Overview
An amazing compilation of the major historical papers and classic artwork on dinosaur paleontology.This unique collection is a journey of discovery through one of the most exciting periods of science. Here is the history of paleontology, spanning from the discovery of the first dinosaur bone by Robert Plot (which he mistook as a leg bone from an extinct race of giant humans) to the discovery and classification of T. rex. What makes this collection truly unique is that the editors have included translations of classic European papers, giving their story a global focus. Each section of the book is accompanied by a commentary from the editors that puts each paper in context. The artwork is outstanding, containing all the classic dinosaur sketches, including the "missing link" between dinosaurs and birds: Archaeopteryx. 84 b/w illustrations.
About the Author:
: David B. Weishampel is widely respected as one of the best dinosaur paleontologists alive today and author of The Dinosauria and other books on dinosaurs. Nadine M. White is an award-winning television documentary producer and senior staff systems engineer at Lockheed.
Synopsis
When Robert Plot came across a dinosaur bone in the late 17th century, he mistakenly reported it in his Natural History of Oxfordshire as a leg bone from a race of extinct giant humans. Choosing that not entirely auspicious moment as the beginning of paleontology, paleontologist and documentary producer Weishampel and White profile the growth of the field by presenting scientific journal articles and book excerpts that demonstrate the growing knowledge about dinosaurs from Plot's discovery to Henry Fairfield Osborn's 1906 description of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR