Paleontology - General & Miscellaneous, Dinosaurs

Tyrannosaurus Sue

Name: Tyrannosaurus Sue
Author: Robert T. Bakker
ISBN: 9780716740179

by Robert T. Bakker

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Overview

Over 65 million years ago in what is now Cheyenne River Sioux territory in South Dakota, a Tyrannosaurus rex matriarch locked in a ferocious battle fell mortally wounded into a riverbed. In 1990, her skeleton was found, virtually complete, in what many call the most spectacular dinosaur fossil discovery to date.

And then another battle began--a "Survival of the Fittest" free-for-all involving commercial dinosaur hunters, gun-toting law officers, an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Native American tribe, jealous academics, an enterprising auction house, major museums, and corporate giants, all making their claim for the dinosaur named Sue (after the field paleontologist who first spotted her bones). At stake: not just Sue's wealth of scientific riches, but her grant-drawing power and vast commercial potential as well.

Before it was over, there would be claims and counterclaims; charges of checkbook-polluted science, criminal larceny, and vengeful prosecutions; and devastating prison terms. And the gavel would come down on the largest-ever ($8.36 million) auction price tag for a fossil-- paid by Chicago's Field Museum, with help from Disney and McDonald's.

Now, as her May 2000 museum unveiling nears, Sue is not only poised to be a scientific phenomenon but a main attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom and (fittingly enough for the world's greatest meat eater) a marketing superstar for McDonald's. Meanwhile, the man whose team actually unearthed Sue--professional dinosaur hunter Peter Larson--remains hauntingly, touchingly obsessed with the 41-foot-long, dead-for-millions-of-years T-rex.

Sue is not just another dinosaur, and Tyrannosaurus Sue is not just another dinosaur book. It is a fascinating introduction to the centuries-old history of commercial fossil hunting, a legal thriller, and a provocative look at academic versus commercial science and the chase for the money that fuels both. And, in the case of Peter Larson, through whose eyes most of the story is revealed, a kind of love story. Steve Fiffer, an attorney as well as an author who has followed the story for the past seven years, has captured the whole range of characters and issues embroiled in the fight for Sue. Ranging the prehistoric Badlands to the hallowed halls of justice, academia, and merchandising tie-ins, Fiffer communicates both the excitement over Sue's discovery and the motivations, maneuverings, and absurdities of the various forces attempting to control her destiny.

About the Author:

Steve Fiffer is a lawyer, journalist, and author. With his wife, Sharon, he has co-edited three anthologies of original essays by contemporary writers--Home, Family, andBody. Fiffer is the author of Three Quarters, Two Dimes & A Nickel: A Memoir of Becoming Whole. He is co-author, with celebrated civil rights attorney Morris Dees, of A Season for Justice and Hate Trial--a 1993 New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His personal essays and features have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine, and the Midwesterner.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Everyone seems to love dinosaurs, and almost everyone loves to watch big public fights, especially when they involve piles of money, the FBI and jail. Journalist Fiffer (Three Quarters, Two Dimes and a Nickel) has therefore found the ideal topic for a short, racy nonfiction narrative, one that combines the history of a science (dinosaur paleontology) with the dramatic twists of a legal thriller. In 1990, the diligent, scrappy South Dakota fossil-hunters Sue Hendrickson and Peter Larson dug up an exceptional T. rex--only the 12th tyrannosaur ever found, and the biggest and best-preserved to date. Larson paid rancher Maurice Williams (on whose land the beast was found) $5,000 for the fossil--nicknamed "Sue"--and announced his plans to build a museum around it. Williams then said he still owned the find, while a nearby Sioux tribe claimed it did, since Sue had perhaps been unearthed from tribal land. Larson awoke to find federal agents carting away all his papers, along with his giant prize fossil--arguably jeopardizing a priceless discovery, and certainly angering nearby South Dakotans. The ensuing legal, political and scientific imbroglio set Native Americans against the federal government, the government against itself, the feds against established scientists and the world's great research universities against independent operators like Larson. Fiffer's thorough account should prove irresistible to readers with even a marginal interest in the legendary lizards--or in the less-sexy topics raised by this particular find, from Upper Midwest tribal disputes to pretrial publicity and the conduct of prosecutions. Agent, Gail Hochman. Author tour. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

On May 17, 2000, Chicago's Field Museum unveiled the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil skeleton yet found. Named after Susan Hendrickson, the paleontologist who discovered her, Sue was excavated from North Dakota's Badlands by commercial fossil-hunter Peter Larson. He carefully prepared many of her bones and planned to build a new museum in the Black Hills to showcase her--until she was seized by the government. Sue languished in storage for five years while a battle raged over her ownership and the government prosecuted Larson for fossil hunting on federal land. These legal maneuverings made Sue the most expensive fossil in history (the museum eventually bought her for $6.8 million--with assistance from McDonald's and Disney) and, ironically, encouraged fossil theft in anticipation of high prices. Journalist Fiffer recounts these events in compelling detail. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries with natural history collections.--Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll. Lib., Kansas City, MO Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Booknews

Over 65 million years ago in what is now South Dakota, a fell into a riverbed and died. In 1990, the skeleton was found, virtually complete, in what many call the most spectacular dinosaur fossil discovery ever. This is an account of the battles that ensued over rights to the find, involving dinosaur hunters, a federal prosecutor, and a Native American tribe, and pitting museums against corporate giants. Fiffer is a lawyer, journalist, and author. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

BookPage

Fiffer keeps the reader engrossed by sprinkling personal information, historical perspective, and scientific tidbits into his narrative . . . Virtually anyone with an interest in dinosaurs, paleontology, conspiracy theories, courtroom dramas, or the struggle of a little guy against incredible odds should enjoy Tyrannosaurus Sue.

Chicago Tribune

In the hands of Steve Fiffer, Sue's story comes alive as a darkly fascinating, Kafkaesque tale. It is exciting and entertainingly informative, as a biography of a single fossil (Sue) and as a history of paleontology steeped in all its eccentricities and schoolboy wonder. . . . Fiffer has written a skillfully layered narrative that weaves together Sue's discovery and her place and importance in paleontological history while he tells Larson's story.

Library Journal

"Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries with natural history collections."

Publishers Weekly

A short, racy nonfiction narrative, one that combines the history of science (dinosaur paleontology) with the dramatic twists of a legal thriller . . . . Fiffer's thorough account should prove irresistible to readers with even a marginal interest in the legendary lizards--or in the less-sexy topics raised by this particular find, from Upper Midwest tribal disputes to pretrial publicity and the conduct of prosecutions.

Sun-Times Staff Chicago

Witty, clear-eyed and down-to-earth. . . . I recommend highly that you read Tyrannosaurus Sue as the opening act to the museum extravaganza. It will help you understand how the museum (and its corporate partners, McDonald's and Disney) came to pay $8.36 million for a pile of rocks.