Longlist, 2025 Non-Obvious Book Awards

Buried within a lost world, astonishing evidence reveals the behavior of extinct animals, giving us a glimpse at both everyday and epic events. If we look at these discoveries carefully, the untold stories of these magnificent creatures come into view, breathing new life into the prehistoric past.

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs tells the remarkable tales of ancient animals through some of the most distinctive and unusual fossils ever found, offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into the story of life in deep time. Venturing hundreds of millions of years into the past, Dean R. Lomax takes us on a journey through the grand cycle of life, infused with anecdotes from his own adventures and sprinkled with a touch of dinosaur humor.

These fossils tell real-world stories of prehistoric parenting, the quest for survival, and the endless struggle between predator and prey. Unbelievable moments are captured: saber-toothed cats clashing, mega-millipedes mating, dinosaurs swimming. From ammonite eggs to mosasaur mealtimes, and from a pregnant ichthyosaur that chowed down on a bird to the mammal that took down a dinosaur, these behaviors challenge what we thought we knew about the prehistoric world.

This book looks into the private moments of long-extinct creatures as never before, letting us see them not just as fossils in a museum but as living, breathing animals with personalities and emotions. Vivid illustrations by Bob Nicholls bring these incredible stories to life in full color.

"There are few books (and indeed writers) that have managed to bring fossils, fieldwork anecdotes, scientific rigour and humour together as effortlessly as ‘The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs’. illustrations are vivid and rich in detail. They do what good palaeoart should. The visual dimension amplifies Lomax’s storytelling, making the private moments of extinct life feel immediate." - Jon Trevelyan, Deposits Magazine

"‘The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs’ is a delight. It does what few palaeo-behaviour books manage – it makes you care about extinct lives, see them as more than bones, and smile (or gasp) at their weirdness." - Deposits Magazine

"Dr Lomax’s passion for palaeontology comes across on every page. The stunning artwork contributed by Bob Nicholls makes this new book a double delight and a worthy sequel to the award-winning ‘Locked in Time’." - Mike Walley, Everything Dinosaur

"If you liked 'Locked in Time,' this book is a no-brainer. If you would like a novel kind of popular palaeontology book, whether for yourself or for somebody else, this book also comes highly recommended." - NHBS

"Lomax has again curated a collection of truly exceptional fossils. Bob Nicholls's excellent artwork—and there is a lot of it—really pops." - Leon Vlieger, The Inquisitive Biologist

"A readable and well-illustrated overview of the subject." - The Birdbooker Report

"This interested amateur will gladly add this book to his library as an enjoyable read and the most extensive work I have seen that provides well illustrated examples of ‘fossilized behavior’ for the nonspecialist." - Trilobite Tales