Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews (Photobiographies) [Hardcover]

Ann Bausum (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Photobiographies

"You have written a new chapter in the history of life upon the earth."

When Roy Chapman Andrews read these words from American Museum of Natural History president Henry Fairfield Osborn, he was being congratulated on his discovery of a new species of dinosaur. A stunned scientific community named it Protoceratops andrewsi in his honor.

Andrews led five scientific expeditions to Mongolia's desert, the Gobi, from 1922 to 1930. He was a pioneer of modern field research, but it was his team's fossil discoveries that amazed the world -- especially the first-ever complete nest of dinosaur eggs. These were remarkable achievements for a man who began his scientific career scrubbing floors at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

It wasn't easy. Along the way, he battled sandstorms, snakes, and bandit attacks. He drove through parts of the desert that had never seen cars before, and he had to have spare tires -- and every drop of gasoline -- carted in by camel.

Roy Chapman Andrews had a love of adventure that took him all over the globe. This action packed story, actual expedition photographs, and quotes from Andrews himself present a great explorer of his century -- and a grand tale of adventure!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-Whether or not the charismatic Andrews was "the real-life model" for Indiana Jones, he was certainly a flamboyant, headline-grabbing paleontologist in the days of his Mongolian expeditions. This slim, well-researched book is a record of his life and accomplishments. Larded with quotes from his own writings and personal letters, and with fine sepia-toned photographs taken in the field and in more civilized surroundings, the absorbing text invites readers into a world distant in both space and time. Andrews's adventurous spirit and organizational skills opened a new age in scientific exploration, using then-modern technology and a diverse team of experts in various fields. Recent explorations to Central Asia have brought to light startling new fossil finds that have been chronicled in such excellent titles as Mark Norell and Lowell Dingus's A Nest of Dinosaurs (Doubleday, 1999) and Searching for Velociraptor (HarperCollins, 1996), and Margery Facklam's Tracking Dinosaurs in the Gobi (21st Century, 1997). Inevitably, readers of these books will encounter Andrews, and what better way for a fresh generation of dinophiles and budding scientists to further this acquaintance than this exemplary work on an extraordinary individual.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Before he was named director of New York City's American Museum of Natural History, the young naturalist Andrews earned his stripes in the field. He began on the sands of Long Island, removing the bones from a beached whale, and then went on to more whale research on both sides of the Pacific. Where Andrews really made his mark, though, was China. Over a 12-year period, he conducted several intensive expeditions into Mongolia and central Asia, uncovering the first dinosaur eggs and the first fossils of Protoceratops, Oviraptor, and Velociraptor. The details of mounting these car-and-camel treks are fascinating, as are the many sepia photos, but Bausum's recounting of the discoveries is surprisingly tame. There is no sense of jubilation at Andrews having "written a new chapter in the history of life upon the earth." We also see little of his personal side once his career is off and running. This is an interesting, but curiously cold biography that will appeal more to dinosaur lovers than armchair adventurers. A chronology and a resource guide are appended. Randy Meyer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792271238
• ISBN-13: 978-0792271239
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 0.5 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Inventions & Inventors
  • #34 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Fossils

More About the Author

Ann Bausum writes about U.S. history for young people from her home in Beloit, Wisconsin. Ann grew up in Lexington, Virginia, and credits this historic town with helping to kindle her love of American history.

Many of Ann's books deal with social justice issues. She loves to research and write about the drama and significance behind under-explored moments in history--from the 72-year-long fight for women's voting rights (WITH COURAGE AND CLOTH), to the struggle for equal rights in the South (FREEDOM RIDERS), to the dark side of U.S. immigration policy (DENIED, DETAINED, DEPORTED), and more. Her newest book, UNRAVELING FREEDOM (2010), examines the home-front scene of World War I and challenges to civil liberties from that era.

Ann's books, which are published by National Geographic Children's Books, earn frequent recognition from librarians, peers, and reviewers as recommended and notable books. They have won such national commendation as the Golden Kite Award (for MUCKRAKERS), Sibert Honor designation (FREEDOM RIDERS), and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award (for WITH COURAGE AND CLOTH).

Find out more about Ann, her writing, and author appearances at her author web site: www.Ann.Bausum.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roy Chapman Andrews: A Real-Life Indiana Jones, January 27, 2002

By 

Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews (Photobiographies) (Hardcover)

Real-life is usually so much more interesting than the movies, and Ann Bausum's wonderful photobiography of Roy Chapman Andrews - Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs - will be ample evidence of this to any young Indiana Jones fan. Roy Chapman Andrews [1884-1960] was an explorer and is best known for the Central Asiatic Expeditions, which he led on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History and during which the first dinosaur eggs and nests were found. He is also a probable model for the character of Indiana Jones. Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs puts its main focus on Andrew's life from his employment with the AMNH through to the expeditions to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. The book is a well-done combination of photographs, text, and block quotes. The text is well-written and exciting [even for an older person like me], and the pictures help the reader to put themselves into the story. Did Roy Chapman Andrews wear a cool looking hat? [YES!] Did Roy Chapman Andrews dislike snakes and did he have a run-in with them on one of the expeditions? [YES!] I recommend this book to any young person of late elementary age who is interested in exploration and paleontology.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great photos, interesting history, somewhat slanted., January 14, 2010

By 

Peter Huston (Adrift in the sea of life) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews (Photobiographies) (Hardcover)

First, potential buyers should know that this book is aimed at younger readers. The text is a bit short and slanted and skips some details that an adult would wish to know.
For instance, Andrews planned five expeditions from 1922-1926. Instead he ran expeditions in 1922,1923, 1925, 1928 and 19289 if I recall correctly. There were three different years when the Chinese authorities decided to interfere with his plans, at least once in part due to Andrews' action of auctioning off a dinosaur egg to the highest bidder in New York City as a fund raising / publicity stunt, an action that made the Chinese public question if he was interested in these fossils for science of for profit. This aspect of the story is almost untouched upon in this book.
Another reviewer criticized the treatment of Granger in this book. Make no doubt about it, this book most certainly portrays Roy Chapman Andrews as a hero. And there's probably nothing wrong with that, but please understand you are not buying a definitive biography of Chapman for adults when you purchase this book.
So why four stars? Why praise the book? The photographs. This book is chock full of incredible, large, nice reproductions of fascinating photos of the expedition from the time. All in black and white but all incredible. "Motocars" carrying paleontologist through the desert with the American flag out front, large camel caravans with visible spare tires for the cars, camps, nomads, creatures, bones, the Great Wall of China as the expedition passes. Uncoubtedly some were posed, but the images and the "feel" of the evocative photos is incredible. I'd recommend that any adult interested in these expeditions buy this book just for the pictures.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A question of accuracy, January 14, 2008

By 

Ovi Raptor (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs: A Photobiography of Explorer Roy Chapman Andrews (Photobiographies) (Hardcover)

To answer some of Ann Bausum's questions:

-- Who discovered Velociraptor? Answer: Walter Granger.

-- Who discovered that dinosaurs lay eggs? Answer: Walter Granger found a dinosaur eggshell fragment at Flaming Cliffs on September 2, 1922. George Olsen found the first whole eggs there a year later on July 10, 1923. However, paleontologists had theorized for years that dinosaurs laid eggs. All that was needed was proof. Granger and Olsen supplied that. Andrews did not attend Olsen's discovery. Granger did.

-- Who helped prove that mammals lived in the age of dinosaurs? Answer: Walter Granger, and his western, Chinese and Mongolian assistants in the field.

These are the correct answers, but you won't find them in this book. This Andrews hagiography is widely off base. The scientific fieldwork of the Central Asiatic Expeditions was coordinated by Walter Granger who was the Expedition's chief paleontologist and second-in-command. Andrews, by his own admission in his own publications, was not a paleontologist or a competent fossil collector.