Luis M. Chiappe is Director of the Dinosaur Institute and Curator of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Dr Chiappe has conducted extensive research on the evolution of dinosaurs, particularly the origin and early evolution of birds, and is considered a world authority in the field of early bird evolution. of birds, and is considered a world authority in the field of early bird evolution. His research has been published in numerous articles as well as books, including Walking on Eggs and Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs. He is a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Alexander Humboldt Foundation, an Adjunct Professor at University of Southern California, and a Research Associate at the American museum of Natural History in New York City.

The last few years have witnessed an unparalleled rate of discoveries of early birds and their dinosaurian predecessors. Written by a recognised authority in the field, Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds provides a comprehensive summary of these discoveries and addresses the fascinating topic of how modern birds evolved from fearsome dinosaurs akin to the celebrated Velociraptor. The book focuses on an evolutionary approach and presents current research and fossil discoveries. The title includes coloured photographs of fossils and fossil localities, many of which have been rarely reproduced elsewhere. Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds is an invaluable resource for every palaeontologist, ornithologist, evolutionary biologist, geology and life sciences student. It is also an exciting reading for people interested in dinosaurs and avian evolution and for all those with a general interests in the topic.