This book is a very useful synopsis of current understanding of avian evolution. (Open University Geological Society Journal, 1 May 2013)
No student in the field of bird history should be without this work. Additionally, this volume will inform those seriously interested in vertebrate evolution. (The Quarterly Review of Biology, 1 December 2012)
In short, Living Dinosaurs is a most worthy and well crafted volume. Its strength is in providing a surprising number of really good reviews of many aspects of bird evolution and history, generally written by leading workers in the respective areas. I personally found the book highly useful in my own research and ended up citing many of its chapters in a recently published review of the avialan fossil record (Naish 2012). (Scientific American, 26 August 2012)
All in all, the book might be useful for those who wish to keep abreast of various aspects of avian evolution, especially specialists in the field and those with specific interests in the topics covered. (The Auk, 2012)
"Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals." (Choice, 1 November 2011)
"Living Dinosaurs offers a snapshot of our current understanding of the origin and evolution of birds . . . a must have for those with an interest in avian paleontology and/or systematics". (Guardian, 8 May 2011)
"In Living Dinosaurs: The Evolutionary History of Modern Birds, researchers Gareth Dyke and Gary Kaiser set out to unite ornithologists and paleontologists to form a modern understanding of the evolution of birds at the beginning of the 21st century." (Bioscience Technology Online, 5 April 2011)