Travels with the Fossil Hunters

Rating:
Summary: Palaeontologists - even more fun than dinosaurs!
Review: This is a hard book to classify - a collection of personal essays by British palaeontologists (hence the spelling)describing their experiences as they travel to many countries to pursue their work. It's a sort of old-fashioned travel book about modern science.

They go to Asia, Africa, Antarctica, all over the planet, looking for whatever kind of fossils they happen to specialize in; but, though there's some information about their work, they are really writing about their travels - and what great stories! They get shot at, eat strange foods, camp out, meet strange and friendly peoples, and see wonders of nature and amazing ancient works of man.

Paleontology is a fascinating subject, no question, but are the scientists themselves really all such charming swashbucklers? After reading this book, I like to think so.

The book is beautifully illustrated with many color photos of the scientists, the places, the people, and the discoveries.