A New Dinosaur Book – “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”

Exciting news for fans of dinosaurs, palaeontology and fossils.  A new book written by the extremely talented Dr Dean Lomax is due to be published later this year.  The book, entitled “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs: Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals” will be available in September (2025).  Published by Columbia University Press, it will be available from all good booksellers, including Amazon, and it can be pre-ordered from the publisher’s website ninety days prior to the publication date.  However, we at Everything Dinosaur have been given access to the front cover image and a sneak preview.

Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax/Bob Nicholls

“The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”

This amazing new book is illustrated throughout by the world-renowned palaeoartist Bob Nicholls.  It tells the stories behind some incredible fossil discoveries that focus on direct evidence of behaviours.  How remarkable insights into the lives of prehistoric animals have been captured in deep geological time.  With Dr Lomax acting as your guide, the reader is provided with a forensic, behind-the-scenes examination of some astonishing fossils.  From ammonite eggs to the meals of mosasaurs and a pregnant ichthyosaur that ate a bird.  Each chapter sheds new light on the private lives and intimate moments of animals that once inhabited our planet.  Vivid, full-colour illustrations by Bob Nicholls bring these incredible stories and insights to life.

“The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs” builds upon the phenomenally successful and best-seller “Locked in Time”.  This was an earlier collaboration between Dr Lomax and Bob Nicholls (published 2021).  It told the stories of extinct animal’s behaviour perceived from fifty extraordinary fossils.  However, this new book offers an entirely different approach.

To read our review of “Locked in Time”: “Locked in Time” Reviewed.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Mammals Feeding on Dinosaurs

Dr Lomax takes readers on a journey through the grand cycle of life.  The scientific explanations are given extra authority and relevance as Dr Lomax writes about his own escapades and adventures.  Of course, this highly enjoyable book is imbued with a dash of dinosaur humour too.

The prehistoric animal behaviours described in “The Secret Life of Dinosaurs” include evidence that dinosaurs were not always the predator.  Our mammalian ancestors more than held their own ground against the “terrible lizards”.  For example, one section of the book outlines how a mammal took down a dinosaur!

We were fascinated by the cover of the book! The two-headed animal is a type of aquatic reptile from the time of the dinosaurs. We asked Dr Lomax about the cover choice and he replied:

“I am thrilled that you love the cover! Believe me, Bob and I spent a lot of time working up many ideas with various animals – mostly dinosaurs – on the cover. In the end, we both agreed, as did the team at Columbia University Press, that this book is so different to anything else in the dinosaur/palaeo book world that the cover should represent that. So, we thought, why not go for one of the most extraordinarily rare fossils – a two-headed reptile. Sure, it’s not a dinosaur, but the book is not entirely dedicated to dinosaurs, hence the subtitle. We’re very proud of the cover and know that people will be blown away by some of the remarkable stories that are featured in this book.”

Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax/University of Manchester

Book Details – “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”

Title: “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs”
Author: Dr Dean Lomax
Illustrator: Bob Nicholls
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 312
ISBN: 9780231211307

List Price: $38.95/£32.00

Also available as an E-book

Available from Columbia University Press: More Details/Order “The Secret Life of Dinosaurs”.