The Bone Museum: Travels in the Lost Worlds of Dinosaurs and Birds

Rating:
Summary: The logical connection: birds and dionosaurs
Review: As its subtitle suggests, this book is a travelogue, its theme an exploration of the evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and birds; but it would be a mistake to consider it an addition to the scientific literature. Like most modern travel stories, too much of this book is taken up by Grady's fleeting impressions and details, such as what kind of sandwiches he ate in Argentina. While trying to follow the paleontological thread of the adventure, readers are led into long digressions on Tarzan, cars named after animals, the tango, and other decidedly nonscientific topics. The science can be mildly interesting when it appears, but even it is handicapped by errors such as identifying Dimetrodon as a dinosaur and trilobites as crustaceans, and Haeckel's Law (stages in an organism's embryonic development and differentiation correspond to stages of evolutionary development characteristics of the species) taken too seriously. There are several gratuitous stabs at the "Victorian mind" and its alleged inability to fully comprehend evolution or sex, forgetting that this is the society that produced and nurtured Darwin and Huxley. The one explicit conclusion here is that if birds and dinosaurs can be evolutionarily linked, somehow the "comforting picture" of creation once provided by religion can be reassembled. Not for academic audiences.

Rating:
Summary: Is there life after a species becomes extinct?
Review: How are modern birds related to dinosaurs, and is there life after a species becomes extinct? Grady reveals the work and perspectives of paleontologist Phil Currie, who is the leading proponent of the bird-dinosaur theory. Grady does more than review theory: he traveled with Currie in China and experienced the drudgery of fieldwork first hand. An excellent set of insights is presented.

Rating:
Summary: A flight of bones
Review: Taking us from Argentina through Alberta to Africa, Grady's admirably mixes his keen sense of observation with vivid descriptive skills. He doesn't simply interview the field workers, but joins the digs, suffering the dust, storms, bugs and labour alongside the scientists. He maintains his sense of humour, however. The result is a highly readable book on the paleontologist's work.

The idea that the dinosaurs escaped extinction 65 million years ago, surviving in the form of birds has been a major point of discussion among scientists during the past few years. We follow Grady on his journey from Patagonia through China to the Alberta badlands in revealing much of the new evidence touching on that question. In the course of that trek he introduces us to a gallery of field researchers dealing with that and other uestions about life in the remote past. Grady's focal point is Canadian paleontologist Phil Currie. Currie, a man who long ago might have escaped the rigors of field research for a quiet laboratory, remains captivated by digs, with their constant surprises and revelations. Grady is gratified to see Currie stay Canadian, increasing attention to the high level of this science being done here. Canada's fossil record has been handled poorly, from indifference by Ottawa to being scavenged by the Americans. We've lost too many good researchers, as Grady points out. His book goes a long way to restoring Canada's place in paleontology.

Grady's account of the work of a field paleontologist is a very human tale. Given that he's a writer rather than a professional bone hunter, this is no mean feat. We are shown the ordeals and triumphs fieldwork provides. It's hard, demanding work, requiring some special skills. Beyond the question of endurance is the ability to focus your mind on what you seek in order that your eyes will isolate it from the surrounding rock. It isn't just luck that turns up fossils.

If there's a shortcoming to this book, it's the lack of further presentation on the issue of dinosaurs becoming birds. While it's gratifying that Grady emphasizes Canadian scientists, he completely overlooks the contribution to the evolutionary links of dinosaurs and birds made by Robert Bakker. Bakker's mentor, John Ostrom, receives a scattering of passing mention, but Bakker's studies are far too important to ignore. Even a footnote would have redeemed this issue. Still, the book is a fine start to understanding the dinosaur-bird issue.

Rating:
Summary: A flight of bones
Review: Taking us from Argentina through Alberta to Africa, Grady's admirably mixes his keen sense of observation with vivid descriptive skills. He doesn't simply interview the field workers, but joins the digs, suffering the dust, storms, bugs and labour alongside the scientists. He maintains his sense of humour, however. The result is a highly readable book on the paleontologist's work.

The idea that the dinosaurs escaped extinction 65 million years ago, surviving in the form of birds has been a major point of discussion among scientists during the past few years. We follow Grady on his journey from Patagonia through China to the Alberta badlands in revealing much of the new evidence touching on that question. In the course of that trek he introduces us to a gallery of field researchers dealing with that and other uestions about life in the remote past. Grady's focal point is Canadian paleontologist Phil Currie. Currie, a man who long ago might have escaped the rigors of field research for a quiet laboratory, remains captivated by digs, with their constant surprises and revelations. Grady is gratified to see Currie stay Canadian, increasing attention to the high level of this science being done here. Canada's fossil record has been handled poorly, from indifference by Ottawa to being scavenged by the Americans. We've lost too many good researchers, as Grady points out. His book goes a long way to restoring Canada's place in paleontology.

Grady's account of the work of a field paleontologist is a very human tale. Given that he's a writer rather than a professional bone hunter, this is no mean feat. We are shown the ordeals and triumphs fieldwork provides. It's hard, demanding work, requiring some special skills. Beyond the question of endurance is the ability to focus your mind on what you seek in order that your eyes will isolate it from the surrounding rock. It isn't just luck that turns up fossils.

If there's a shortcoming to this book, it's the lack of further presentation on the issue of dinosaurs becoming birds. While it's gratifying that Grady emphasizes Canadian scientists, he completely overlooks the contribution to the evolutionary links of dinosaurs and birds made by Robert Bakker. Bakker's mentor, John Ostrom, receives a scattering of passing mention, but Bakker's studies are far too important to ignore. Even a footnote would have redeemed this issue. Still, the book is a fine start to understanding the dinosaur-bird issue.