The Bone Museum: Travels in the Lost Worlds of Dinosaurs and Birds [Hardcover]

Wayne Grady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2001

From China to Patagonia, award-winning science writer Wayne Grady accompanies a team of paleontologists on several digs. Following the work of Phil Currie, a leading vertebrate paleontologist, the author traces the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds. Living in tents and experiencing fieldwork as well as the thrill of discovery firsthand, Grady recounts his journey with a storyteller’s sense of narrative.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grady (The Quiet Limit of Our World), science editor for Equinox, sets out on a fun travelogue that brings him from his native Canada to the distant reaches of Chilean Patagonia and back through the Alberta Badlands, trying to find evidence in an ongoing paleontological debate: did dinosaurs not go extinct, but evolve into birds of the modern world? In 1996, this theory really took off with the discovery in China of small fossils that appeared to be dinosaurs covered in feather-like fibers. Working alongside leading paleontologist Phil Currie, an ardent proponent of the dinosaur-bird argument, Grady visits Canada's dinosaur-centered Tyrell Museum, works on a dig for a Gigantosaurus and considers his own place in the order of things, ruminating over the long-standing human interest in extinction; common Victorian wisdom, for instance, eschewed the idea of evolution. For Grady (and Darwin), extinction is a kind of screening process, one by which the living are accepted into the next world by passing through a curtain of death a flash flood, a massive meteor colliding with the earth or some other calamity that wipes out several species. Modern ornithology says that birds have developed over millions of years into their current incarnation; however, as Currie says, "Pluck the feathers off of a bird... and you've got a dinosaur." Whether he's musing over the migratory patterns of birds or where to buy winter gloves in Patagonia, Grady's intelligent, seasoned, witty writing makes for a pleasurable and thought-provoking read. (Nov. 7) Forecast: This dignified book could make medium-size waves in the pop-paleontology scene with sufficient review attention and handselling to science enthusiasts. Expect satisfactory sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows (October 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568582048
• ISBN-13: 978-1568582047
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,172,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A flight of bones, October 3, 2001

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bone Museum: Travels in the Lost Worlds of Dinosaurs and Birds (Hardcover)

Taking us from Argentina through Alberta to Africa, Grady's admirably mixes his keen sense of observation with vivid descriptive skills. He doesn't simply interview the field workers, but joins the digs, suffering the dust, storms, bugs and labour alongside the scientists. He maintains his sense of humour, however. The result is a highly readable book on the paleontologist's work.

The idea that the dinosaurs escaped extinction 65 million years ago, surviving in the form of birds has been a major point of discussion among scientists during the past few years. We follow Grady on his journey from Patagonia through China to the Alberta badlands in revealing much of the new evidence touching on that question. In the course of that trek he introduces us to a gallery of field researchers dealing with that and other uestions about life in the remote past. Grady's focal point is Canadian paleontologist Phil Currie. Currie, a man who long ago might have escaped the rigors of field research for a quiet laboratory, remains captivated by digs, with their constant surprises and revelations. Grady is gratified to see Currie stay Canadian, increasing attention to the high level of this science being done here. Canada's fossil record has been handled poorly, from indifference by Ottawa to being scavenged by the Americans. We've lost too many good researchers, as Grady points out. His book goes a long way to restoring Canada's place in paleontology.

Grady's account of the work of a field paleontologist is a very human tale. Given that he's a writer rather than a professional bone hunter, this is no mean feat. We are shown the ordeals and triumphs fieldwork provides. It's hard, demanding work, requiring some special skills. Beyond the question of endurance is the ability to focus your mind on what you seek in order that your eyes will isolate it from the surrounding rock. It isn't just luck that turns up fossils.

If there's a shortcoming to this book, it's the lack of further presentation on the issue of dinosaurs becoming birds. While it's gratifying that Grady emphasizes Canadian scientists, he completely overlooks the contribution to the evolutionary links of dinosaurs and birds made by Robert Bakker. Bakker's mentor, John Ostrom, receives a scattering of passing mention, but Bakker's studies are far too important to ignore. Even a footnote would have redeemed this issue. Still, the book is a fine start to understanding the dinosaur-bird issue.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is there life after a species becomes extinct?, December 13, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bone Museum: Travels in the Lost Worlds of Dinosaurs and Birds (Hardcover)

How are modern birds related to dinosaurs, and is there life after a species becomes extinct? Grady reveals the work and perspectives of paleontologist Phil Currie, who is the leading proponent of the bird-dinosaur theory. Grady does more than review theory: he traveled with Currie in China and experienced the drudgery of fieldwork first hand. An excellent set of insights is presented.

4.0 out of 5 stars Bones abound!, March 19, 2010

By 

R. M. Watkins (Wimberley, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bone Museum: Travels in the Lost Worlds of Dinosaurs and Birds (Paperback)

The Smithsonian's high praise on the cover was earned, however I was a little disappointed. It may be because it is the first book about paleontology that I have read since I was a kid, when everything was new and exciting. Or because the subject isn't one of my top interests these days. But I was curious about the topic, having read the Smithsonian magazine coverage on the dinosaur to bird continuum. It was great fun to join in the adventure as the author travelled around gathering bones and experiences on digs at significant sites! I learned a lot about the process of excavation and preserving these artifacts and treasures. And I did not realize that funding was so scarce! Given the dedication to uncovering the natural history of life on the planet as we know it, the story is all the more compelling. It's very good reading.