Explore the journey of fossils

Author: William Bruce
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: In today's world seemingly dominated by investment brokers and computer programmers, paleontologists still retain some of the spirit of adventurers—those who forge new paths, delve into deserts, or explore mountainous regions. They are adventurers of time, historians of prehistory. And like all explorers, to advance their careers, paleontologists must roam to the far corners of the world—those places still shrouded in mystery, where fossils have yet to be exhausted. —Excerpted from the preface by Richard Fortey (Member of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom)
"Full of the style of National Geographic." —John J. Sepkoski (University of Chicago)
"Brilliantly creative, with a perfect blend of author and reviewer, each chapter is a dazzling piece of writing. The narrative is both wise and straightforward, easy to understand. The different expeditions, participants, research institutions, and geographical settings in each chapter add to the book's charm, making every chapter read like a short anthropological story on a unique theme." —Dr. Kevin Padian (University of California, Berkeley). Co-editor of The Book of Dinosaurs (Academic Press, 1997) and translator of Dinosaur Impressions: A Paleontologist's Postcards (Philip J. Currie, Cambridge University Press, 1998).
Cover Image Description: Sieving the sand from a dinosaur discovery site, Vega Island. —Photograph by Jerry Hooker
"On a dull limestone, even a faint glimmer might be enough. You hold your breath, your pulse quickens, your eyes light up, and gently tap the hammer—the limestone splits open—and there, before your eyes, a shiny shell coils around the rock. It's different from the marine shells that still exist today; it could be from 150 million years ago, or even 500 million years ago. One thing is certain—you've just discovered a shell that no human eye has ever seen before. It's this kind of excitement that draws generations of children to climb cliffs and quarries, to search along coastlines and gravel pits, guiding them on a long journey of discovery to explore the planet and the life that has existed on it. The authors of this book are lucky people who have turned their early passions into lifelong careers. They will take us around the world to explore, to discover those fossils that are both thrilling and astonishing." —Excerpted from the foreword by Sir David Attenborough (Member of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, author of the classic series Life on Earth and the bestseller The Life of Birds)
This book tells the story of British paleontologists' expeditions to collect fossils, focusing on the often-overlooked scientific work they conduct in remote parts of the world. The narrative creates an atmosphere of late-night gatherings around a campfire—where, while hoping for major discoveries, people still tease the cook about his smelly socks or complain about the overcooked mutton. Such storytelling captures the complex and often chaotic emotions that come with conducting real scientific research in the field. Some chapters even record the failures of the search—because no one can guarantee success. Chance always plays a part. A few stories recall small-scale, somewhat dangerous conflicts and the emotions we all experienced in the field—the initial awe of stepping into a magical place for the first time. It is a remarkable fact that some of the most significant new discoveries often arise from such mundane experiences. In an era of "technology" and "economic progress," stories of rumors, speculation, and a bit of luck changing our understanding of the world are not refreshing at all?