Book Review: The Dragon Seekers

In Chapter 13 "Landslides, Glaciers, and Riots," McGowan discusses some events which influenced the study of geology in the early 1800's. In Chapter 14 "Of Dinosaurs and Species," McGowan reunites us with Owen, detailing his famous lecture about dinosaurs and other extinct animals on August 2nd, 1841 in Plymouth. Owen did not actually use the term "Dinosauria" during this lecture, but when he published his written account of the lecture in 1842 he proposed the name.

In Chapter 15 "Decline and Fall," we must unfortunately say goodbye to those McGowan has introduced us to, as he chronicles their respective deaths. In Chapter 16 "Beside the Sea," McGowan again takes us to Lyme Regis, where an international delegation celebrates the life and times of Mary Anning. McGowan then introduces us to some of the modern commercial collectors who he has worked with, and the specimens they have supplied.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Dragon Seekers. I have read biographies of some of the fossilists that McGowan chronicles, and while it is interesting to read about the life of one of them, it was so much more fulfilling to learn how they interacted with each other. Their friendships and their rivalries, and how they influenced one another, and the advances in geology and paleontology this lead to. McGowan's style of writing is a bit formal and stilted at times, but due to the time that he is writing about, this style is actually quite fitting, and I did not find it terribly distracting.

Dr. Christopher McGowan is a professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Toronto and Senior Curator of Paleobiology at the Royal Ontario Museum. His previous books include: The Raptor and the Lamb, Diatoms to Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Spitfires and Sea Dragons, and Make Your Own Dinosaur Out of Chicken Bones.

The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered the Dinosaurs and Paved the Way for Darwin by Dr. Christopher McGowan, Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2001.

For more recommended books about paleontology, be sure to visit my web site.

For more links to Natural History Museums be sure to visit my web site.

Go To Page: 1 2 3