Too Big to Walk

By: Brian J. Ford

Narrated by: Chris Courtenay

Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ever since Jurassic Park we thought we knew how dinosaurs lived their lives. In this remarkable new book, Brian J. Ford reveals that dinosaurs were, in fact, profoundly different from what we believe, and their environment was unlike anything we have previously thought.

In this meticulous and absorbing account, Ford reviews the latest scientific evidence to show that the popular accounts of dinosaurs’ lives contain ideas that are no more than convenient inventions: how dinosaurs mated, how they hunted and communicated, how they nursed their young, even how they moved. He uncovers many surprising details which challenge our most deeply held beliefs - such as the revelation that an asteroid impact did not end the dinosaurs’ existence.

Professor Ford’s illuminating examination changes everything. As he unravels the history of the world, we discover that evolution was not Charles Darwin’s idea; there were many philosophers who published the theory before him. The concept of continental drift and plate tectonics did not begin with Alfred Wegener a century ago but dates back to learned pioneers hundreds of years before his time. Ever since scientists first began to study dinosaurs, they have travelled with each other down the wrong path, and Ford now shows how this entire branch of science has to be rewritten.

A new dinosaur species is announced every 10 days, and more and more information is currently being discovered about how they may have lived: locomotion, hunting, nesting behaviour, distribution, extinction. Ford brings together these amazing discoveries in this controversial new book which undoubtedly will ruffle a few feathers, or scales if you are an old-school dinosaur lover.

©2018 Brian J. Ford (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ignorant, self acclaiming, blowhard!

The first half of the book is actually a very pleasant listen. The author uses a very enjoyable style, and the reader conveys the book so that the listener readily looks forward to the next part. However this only applies to the first half of the book devoted to background history of dinosaur discovery.
In the second half, the author gives his reasonings for his hypothesis (not a theory as he expounds) that dinosaurs were aquatic. His main points include that dinosaurs would’ve been too heavy to live on land, too big to mate on land, and to heavily cites the lack of evidence of tail tracks. his basic premise is only supported by the incorrect hypothesis that dinosaurs had slow metabolisms/ were “cold blooded”
He seems very ignorant of the direct connection between birds and dinosaurs. Instead of looking at very obvious comparative anatomy of bone structures between birds and dinosaurs, he relates dinosaurs to the much more distantly related crocodilians and even lizards! Fossil evidence has shown that possibly all dinosaurs had some sort of proto-feathers, with many of the later theropod dinosaurs experimenting with true feathers and flight. Additionally he ignores the similarities of the lungs unique to birds and dinosaurs evidenced by connections in the the thoracic cavity. This combined with the air sacs present in dinosaur bones, also in congruence with birds, allowed dinosaurs to be lighter and intake much more oxygen for metabolic activity. These are hard proofs against his “theory”, which is just a fanciful story without any non-circular evidence.
His premise that the planet was covered in shallow seas is ridiculous, lacking what would be obvious evidence from from what must’ve been abundant aquatic plant and animal species at the same time if he was correct, and doesn’t allow areas for terrestrial eggs.
He repeats his main four arguments again and again in a circular self feeding logic without giving evidence. He does give various anecdotes about how one person can be right against an establishment view, however with his lack of evidence, he must be constrained as a conspiracy theorist. Much of the second half of the book is him complaining about being “wrongfully” put down by experts in the field, however he fails to point out why their theory which has abundant evidence is wrong beside his incorrect assumptions based on mass. He whines incessantly about both the pettiness of scientists and how he didn’t want to write this book because he was waiting for someone else to come to the same conclusion! However in the same long winded breathe, he explains how he pulled out of a group submission paper, throwing a fit because his name wouldn’t appear first!! He doesn’t care about the advancement of science; he had an idea once and has warped everything to fit his own agenda, ignoring the multitudes of evidence. It seems he only wrote this to “toot his own horn”
If you insist on reading/listening to this, I urge you to also read/listen to “The Rise and the Fall of the Dinosaurs” by Steve Brussate. If is a much more informed and eye opening literature.

39 of 39 people found this review helpful

Awful

Can't refund because I preordered it. This book is pseudoscience trash. Run far, far away.

38 of 40 people found this review helpful

Not worth your time and money

Spelling out “Professor” in the byline is a giant red flag. Ford’s insistence that the entire field of Paleontology is wrong is not only insanely narcissistic but is also false. His claim in the first pages that the metabolic requirement for maintaining tail posture, while on the surface is worth a listen, does not hold up, and if he is as educated as he claims he ought to have immediately seen the flaws in it.
Don’t waste your time or money on this book, it’s garbage pseudoscience. Ford just wants attention and thinks he is smarter than the rest of the planet.
“The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs” is a far far better use of your resources.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

I couln't get past the opening chapters.

This material is simplistic, overly verbose and full of conjecture with very little actual science. For example, many people might not know that the Chinese legend of "dragons" has been linked to Chinese discovery of dinosaur fossils in ancient times. But telling us that this is so does nothing to further Dr. Ford's premise and wastes the time of those of us who already knew it.

Dr. Ford's conjectures might be correct for all I know, but I wasn't convinced by the opening chapters to spend 20 hours trying to find out.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

A Hard Book to Follow

The problem with following this book is not that it has a complex plot, but more of it being so boring that you zone out too easily.

The first half of the book is the history of paleontology, you will keep hoping that the next chapter will stop the slow spewing of cold boring facts. But it wont be until late in the book that you actually get to hear the theories that you probably bought the book to hear. After a quick summary of the Aquatic Dinosaur Hypothesis (ADH), you then have to bear with the recounting of his hardships of trying to publish the hypothesis. It is just when you are starting to get momentum and excited about his ADH, that you are subject to his retelling of science politics, which is about as interesting as the first part of the book. Overall the story telling process that this book takes ruins the ADH, instead of diving deeper into the ADH he spends most of the book giving personal or personnel background that you most likely will find boring and are not necessary to the plot of the book.

If I were to actually question the ADH, I would find it impractical in most ways. Not to go into too many details but I don't see why this theory would hold up except in the largest of the dinosaurs. Only in the largest sauropods and theropods would this theory be applicable. But even then, the hypothesis is that they waded in the water, not swimming but only for a small amount, and not leaving the water but only to lay eggs, which would mean sauropods of species (which I believe Ford states averaged about 14 feet at the shoulder) would be stuck living around the lake where the water is roughly at their shoulders, any deeper and they would be forced to swim the entire time or sink and have the water pressure complicate their lung function. If they strayed into the shallows then the dinosaur's weight wouldn't be supported by water then they aren't receiving the benefits of an aquatic lifestyle. So basically this hypothesis limits the dinosaurs to bodies of water that have roughly the same dept of water that the dinosaur is tall at shoulder height, and this is what I find too limiting to the ADH.

The book does make some interesting points but they are only made in roughly 2 hours of listening across the second half of the book.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I am surprised this got published

The author is full of s***. The book sounds like the ramblimgs of a narcissistic fool. Waste of money!

21 of 26 people found this review helpful

I wish I could return this mess

This is one of the worst booksI've ever tried to listen to. I feel taken for a very unpleasant ride. It reads like a long whine from a failed student. Little science to back up his claims, and a lot of complaining.

13 of 17 people found this review helpful

S*** sandwich

s*** sandwich.

i have to right fifteen words for a review of this pompous, to be kind, miss-informed.....book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very Informative

This is the kind of book that I love! There is lots of scientific data to back up everything that he says. He is very thorough, and gives lots of background and biographical info on almost every individual. His theory really makes you think, and that is so much fun.

3 of 14 people found this review helpful

Hmmm very thought provoking

Just a layman here but love the subject matter. I’ve learned through Prothero’s books that scientific theories are to be put to the test time and Time again and not judged but continually scrutinized. I feel that’s how this books information should also be viewed. I’ve read some of the backlash from others and find it juvenile and protective their own ideas. I have also learned that keeping an open mind to new ideas that fly in the face of established ones is a more honest and fair style. Long book, yes and it did cover a lot of ground that isn’t part of the theory but for me a novice I ended up appreciating all the bunny trails. So as a book I found it very informative, engaging and enjoyable. As a theory, (yes my two cents as a layman) it makes sense. I imagined the Dino body types acting as Mr Ford has theorized and could totally see why this makes sense. I also imagine that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. He hasn’t got me completely convinced of his extinction theory but a lot of it made good reason as well. Anyway that maybe three cents.

1 of 10 people found this review helpful

A joke of a book

As if written by the Donald Trump of science. He's an utter idiot. In fact, it's like listening to Alan Partridge's, "Bouncing Back". I expected to hear, "Needless to say, I had the last laugh", throughout. He can't even research Barney the Dinosaur right saying the live action T-rex is a cartoon?!

6 of 9 people found this review helpful

No longer to blind to see

I liked this book very much. The most rememberable moment was when Brian J Ford explained about the dynamic properties of a dinosaur to the similarity of most modern-day aquatic reptiles, I knew then that the theory of dinosaurs been aquatic was correct and quite frankly silly to think otherwise. For so many years we have gobbled up so much inaccurate fantasies about dinosaurs and believe them but this book shows that this is no longer tolerated when there is now a more scientific correctness with this brand New ferry. I also learnt some new things especially about the first person to write anything about fossils was a woman now in a world where women are trying to speak up about women's rights to be more associated with science and politics they should be happy to know that they were extraordinary women in science who's ideas end works were discouraged and slipped away by men or recognised as a man publishing these works and not a woman. This book also talks about other misplaced truths in the science community that we the public believe as truth when really it is not. The narrating was very good and not drab it did not feel like a lecture more like a really interesting story like listening to an ordinary novel. So give this book a lesson there is something for everyone Heathrow if you be ordinary person who is just interested in science like me or multicultural, zoologist a naturalist or just a person he wants to hear more theories on dinosaurs.

0 of 12 people found this review helpful