Rating: 
Summary: Roy Chapman Andrews= Indiana Jones
Review: A WASP hunts dinosaurs in the Gobi. A generation or two ago young men used to read stories like this over and over again, which is both the strength and the weakness of archaeologist Gallenkamp's (Maya, not reviewed) biography of the adventurous paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews. Throughout the 1920s Andrews led a series of expeditions into Mongolia under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Known as the Central Asiatic Expeditions, they never achieved their original goal of proving that Asia, rather than Africa, was the cradle of mankind, but they did make spectacular fossil finds, chart vast areas of the Gobi, and win extraordinary fame for Andrews, who fit the model of gentleman-adventurer to a tee. The author relates Andrews's adventures entertainingly enough, although not with the elegance that Andrews himself displayed in his many books and articles. And while Andrews's expeditions (sponsored in part by Standard Oil and Dodge) may not have the romance of Sven Heden's or Sir Francis Younghusband's, there are more than enough close scrapes and exotic locales to keep the pages turning. Still, in the end both Andrews's life and Gallenkamp's telling leave a sour taste in the mouth, for the Central Asiatic Expeditions had a eugenic rationale that is barely touched on here, and the condescending tone with which the polo playing, openly imperialistic Andrews treated the Chinese is odious. The author disclaims racism and imperialism, but he does nothing to distance himself from Andrews's view that the Chinese were being silly in placing restrictions on what he did in (and removed from) Chinese territory; for the most part, in fact, his voice blends with Andrews's on these points. Such unadulterated hero worship is not only unsettling, but bad scholarship as well. An old-fashioned adventure story, for better or worse.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Biography of Explorer and Scientist Roy Chapman Andrews
Review: Although Charles Gallenkamp's writing doesn't attain the literary heights of a Ron Chernow or David McCullough, he does succeed in "Dragon Hunter", his biography of the legendary Roy Chapman Andrews, with a vivid recounting the explorer-scientist's life and career, focusing on the American Museum of Natural History's Mongolian expeditions of the 1920's, organized and led by Andrews. It is a compelling biography of how Andrews, then a recent college graduate, talked his way into employment at the American Museum of Natural History, organized and led the Mongolian expeditions starting fifteen years later, and finally, assumed directorship of the museum. Along the way we are treated with interesting vignettes on Anderews' political problems with Mongolian and Chinese officials while both countries were being torn apart by revolution and banditry. Those expecting ample details on the scientific research conducted by Andrews and his team and their implications should look elsewhere, most notably Michael Novacek's and Mark Norrell's (Dean of Science and respectively, chairman of the Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History) "Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs". Instead, Gallenkamp focuses on the human aspects of these expeditions, without devoting much time to the science. Judging from Gallenkamp's account of Roy Chapman Andrews' life, I am not surprised that Andrews is considered as a possible role model for the fictitious Indiana Jones.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not enough
Review: Although I enjoyed this book, it left me with many unanswered questions. Overall it was "dry" and I didn't get a real feel of Andrews as a man or daily life and conditions on the expeditions. Finally, the only map provided by the publishers is woeful with microscopically small type for the place names!
Rating:
Summary: Great Summer Reading
Review: At last! - a proper adult biography of Roy Chapman Andrews. Charles Gallenkamp has written an indepth book about the life of Andrews and the times that he lived in; they are both fascinating. Despite 3 previous attempts by other authors [1930, 1968, 1972 ]to capture the true essence of Andrews, and numerous 'Juvenile' books on the market today - until Gallenkamp's 'Dragon Hunter' There has been no proper biography of Andrews written. If you love to read about real life exploration, discovery, dinosaurs, and bandits; this is a great book. If you want to learn about how Andrews put the Central Asiatic Expeditions together, how personnel was selected, life in the Gobi, and the political intrigue of 1920's China - this is also a great book you will really enjoy. 32 pages of B/W photos are reproduced on glossy paper; a few of these images have never been seen by the public before. Of particular note are the drawings by Karen Wright, which were created for this book. My one complaint is that this bio of Andrews centers around the famous expeditions to Mongolia, but does not go into as much detail about Andrews' earlier whale research days, or his life after the Mongolian Expeditions. Gallenkamp's 'Dragon Hunter' portrays the real-life accomplsihments of a real-life man; warts and all. It is a gripping read, and you quickly realize how much nonsense has previously been written about Andrews. Move over Indiana Jones - here is the real thing. The Central Asiatic Expeditions (1922-1930) comprised the most ambitious scientific venture ever launched from the United States up to that time. Supported by New York's American Museum of Natural History, Andrews and palaeontologist Walter Granger conducted five expeditions to the last unmarked areas of the globe, the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. In Dragon Hunter, Gallenkamp expertly recounts the tremendous discoveries, and it is filled with tales of Andrews and his team surviving sandstorms, and civil war. Gallenkamp tells Andrews's incredible life story, from his beginnings sweeping floors in the taxidermy dept at the American Museum of Natural History, N.Y., to his quick rise to international fame as one of the century's most acclaimed explorers. I admit to reading this all in one night - staying up way past my bedtime. Add "Dragon Hunter" to your summer reading pile - you will not be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Indiana Jones
Review: Before the Jurassic Park boom, little boys all had an enthusiasm for dinosaurs, and much of that enthusiasm was fueled by an explorer who only now has his first full biography, _Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions_ (Viking) by Charles Gallenkamp. It is a great monument to a forgotten explorer and collector.Andrews began an autobiographical volume with a foreword that included the words, "I was born to be an explorer. There was never any decision to make. I couldn't do anything else and be happy." He had humble beginnings in Benoit, Wisconsin, but dreamed of exploring for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He literally told the director there that if it were just a matter of mopping the museum floors, that was what he wanted to do. And he did it, eventually becoming the director of the museum. From floors he went to taxidermy, and then to field expeditions about whales, and then to his five huge famous expeditions into Mongolia from 1922 to 1930. Andrews had superb skills at planning and organizing his expeditions, but was he was a brilliant salesman, enlisting the financial aid of members of New York society. The descriptions of his expeditions make exciting reading, as sandstorms, snowstorms, and brigands all battered the cars, camels, and explorers. But he brought back dinosaur eggs, which caused a sensation, _Velociraptor_, and much more. _Dragon Hunter_ is a well researched and at times exciting telling of the adventures of an American original. Gallenkamp has usefully summarized the Mongolian regional politics as well as New York society of the time, and has made it clear just how the publicity-happy Andrews became a sensation in his day. His record had been sadly neglected by the museum, which is now making amends. The book ends with an epilogue to show how the finds that Andrews fought to get back to the museum have proved a foundation of much of modern paleontology. We have explorers of other types now, but we will not see explorations of this grandeur, size, and style again.
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Summary: A Marvelous Book about a Genuine Explorer-Adventurer
Review: Charles Gallenkamp's Dragon Hunter presents itself as a marvelous book from a number of perspectives. Roy Chapman Andrews was the real thing-a genuine explorer-adventurer who expanded the horizons of science and captured the public imagination. His complexity can be found in his ability to live in a palace in Beijing surrounded by servants, gourmet food, and polo ponies, and then wander off into the Gobi for five months (carrying of course a gourmet cook, white tablecloths, and enough rifles to fend off bandits). I love the American Museum of Natural History, and I grew up on stories of Chapman's great expeditions, the discovery of dinosaur eggs, and a host of other romantic-scientific tales (Beebe in the South Pacific looking for birds, Akeley in Africa, the list goes on). This book covers an amazing range of realities. Gallenkamp addresses an array of subjects, including the intricacies of Chinese and Mongolian politics in the 1920s and 1930s, the consequences of the breakdown of society in the form of rising banditry and rising corruption, the emerging anti-western sentiment as scientists became robbers of the nation's heritage, the drama of scientific research, the evolving history of evolution, and the intricacies of running a museum. He also accurately depicts the nature of celebrity status in a peacetime western world seeking glamour through adventure (this being the age of Byrd flying to the North Pole, Lindberg flying the Atlantic, etc). This book interestingly notes how science evolves and one generation's knowledge becomes another generation's discarded inaccuracies. Andrews went to central Asia searching for the origins of man. We now know those origins lie in Africa. Andrews found a carnivorous dinosaur lying on some eggs that they thought belonged to a horned dinosaur and assumed it was eating them (thus, the dinosaur's name became "egg thief that loves ceratopsians"). Now we know that those eggs actually belonged to the Ovirapter and were being mothered, not eaten. Many of Andrews' best discoveries are still on exhibit at the Museum in New York and well worth seeing. Today, as Michael Novacek notes in his foreword, Mongolia and China are again open to exploration, and science is moving on. The American Museum has annual expeditions into the Gobi and cooperates widely with Chinese and Mongolian scientists. Ultimately, Gallenkamp's Dragon Hunter takes a major step in the restoration of Andrews' reputation as a serious contributor to modern science.
Rating: 
Summary: many errors in there
Review: Gallenkamp did a good job in bibliographic research, but please be careful when you read this book. Don't believe everything therein is true. I have noticed that there is a tremendous amount of inaccurate information included in text especially in accounts of Andrews' whaling trip to Japan (I am a native Japanese, so I know more about Japanese geography than him!) although most of the errors do not affect significantly the whole story of Andrews' life with a full of adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written/a good read!
Review: I have really enjoyed reading about Andrews and especially about mongolia. If one is at all interested in fossils and the story of an extraordinary man - please read.
Rating:
Summary: A DIFFICULT BOOK FOR ME TO REVIEW
Review: I must start by admitting that as a young boy, many a many a year ago, that I thrilled to Andrews' first hand accounts of his adventures. They were the sort of stuff a small boy in the midwest dreamed of. That being said, and having to admit that I am no longer that little boy (well, not much anyway), I had very mixed emotions about this book. I was a bit disappointed in the scholarship shown at times. Some of the writing was a bit flat, and viewing Andrews through the eyes of what I know now and did not know then, Andrews' image has been sort of tarnished for me.
I think you have to read this book with a good grounding and knowledge of the attitudes of most Americans/WASPS at that time, just as you have to view the Civil War and Pre Civil War through the attitudes of that time. No, it was not right, much of what we did was wrong and down right disgusting and it was not "correct" by todays standards, but it was what it was. History is history and I do not feel the author was condoning any of the questionable actions that Andrews made. Read this book for the fun of it and then read some of Andrews' actually writings and compair. Read it as an adventure story. Yes, their are better works out there on this subject, that is a fact, but this one is simply more "fun" than most of them. Recommend.
Rating:
Summary: The Amazing Adventure
Review: I thought that Dragon Hunter by Charles Gallenkamp was a terrific book. It is a biography on the life of Roy Chapman Andrews. This is a man that came from a fairly poor family and without much of a education other than what was offered by the state and became one of the most celebrated explorers of American history. The way that the book tells with such great details his life leading up to his adventures. Like when he went to Asia for the first time I felt like I was there with him. When the author described Mongolia as the most beautiful place on earth I wanted to go there a see it. I also thought that the way the author would go off the subject for a paragraph or page to tell of something else tha was happening in history that would help the reader to know what was going on in the area at that time in history. For example when the author writes about the Chinese, the Russians and the Mongolians fighting for Mongolia and some of each of the culture's histories. To sum it up, this is one of the finest biographies and general books that I have ever read and advise others to do so also.
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