Reviews

Paleontological Soc USA (2023, snippets) "The specimens contained in this volume represent the vast and important collections Kennedy has amassed throughout his lifetime, combined with historically important specimens (chiefly type specimens) located in museum collections. Many of the included specimens represent the most-complete specimens yet discovered, and many type specimens are also photographed herein for the first time. Clocking in at just over 1 kilogram, this is a small but mighty compendium of trilobite gorgeousness that will be appreciated by both specialist and avocational paleontologists." Read the full review here

American Museum of Natural History (Trilobite Website, April 2018; abridged): … when all is said-and-done, perhaps no country on Earth can match Great Britain in terms of either its ground-breaking academic pursuit of the subject, or its available trilobite resources. Written by noted trilobite collector/researcher Dr. Robert Kennedy, with the able assistance of photographer Sinclair Stammers, this highly informative, richly illustrated, 384-page volume goes to laudatory lengths in its attempts to present as comprehensive a work as paleontologically possible. To achieve his goal of updating more than 300 years of British trilobite tradition and research, Kennedy has not only focused upon presenting the stellar arthropod attractions housed within his own world-class collection, but has also delved deep into the resources provided by his fellow British trilobite enthusiasts. He has also thoroughly scoured the trilobite repositories stored in many of his homeland’s leading institutions, including London’s legendary Natural History Museum, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and the University of Birmingham’s Lapworth Museum. The net-effect serves to create what may well be the ultimate compendium of British trilobite types. Amid a welcomed wave of trilobite-oriented books that have emerged in recent years, Trilobites of the British Isles stands out as a wonderfully researched and thoughtfully presented volume designed to appeal equally to the professional scientists and amateur enthusiasts among us.

Deposits Magazine, 2018 (Number 55, page 13 – snippets): … this illustrated (in colour) modern overview of the trilobites of Great Britain and Ireland is the first ever… with almost 800 photographic images of British and Irish trilobites, from both historically important collections and newly collected material … There are overviews and locality data of classic and less well-known locations, with discussions of their specific faunas … The book is intended for both casual admirers and serious collectors, as well as being an academic reference for students and professionals … I have been waiting for a book like this for a very long time and am delighted that a publication of this quality has now arrived.

Fossil News (Winter 2018 [21.4]: 48-50, edited snippets): The trilobite bookshelf has long lacked a volume dedicated to a detailed examination of the fascinating examples of these arthropods that can be found in the British Isles. ... The specimens pictured and described are of exemplary quality, preservation, and value. The many illustrated specimens come from the most important British historical collections, including those of the Natural History Museum of London, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and the University of Birmingham’s Lapworth Museum. The contributions of private collectors were also fundamental to the book, and specimens from Kennedy’s own collection are shown.

Information regarding individual specimens includes excellent photographs that allow readers to recognize the many different trilobite species with ease. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption that reports genus and species, the author or authors who first described the fossil, stratigraphic data, the current location of the specimen, and the fossil’s dimension. Specimens that are especially rare or whose preservation is particularly remarkable can be appreciated in full-page spreads.

From the back cover

Trilobites of the British Isles is the first illustrated modern overview of the trilobite faunas of Great Britain and the Irish Republic. It is intended as a comprehensive reference volume to the approximately four thousand, four hundred different species of trilobite recorded from the British Isles over the last three centuries.

Of this faunal list, fewer than four hundred species are known from complete or almost complete specimens, and of these, three hundred and forty three species and subspecies are illustrated here. Many are the finest and best preserved specimens known to science.

Trilobites of the British Isles will appeal to casual admirers and committed collectors alike and it will also serve as a reference for academics and other serious students of this perennially fascinating group of extinct arthropods.