesozoic Memorabilia". Only a handful of artists per century ever burst onto the scene with such imaginative vigor and precision as has Felder. Leafing through this book will make your hair stand on end and a chill run up your spine. At last we know what these amazing monsters really looked like!
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Summary: My Favorite Teacher Ever....No Joke
Review: I was a student of John Colagrande for 2 years and he was the best teacher i ever had...even though i have not read the book i am sure it is great he was a great teacher and he had a geat personality. He was one of union's finest teacher...i will purchase the book and read it and Mr. C if u read this, this is John from your earth science and geology class please give me an email thanx.....UNION BABY!!!!!
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Summary: best illustrated dinosaur book available
Review: If one book ever deserves the title „best illustrated dinosaur book available" then it's „In the presence of dinosaurs" by Felder/Colagrande. I have seen and red many books about dinosaurs now but this one is by far the most beautiful one. In no other dinosaur book you'll find paleo art of this size and quality! Felder must be a genius, every painting in this book (at least 100 !!) is comparable to a photo and really a work of art. No wonder that he appears in „high-level" science and nature magazines and the world famous John Lanzendorf collection. The size, layout and composition of the book is very similar to the „BBC-Walking with Dinosaurs" but instead of fuzzy renderings of computer animations it is filled with the incredible art work described above. Colagrande provides the narrative part of the book. Covering different periods of time within the Triassic, Jurassic and Creteaceous, very detailled he describes the typical inhabitants in their natural habits. His motives are taken from the careful observation of present wildlife, whereas the eye-poppingly paintings get an even more realistic meaning. Simply amazing! I warmly recommend this book to everybody interested in dinosaurs, kids and adults. Better you buy two, to keep one for you and the other to give as a present.
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Summary: In the Presence of Dinosaurs
Review: In the Presence of Dinosaurs written by John Colagrande and Larry Felder is a very highly illustrated book with some amazing pictorials. When looking at the picture in this book it makes you feel as though you are in the presence of dinosars. This book has a very good flowing narrative that is both educational and informative. The Mesozoic world was filled with amazing wonders, but from the fossil record we can only glimpse and speculate what it really looked like. Through the illustrator's eyes and put into print we really can what it was like. From dragonflys, pteradactyls, forests, and deserts to T.rex, sea-life, and valleys. All are portrayed with an artful touch rendering a life-like appearence.Can you imagine a Pteranodon with a wingspan of more than 25 feet to a Elasmosaurus laying eggs on a beach. The coloration of the dinosaurs is highly speculative, but they probably did have colors to identify themselves for mating and for protection from predators. Also fur and feathers were probably used to keep them warm and protect them from the weather. Again, this is speculative, but I stongly think the illustrator has the right idea. You'll read this informative narrative and get lost in your imagination by the artwork, as this is a worderful book.
Rating:
Summary: In the Presence of Dinosaurs
Review: In the Presence of Dinosaurs written by John Colagrande and Larry Felder is a very highly illustrated book with some amazing pictorials. When looking at the picture in this book it makes you feel as though you are in the presence of dinosars. This book has a very good flowing narrative that is both educational and informative. The Mesozoic world was filled with amazing wonders, but from the fossil record we can only glimpse and speculate what it really looked like. Through the illustrator's eyes and put into print we really can what it was like. From dragonflys, pteradactyls, forests, and deserts to T.rex, sea-life, and valleys. All are portrayed with an artful touch rendering a life-like appearence.Can you imagine a Pteranodon with a wingspan of more than 25 feet to a Elasmosaurus laying eggs on a beach. The coloration of the dinosaurs is highly speculative, but they probably did have colors to identify themselves for mating and for protection from predators. Also fur and feathers were probably used to keep them warm and protect them from the weather. Again, this is speculative, but I stongly think the illustrator has the right idea. You'll read this informative narrative and get lost in your imagination by the artwork, as this is a worderful book.
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