Rex Appeal: The Amazing Story of Sue, the Dinosaur That Changed Science, the Law, and My Life [Hardcover]

Peter Larson (Author), Kristin Donnan (Author), Robert Bakker Ph.D. (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

Unraveling the fascinating puzzle of who the Tyrannosaurus rexes were and how they lived, this book shares the amazing story of the uncovering and painstaking restoration of prehistory’s most popular monster. Written by the most successful T. rex hunter in history, this guide tells how a crew without university grants or funding, even without PhDs, were able to buck the academic establishment and sometimes even the United States government and the FBI in the pursuit of discovery. Legal issues pertaining to the ownership of the finds are fully examined, as is the art, science, and high technology of creating the fantastic restored skeletons that are marveled at in museums.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Paleontologist Peter Larson recalls the discovery that made him and his colleagues at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research instant stars and in trouble with the law in his memoir Rex Appeal: The Amazing Story of Sue, the Dinosaur That Changed Science, the Law, and My Life. In 1990, his team discovered the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that the world had seen. Almost immediately, however, the team (which is unaffiliated with any university) became embroiled in a dispute with the U.S. government about who owns the fossil, during which the skeleton was seized by the National Guard. Co-written with his [former] wife, journalist Kristin Donan, the book recounts the heated legal battles but focuses primarily on Larson's adventures in South Dakota, where his group eventually found six more T. rex fossils.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil was discovered in 1990 by Sue Hendrickson, but it was the Black Hills Institute team, headed by Larson, that did the backbreaking, labor-intensive work of carefully excavating its bones from beneath a butte in South Dakota. So how did the fossil named Sue end up in Chicago's Field Museum? Despite a verbal contract, in which Larson paid Maurice Williams $5000 to excavate and remove the fossil from his land, federal agents seized Sue and brought charges against Larson and the Black Hills Institute. The ensuing trial centered around ownership of the land where Sue was discovered and whether or not Larson and the Black Hills Institute were involved in illegally hunting and selling fossils. Larson's unfortunate experience underscores the lack of appropriate regulation for fossil collecting as well as the valuable service qualified independent collectors provide to professional paleontologists. Larson and Donnan, an NBC reporter who covered the case and later married Larson, also present the latest information regarding Tyrannosaurus rex anatomy, gender determination, and similarity to birds. While Steven Fiffer's account of events in Tyrannosaurus Sue is more objective and comprehensive, Larson and Donnan's book provides the personal, behind-the-scenes drama that only someone who lived it could provide. Highly recommended for most libraries. Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll. Lib., Kansas City, MO
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Invisible Cities Press Llc; 1 edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931229074
• ISBN-13: 978-1931229074
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,055,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Paleontological Saga Replete With Sordid Politics, November 16, 2002

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rex Appeal: The Amazing Story of Sue, the Dinosaur That Changed Science, the Law, and My Life (Hardcover)

I concur completely with the eloquent words of Niles Eldredge, distinguished invertebrate paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History - and with his late friend Stephen Jay Gould, created the theory of punctuated equilibria - who notes that not only is this book a riveting saga, but also, "...a gripping account of a horrific episode in American paleontology that should never be allowed to happen again." This is simply one of the finest books on field paleontology that I've come across, told through the graceful - and at times - eloquent prose of Kristin Donnan, Pete Larson's ex-wife. Indeed, her splendid writing is occasionally as mesmerizing as Frank McCourt's lyrical prose in "Angela's Ashes", describing the legal affairs of Peter Larson and his firm, Black Hills Institue of Geological Research; legal affairs that seem as dismal as the tragic childhood which Frank endured.

Pete does an elegant job surveying what is known about Tyrannosaurus rex and its nearest relatives, drawing in part on his own ground-breaking research, which includes determining dinosaur sex. He also successfully conveys what is - and isn't romantic - about life as a field paleontologist. Yet the reader may find more compelling his descriptions of academic political fighting in vertebrate paleontology and the unjust seizure of "Sue" by the FBI which ultimately led to a U. S. government-orchestrated show trial against Pete and his colleagues at Black Hills Institute.

I was fortunate to meet Pete, his brother Neal and their Black Hills Institute colleagues years ago during the annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show when I was a brash graduate student of paleontology, highly skeptical of his motives. I was soon won over by Pete's sincerity and devotion to paleontology. Both his sincerity and love of paleontology are demonstrated repeatedly throughout this terse, yet still riveting, tome.

It's a pity that no major publisher is promoting "Rex Appeal". It's truly a splendid book worthy of such promotion. In light of the trials and tribulations which Pete, his family, friends and colleagues endured over "Sue's" legal battles, it seems appropriate to refer to this book as a paleontological "Angela's Ashes".

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "crime" of committing business, November 11, 2002

By 

Bob Newland (Hermosa, SD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rex Appeal: The Amazing Story of Sue, the Dinosaur That Changed Science, the Law, and My Life (Hardcover)

I was there. I live 20 miles from the world's foremost paleontological business. I saw Sue's skull before the government stole it from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. I cried when the acting U.S. Attorney (on whose law degree the ink had not yet dried) sent the Army (didn't think they could do that, did you?) to raid a group of entrepreneurs whose offense was "committing business".

I cried again when I read "Rex Appeal".

"Rex Appeal" is, in a way, an allegory for the events which spawned it. It's an exciting adventure, spanning tens of thousands of centuries of natural selection unspoiled by federally-supported academics and their lapdog federal agencies wielding arbitrary power (or is it the other way around?). It's also an illuminating look into the "legal" processes which, daily, throttle creativity and choke the life out of progress and the attempt to gain knowledge about the great mysteries.

A phenomenal scientific find is made; the finders try to share it with anyone interested. Instead of celebrating, the academic scientific community binds with lawyers to punish the finders. U.S. Attorneys can't find laws which cover the activity, so they apply laws which don't. A federal judge makes up law out of thin air -- "Bones are real estate." A jury revolts after finding it was bamboozled by the lawyers and judge.

And all along, paleontologist Peter Larson (who spent two years in a federal prison for . . ., well, nothing) draws us into his world of childlike curiosity, the sort of curiosity without which absolutely nothing would be known about anything. Kristin Donnan's writing skills whirl around Larson's narrative like knitting needles, weaving the yarn into a fascinating story of science, law and, ultimately, a denouement of both triumph and defeat (but mostly triumph).

Caution: a reader will be unable to 1) put "Rex Appeal" down, 2) avoid gaining tons of knowledge about dinosaurs in general and the "terrible king of lizards" in particular, or 3) maintain respect for a legal system which can and does whimsically make criminals out of peaceful honest people who actually produce something of value.

Icing (on a cake which is already delicious without it) is Donnan's use of punctuating quotes from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" (which gave me some insight as to what "Alice" is really about). Sample: "I don't think they play at all fairly. They all quarrel so dreadfully one can't hear oneself speak -- and they don't seem to have any rules in particular."

Don't bother to think about it any more. Buy this book today. It's only a shame that I can give it no more than five stars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Rex no Sex, September 21, 2004

By 

Anthony M. Frasca (East Setauket, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rex Appeal: The Amazing Story of Sue, the Dinosaur That Changed Science, the Law, and My Life (Hardcover)

"Rex Appeal" is the amazing story of one of the most significant fossil discoveries in the last fifty years. The story of "Sue" the fossil Tyrannosaurus Rex discovered by Peter Larson's associate Susan Hendrickson spins a web of intrigue from the moment the dinosaur's bones are discovered. With splashy headlines and national press coverage "Sue" becomes the darling of science, then the bane of Larson.
The landowner from whom the fossil was "bought" cries foul. Maurice Williams who is one eighth Lakota Sioux had put his land in trust with the United States Government. When Williams realizes the fossil may be worth many multiples of the $5000 he was paid for its excavation, the United States Government gets involved and when that happens it makes an IRS audit look like a toddler's birthday party.
The problem for Larson is that he is not strictly a scientist, but has established a for-profit organization called the Black Hills Institute. Not to say that Larson has nothing to contribute scientifically to the study of dinosaurs. His science is outstanding by current standards. But, the government suspects that Larson has nefarious intentions and pursues him with the fury of, well, of a pissed off T.Rex.
"Sue" is seized by the FBI and the South Dakota National Guard and the ensuing legal battle is extremely one-sided, according to Larson of course. He is confronted with an over-zealous prosecutor and a biased judge. Without hearing the other side of the story it's impossible to pass judgement on the veracity of the case against Larson. But it is safe to say that the judge in the case certainly defied all logic when he declared "Sue" real estate. 65 million year old bones hardly qualify as real estate, especially if the landowner was paid a handsome sum for their retrieval.
In the end Larson winds up in prison for nearly two years, his marriage to co-author Kristin Donnan dissolves, and his Institute is nearly bankrupt. Somehow Larson manages to emerge at the other end of the tunnel a changed man. He still pursues fossils with vigor after learning what many who have gone before him could have told him, "you can't fight City Hall".
The only criticism of the book is the complete lack of any intimations about Larson's relationship with co-author and ex-wife Kristin Donnan. Donnan is a free-lance writer who covers the "Sue" story and eventually falls in love with, and marries Larson. There is nothing in the book about their affairs. Whether that is intentional or not it would have at least contributed something to the story and clarified some of the events.
In all the book is highly recommended. Larson's theories about T.Rex and other issues related to dinosaurs are well thought out and informative. This book is a must for all us amateur paleontologists who can't get off our couches to go out west to do a little digging ourselves.