Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliff [Paperback]

Michael Novacek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 1997

Over the past six years Michael Novacek, the Provost of Science at the American Museum of Natural History, has led a team of international scientists to the Gobi Desert on the greatest dinosaur expedition of the late 20th century.

Closed to the West since the 1920's, the remote sands of Mongolia's Gobi Desert constitute the richest fossil site in the world. In Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs, Novacek invites the reader along with his team as he recounts the day-to-day drama of field exploration and discusses the remarkable discoveries that he and his colleagues unearthed, fossil finds that have helped to reshape our understanding of the dinosaur and early mammal era.

Interweaving the adventure of field research with chapters that bring the reader up to date on contemporary dinosaur theory and science, Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs brings the excitement of scientific discovery to life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of the fields of study opened up by the collapse of Communism is, oddly enough, that of the distant past: Western archeologists have for the first time in six decades been allowed to explore the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. This is the region explored in the 1930s by the famed Roy Chapman Andrews of the American Museum of Natural History. It is also the region wonderfully described in this stirring book by Michael Novacek, the current curator of the museum's department of vertebrate paleontology, who led the recent expeditions onto the high desert and into the heart of the Cretaceous Period in Asia. In 1993, Novacek's expedition found an astonishing trove of fossils in a wasteland called Ukhaa Tolgod, not too far from the Flaming Cliffs where Andrews made his most important finds. But, as with all great travel adventure stories, getting to Ukhaa Tolgod is the real tale. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In 1990, a team of paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History and the Mongolian State Museum began to explore the Gobi Desert for fossils; nearly 70 years had elapsed since the last American expedition, under Roy Chapman Andrews. Team leader Novacek, provost of science and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the American museum recounts six years of fieldwork in a paleontological paradise. The banner year was 1993, when the team found a trove of dinosaurs, eggs, nests and early mammals, some new to science. It is an exciting story of adventure and discovery. The Gobi Desert is one of the earth's most hostile environments, with sandstorms and extreme heat, causing dehydration and exhaustion. Novacek interweaves chapters on the expedition with discussions of the importance of the fossil record; he takes us into the Cretaceous (140 million to 65 million years ago) in brief vignettes. In addition to his account of the expedition, Novacek has given us a brilliant introduction to paleontology.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (August 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385477759
• ISBN-13: 978-0385477758
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Paleontology > Vertebrate

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential update, December 12, 1999

By 

Kellyannl (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliff (Paperback)

Growing up in New York with the American Museum, I was an early dino fan. I made my parents get all the dinosaur books I could find, and they all had three pictures in common. The first was a poor Brontosaur being killed by an Allosaur (preferably squashing said Allosaur in it's death throes). The second was a Tyrranosaur and Triceratops locked in combat through eternity (said Triceratops preferably avenging the death of an innocent duckbill at the jaws of said Tyrranosaur). And the third was always a Protoceratops defending it's eggs from a vicious Oviraptor - the third in the unholy carnivorous dinosaur trinity, because we had never heard of Velociraptor/Utahraptor.

This was only twenty years ago, and recent discoveries have turned this whole third scenario on it's head.

The American Museum's expeditions to Mongolia have changed everything we know about Oviraptor. This one is a must for all dinosaur fans, taking us through what the expedition has learned about Mongolian dinosaurs since the seventies and describing the harrowing conditions that the expedition had to face.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for armchair travelers and dino fans alike, May 27, 1999

By 

M.Edington "mary_edington" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs (Hardcover)

Two books in one: a look at the Cretaceous inhabitants of the Gobi, and an adventure narrative of the archaeological teams that study them. Read this to get a feeling of what it's like to be a field archaeologist in one of the most remote desert areas in the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Dino baby, October 7, 2011

By 

Robert Harper "spirit caller" (The woods of Maine) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs (Hardcover)

Like the author I grew up reading All About Dinosaurs. This is a great read and retells the story of Roy Chapman Andrews as well as the compelling story of the authors own expedition to the flaming cliffs of the Gobi desert. A good arm chair read with enough science to keep you focused.