'The Riddle of the Dinosaur' brings the history of paleontology to life“The Riddle of the Dinosaur” explores the history of dinosaur discovery and theories from the beginnings of paleontology to the revolutionary new theories of the 1980s.
What really drives the flavor of the book is the bone wars that occurred between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. The two men funded dinosaur digs in the western United States and often plundered each other’s workers and digging sites. The rivalry spread to their crews. The conflict makes for good reading. It is also the details that help to bring a reality to the writing. One man responsible for finding several fossilized mammal skulls used ants to do so. Ants bring hard, round objects from there holes to create ant hills. Some of these objects were the fossilized mammal skulls. “The Riddle of the Dinosaur” is a great read for any dinosaur enthusiast. Despite its age, its subject matter is only dated in terms of millions of years – but that is kind of the point. |
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