Unearthing the Dragon: the Great Feathered Dinosaur Discovery by Mark Norell

[Tami]

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Unearthing the Dragon: the Great Feathered Dinosaur Discovery
Mark Norell - Author
Mark Ellison - Photographs and Drawings
Color, 254 pgs, Pi Press, New York, NY
Review By: Grendel

Over the past hundred years, the science of Paleontology has see a dramatic advances in its theories of Dinosaur origins, their appearance, and their behavior. Where Dinosaurs were once viewed as sluggish, cold-blooded, beasts, they are now generally accepted as being warm-blooded, active creatures, with more in common with today’s birds than reptiles, bearing feathers, and tending their young in nests.

This change was not an easy one; the new theories of dinosaur origins faced its share of opposition, for although fossils such as archaeopteryx had been found and validated, archaeopteryx was viewed more as a primitive bird than avian dinosaur. There was not enough collaborating evidence in the fossil record to show that feathers were a common trait among dinosaurs. This changed in October of 1996 when, during the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, evidence was presented that dinosaurs with feathers had been found.

Unearthing the Dragon is the account of these amazing fossils, not only of their discovery and the impact they had to the world of Paleontology, but of the land and culture in which they were discovered. The author, who is the Chair and Curator of the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, takes the reader on an adventure that is every bit as exciting as it is informative as he travels to meet and work with Chinese scientists in a joint venture of exploration. From harrowing cab rides through crowded streets, to tavern back rooms, where two vastly different cultures meet, Mark Norell paints a vivid tapestry, giving the reader a rich view of the human context surrounding this field-changing discovery. Mixing science with adventure, Mr. Norell presents information in a way that never comes off dry, but instead leads the reader through a worlds both primitive and vital, and rich in heritage and custom.

Beautifully photographed and illustrated by Mick Ellison, Unearthing the Dragon gives the reader not only a new outlook on dinosaur origins, but an inside view of the land of the feathered dinosaurs, and of the people living there.

[Josh]

Hmm.. This has always interested me. I may need to get my hands on a copy of this. <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... /smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':)\' />