Extreme Dinosaurs | National Geographic - December 2007

Extreme Dinosaurs - John Updike

I know that John Updike was a master of American letters.  Got it.  Heck, I even read Rabbit, Run once upon a time.  But what we have here is almost a total waste of time.  Luckily, a very short time.

We have a prestigious writer penning an essay for a prestigious magazine and what we get is the equivalent of a precocious 8th grader wondering what evolutionary forces brought about the fascinating variety in dinosaurs.

Which would be an excellent topic if it were given more than a cursory superficial glance.  Mr. Updike, however, was more than satisfied to raise basic questions, ones that I would expect to hear from an inquisitive child who pores over his or her first Dorling-Kindersley volume on the subject.

The essay is short, too short, because Mr. Updike never attempts to answer the questions he raises beyond saying that the mysteries are impenetrable.  He covers the bases of role reversal, imagining how dinosaurs would view us, and then finishes off the whole rough-hewn mess with a shot at how we are destroying the environment.

There isn't much here, except some passing anecdotes on how dinosaurs are named.  Read it if you want.  It won't take up more than ten minutes of your time.

You know, I could be wrong.  This could have been nothing more than a tone setting introduction to a whole issue devoted to paleontology.  I guess putting the Updike name on the cover would generate some interest beyond normal readers.  If that was its purpose, then ok, I'll call it good.  It just doesn't stand alone well at all.