Publication

2001 - Perseus Pub., Cambridge, Mass, Massachusetts

Language

English

Word Count

63,500 words, Guess

Page Count

254 pages

Identifiers

and 3 more
  • LibraryThing192049
  • Library of Congress Control Number2001092011
  • OCLC Control Number46885812

Classifications

  • DDC560.92242
  • LCCQE707.A2 M24 2001
  • LCCQE705.G7 M3 2001
and 1 more
  • LCCQE714.3 .M394 2001

Description

Against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, an extraordinary circle of fossilists struggled to make sense of a mysterious, prehistoric world - a world they had to piece together from the fossilized and often fragmentary remains of animals never before seen. In this transporting, seamlessly written book, Christopher McGowan takes us back to a time when geology and paleontology were as young and vibrant as genetic engineering is today. The nineteenth-century pioneers of these new disciplines were an eccentric lot, from different social classes and sexes, with a range of motivations in fossil hunting. These "Dragon Seekers" sought to persuade a populace raised on a literal interpretation of Genesis that the ground they walked was once a very frightening and unfamiliar place. A sweeping narrative history, The Dragon Seekers shows how these remarkable characters forever changed our interpretation of the world and its inhabitants. -- from back cover.

First Sentence

It is remarkable fact that the human mind, which has had a presence on Earth for over 2 million years, only began rational thought on how species came into existence during the last three centuries.

Subjects

Topics

FossilsHistoryDinosaursBiographyPaleontologyPopular worksPaleontologists

Places

Times

Genres

  • Biography

Other Editions

  • The dragon seekers: how an extraordinary circle of fossilists discovered the dinosaurs and paved the way for DarwinPerseus Pub.2001-01-01
Show 2 more editions

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