Travels with the Fossil Hunters

Travels with the Fossil Hunters

Interesting , exciting and curious picture book for adults to . This book is crammed with wonderful and exotic pictures and overflowing with fantastic photos . The book 's main peculiarity and attraction are the twelve essays that actually is a chronicle of the adventures of ten intrepid British paleontologists as they pursued their quest for fossilized prey , ranging from dinosaurs to bryozoans . Each essay is separate story and at the same time is the integral part of one big essay that is the book . The essays were written by

the paleontologist involved in real expeditions , most of whom are currently on staff at the Natural History Museum in London

Through twelve thrilling essays , in Travels with the Fossil Hunters the authors made their best to enable the reader to travel to many exotic , and often very dangerous places on the Earth , including China Tibet , India , Abu Dhabi , West Africa , Latvia , Pakistan and even Antarctica

In twelve chapters , covering areas as far apart geographically and climatologically as the Sahara and Antarctica , the trials , tribulations triumph and success of British paleontologists are told with charm and candor . It is seen HYPERLINK "http /www .multitran .ru /c /m .exe ?t 2092355_1_2 " with the naked eye for how much beloved their profession is . Sometimes humorous , frequently even exhausting and painful , rarely extremely dangerous each of these adventures gives evidence of both the perseverance and dedication of the scientists who tell of them to job they do

That is really a good-humoured and enlightening read

It is curious that the fossil hunters here are ordinary paleontologists from the Natural History Museum in London , and this book somehow documents their numerous travels to every corner of the globe . For , so many people conjure up images of scientists in white laboratory coats in an ivory-tower isolation from the real world dealing with expensive equipment . But the days when the well-known and popular image of scientists was that of rugged naturalists and adventurers are largely over . But outdoor adventures still abound nowadays , so , through reading such books we can witnesses dilightful advanturers-scientists exploring , investigating , revieling

While Travels with the Fossil Hunters ' is about paleontology , we may nevertheless evaluate it as a standard travel book for those who keen on adventures . A vast number of thrilling and sometimes horrid things and events are described here with what must be typical British understatement , for example frigid cold , blowing dust , blazing heat nearly impassable roads , poisonous insects and snakes , outlaws and rebels , mindless bureaucrats , and vehicles of dubious vintage and reliability and they are all the more believable for the matter-of-fact accounting

Every essay is filled with striking s of the landscapes through which the paleontologist traveled . This somehow strange book provides a fleeting glimpse at the cultures scientists encountered , all from a decidedly British perspective

All the members of the expedition reminisce about their adventures their joys and disappointments , their flaws and their blunders , such as when one scientist mistakenly chewed down on a sheep brain sandwich

Besides describing the countries in which the digs occurred , the authors are striving to gave a detailed of what they were looking for , and why they felt this particular research , in this particular region was important

This book abounds with the nonspecialist terms and all the technical terms that somehow can be unfamiliar to the reader are defined within the scope of the text that gives serious advantage to the book and makes it possible not only for specialist-reading but also for lay-man-reading . A large amount of basic information about geology plate tectonics , fossils , climatic change , evolution , and paleontology are incorporated into the text . The information presented in the book is sufficient to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the science of paleontology . It must be also useful and interesting for those readers that have had some exposure to paleontology , the text serves to reinforce their knowledge base and to open vistas for further exploration . To inspire those who interested in this science for the like adventures

Beyond describing the physical hardships paleontologists experienced during their investigations in remote locations , the authors are also very free to share the thoughts about the physical dangers , such as bullets , bandits , and rabid dogs that they often encountered Throughout , these authors are unabashedly candid , sharing the most intimate details of expedition life , even to the point of providing details about their not always pleasant bathroom facilities , or more often , their absence

Overall HYPERLINK "http /www .multitran .ru /c /m .exe ?t 205849_1_2 beyond controversy this is an excellent book but until you come to the end . Unfortunately , this book lacks both an index and a bibliography . As for me , I consider an index to be an HYPERLINK "http /www .multitran .ru /c /m .exe ?t 85694_1_2 " integra l reference tool and therefore I feel that one should have been included as a service to the reader

However , the biggest lapse is the lack of a bibliography , that facilitate the reader 's references if desired . Many readers of this book are likely to be individuals who do not have a firm grounding in paleontology though the book provides the main terms , definitions and necessary knowledge to be basically versed for such reading extra information that is generally represented in the missing paragraphs would be also of use

A simple , up-to-date reading list would have been invaluable in helping to direct them to suitable material for further study in this field

As well , if you 've ever been on a dig somewhere , of any kind , you will find yourself nodding your head while reading and saying to yourself "Been there , seen that , done that , thought like that

Although this book is written in somehow scientific style but on a fairly basic level and it will HYPERLINK "http /www .multitran .ru /c /m .exe ?t 12014_1_2 " undoubtedly be of interest to professionals . The essays are well written , well composed entertaining , and they give the reader the chance to virtually join the expeditions

Obviously it needed to be said that it is a really fun book to read , and will be of interest to professionals and amateurs alike because first of all it lacks dryness of every tedious textbook . Numerous spectacular color photographs scattering throughout the book will not leave one indifferent

The author himself would recommend the book to anyone genuinely interested in fossils and fossil hunters , it is a grand read

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