Book Review: ‘Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party’ transports readers to world changed by fossil finds

Edward Dolnick offers a history of the first dinosaur fossil discoveries in “Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World.” The Associated Press’ Andrew DeMillo writes that Dolnick’s brisk writing style transports readers to the 1800s and illustrates how much these discoveries changed science. The book includes profiles of the earliest fossil hunters such as 11-year-old Mary Anning and the complicated legacy of the man who coined the term dinosaur. DeMillo writes that combined, they provide a colorful narrative of these discoveries.