Benton does a fine job with the actual subject matter of vertebrate paleontology per se, but his introduction and analysis as to how fossils are formed, and under what conditions,leaves a lot to be desired. He oversells the evolutionary angle with rampant,unsupported speculation and theory, completely ignoring the more recent work of Behe, Dembski et al, as well as credible explanations for the Cambrian findings at the Cheng-jiang and Burgess Shale deposits. In short, this is really not an up-to-date scientific book. To see what I mean, read Clarkson's book on INVERTEBRATE paleontology -- a far better and more scholarly work.
