Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found (Paperback)

~ Steve Fiffer (Author)
Key Phrases: approach her majesty, commercial collectors, commercial collecting, Judge Battey, Peter Larson, Hill City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

How much is that T. Rex in the window? Journalist Steve Fiffer looks at the most contentious paleontological find ever in Tyrannosaurus Sue. This scientific, sociological, and legal study is entertaining and insightful, highlighting the personalities of the researchers, attorneys, and tribal and federal authorities who struggled for years over the ownership rights to the best-preserved Rex specimen yet found. From its discovery in South Dakota in 1990 by Susan Hendrickson and Peter Larson through the tortuous court cases to decide its fate to the final auction at Sotheby's, Fiffer finds just the right words to describe the action, a difficult task given the conflicting reports of contesting witnesses. Professional jealousy and academic elitism (or concern for valuable scientific material and Indian property rights) led to accusations of illegal collecting and the seizure of the skeleton by federal agents shortly after its move to Larson's Black Hills Institute. Suits, countersuits, and indictments escalated the struggle into an all-out war with vast sums of money and professional reputations at stake. In the end, Larson was imprisoned as an example to illegal collectors despite his sincere belief that he had worked within the law, and Sue was awarded to property owner Maurice Williams and purchased for $8 million by Chicago's Field Museum with the assistance of the McDonald's and Disney corporations. Tyrannosaurus Sue is a riveting tale, well-written and just unsettling enough to provoke thought and discussion. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Everyone seems to love dinosaurs, and almost everyone loves to watch big public fights, especially when they involve piles of money, the FBI and jail. Journalist Fiffer (Three Quarters, Two Dimes and a Nickel) has therefore found the ideal topic for a short, racy nonfiction narrative, one that combines the history of a science (dinosaur paleontology) with the dramatic twists of a legal thriller. In 1990, the diligent, scrappy South Dakota fossil-hunters Sue Hendrickson and Peter Larson dug up an exceptional T. rex--only the 12th tyrannosaur ever found, and the biggest and best-preserved to date. Larson paid rancher Maurice Williams (on whose land the beast was found) $5,000 for the fossil--nicknamed "Sue"--and announced his plans to build a museum around it. Williams then said he still owned the find, while a nearby Sioux tribe claimed it did, since Sue had perhaps been unearthed from tribal land. Larson awoke to find federal agents carting away all his papers, along with his giant prize fossil--arguably jeopardizing a priceless discovery, and certainly angering nearby South Dakotans. The ensuing legal, political and scientific imbroglio set Native Americans against the federal government, the government against itself, the feds against established scientists and the world's great research universities against independent operators like Larson. Fiffer's thorough account should prove irresistible to readers with even a marginal interest in the legendary lizards--or in the less-sexy topics raised by this particular find, from Upper Midwest tribal disputes to pretrial publicity and the conduct of prosecutions. Agent, Gail Hochman. Author tour. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716794624
• ISBN-13: 978-0716794622
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #618,116 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Story of T-Rex Sue., May 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought over T-Rex Ever Found (Hardcover)

This book told the dramatic events leading up to and including the purchase of Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex fossil found in South Dakota in 1990. The book details how the fossil was found, excavated, then confiscated by the government in the years preceding its auction. The drama unfolds as the auction proceeds in the book, and the glimpses into the lives of persons and groups who hunt and buy fossils is fascinating. Intrigue, suspense, and courtroom drama--it has it all. I hope they make a movie out of this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only in America, July 12, 2001

By	Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In the summer of 1990, a team of fossil hunters representing the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, led by Peter Larson, unearthed the nearly complete skeleton of a mighty darn large Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur buried on South Dakota land owned by one Maurice Williams. Larson paid Williams $5,000 for the skeleton, named it "Sue", and then moved it to the Institute's facility at Hill City for preservation and restoration. In May 1992, the Bandini hit the fan with an FBI raid and confiscation, and TYRANNOSAURUS SUE is the story of the 7-year legal mess that resulted. A mess that could only happen in America, the Land of the Free and the Home of Eternal Litigation.

Steve Fiffer, a Windy City journalist, has ably reconstructed Sue's saga, from the time her bones were spotted by Sue Hendrickson in a sandstone cliff, to their auction years later to an unlikely consortium comprised of the Field Museum of Natural History, Disney Corporation, and McDonald's. Most of the narrative details the protracted and acerbic civil and criminal litigation that surrounded custody of the fragmented skeleton, the chief contestants being Larson, Williams, the Cheyenne River Sioux, and the U.S. Justice Department. If the reader is a paleontologist, or just otherwise fascinated by big, toothy lizards, then this book is a must read. However, my interest was only mildly inquisitive, so I found parts of it dry going. First of all, there are no photos - not a single one. I find this hard to fathom, since Sue's excavation site was extensively photographed, the various court sessions heavily (if only locally) covered, and the reconstructed skeleton was put on permanent display before the book was published. I mean, c'mon Steve! Secondly, that part of the account describing historical aspects of dinosaur hunting in the U.S. was pretty much irrelevant to the central story, and Chapter 10, which contained too much of the criminal trial's verbatim testimony, was cause for Droopy Eyelids Syndrome. Lastly, I couldn't muster much sympathy for any one or more of the principal courtroom adversaries. Peter Larson, indicted with others from the Institute by the Feds for illegally removing artifacts from government land, was, at best, a naïve fossil-hunting nerd, or, at worst, a cunning and disingenuous outlaw. The government's chief prosecutor, Kevin Schieffer, came across as unreasonable and intransigent. Maurice Williams, who denied he was selling Sue when given that $5K, was the quintessence of greed. And how about those the Cheyenne River Sioux? A bunch of opportunists! Patrick Duffy, Larson's lawyer, conducted himself like a certifiable idiot. The only likable person in the entire tale seemed to be Sue Hendrickson, but, with no picture, it's hard to say for sure.

The value of TYRANNOSAURUS SUE was, to me, learning something about the world around me that I didn't know before. For the average reader, it's a fine exposé of what happens when a government prosecutor has way too much time on his hands.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a spy novel, December 5, 2000

By	Daniel E. Wickett "EWN and Dzanc Books" (Westland, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought over T-Rex Ever Found (Hardcover)

A fairly short (288 pages) narrative that almost reads like a spy novel.

A quick summary: Peter Larson, a dinosaur hunter in charge of the Black Hills Institute has a paleontological study in South Dakota. It is near Cheyenne River Sioux territory. Sue Hendrickson, a field paleontologist, finds bones sticking out of a wall (cliff). She and Peter recognize them as T-Rex bones, from some 65,000,000 years ago. They contact the Native Indian who supposedly owns the land and "buy" the skeleton for $5000.

This skeleton turns out to be almost 95% full (unheard of) as well as the largest T-Rex to date. Within a very short time Sue (named after the field paleontologist) was claimed by Black Hills Institute, Maurice Williams (the Native American), Sioux tribe, as well as the U.S. Government who had the FBI raid Black Hills Institute to take the skeleton.

There are claims, counterclaims, criminal claims, prosecutions and prison terms. it all leads to an auction at Sotheby's for an unheard of $8,360,000.

The bulk of the book is told from Peter Larson's point of view and is definitely more sympathetic towards him than any of the other claimants.

If you have even the slightest interest in dinosaurs, conspiracy books, or legal thrillers, this should be added to your bedside table.