Christa Sadler’s new book is the best way to get acquainted with the Cedar Mountain Formation (short of actually visiting, of course).

DINOSAUR FRONTIER: Utah at the Dawn of the Cretaceous is one of those rare science books which can enrapture both the specialist researcher and the complete novice. By lavishing attention on a topic of burgeoning scientific importance — in this case, the Cedar Mountain Formation — author Christa Sadler has produced a tour de force of cutting edge science, immersive imagery, and engaging prose.

Dinosaur Frontier manages to succeed beautifully as an induction into the world of paleontology — walking the reader through foundational concepts like geological time, stratigraphy, and phylogeny — before easing into the fascinating nitty-gritty details of fossil science on a new frontier. It is not an exaggeration to say that this book is cutting-edge; more than a few scientific ideas are featured here for the first time, even before their forthcoming publication in science journals. It features sneak peeks at new dinosaurs, too — not yet named in the scientific literature, but already excavated from the Cedar Mountain by an eclectic cast of scientist-adventurers. You’ll meet them in these pages, and start to appreciate the human side of paleontology.

It’s our hope that Christa’s book will serve not just to educate the public and prompt further science in the Cedar Mountain Formation, but to inspire forward-thinking people to protect this “Dawn of the Cretaceous” for future generations.