: The authors argue against the common trend of "shrink-wrapping" dinosaurs—depicting them with skin stretched tightly over their bones, often leaving muscle mass and soft tissue entirely absent.
: The book moves away from clichés of dinosaurs as "perpetually aggressive predators" or "frightened prey," showing them in natural, peaceful states such as sleeping or playing . Structure of the Book All Yesterdays
The central tenet of the book is that paleontological art often defaults to "overly conservative" depictions that ignore the biological diversity seen in modern animals. : The authors argue against the common trend
: To highlight the flaws in traditional paleoart, the authors "reverse-engineer" modern animals. They illustrate how future paleontologists might incorrectly reconstruct modern species like elephants, cats, and swans if they only had their skeletons to work with, resulting in bizarre, unrecognizable creatures. Impact and Legacy All Yesterdays – book review | Dinosaurs - The Guardian : To highlight the flaws in traditional paleoart,