avalon111's review
5.0
Deborah Cadbury's The Dinosaur Hunters is a definitive history of the very beginnings of paleontology, though for many decades that term wasn't employed, with the study of ancient fossils coming under the discipline of 'geology'.
The joy of this book its focus on the main characters. Mary Anning, so ludicrously mistreated by director Francis Lee in his 2020 movie, is recognised as the effective instigator of the art of dinosaur hunting. Though fossils had been found for centuries, it was Anning's findings, most notably of the Ichthyosaurus in the cliffs of Lyme which inspired the gentlemen-scientists of that century, beginning with the Reverend William Buckland.
And throughout the book, the key characters are followed. Anning of course, Buckland, Georges Cuvier, Charles Lyell and the two key ones; Gideon Mantell, the books true hero, and its 'baddie' in the form of Richard Owen. Mantell's work, both as an engaging lecturer who did so much to improve the public's comprehension of the new science and its findings, and his actual discoveries, are exquisitely detailed. Owen, despite his ultimate demise in the face of Charles Darwin and more brutally, his nemesis, Thomas Henry Huxley, is still recognised for his naming of 'dinosauria', when he realised that they were distinct from other reptiles, with some mammalian characteristics. Owen though simply didn't recognise quickly enough that Darwin's theory of natural selection was sweeping all before it.
Despite Owen's Machiavellian traits, Dinosaur Hunters emphasises just how extraordinarily polite the scientific discourse in the 19th century was conducted. Discussions and disagreements were invariably performed through written papers and letters-to-editors. No-one came to blows and conduct was expected to be gentlemanly and restrained. That of course contrasts with our 'modern' society, with its 'Cancel Culture' and established tendencies for the 'kind' element of society to send barrages of rape-and-death threats against those they determine to be satanists or Nazis, simply for not agreeing with them. And the 19th century was one of brutal existence for most, with poverty rife, no recognisable healthcare, 'transportation' to Australia for convicts, and a rigid and misogynistic class system. Yet even so, our societies cultural norms now stand-up badly against the society of 19th century England.
Illustrated throughout and with comprehensive notes and index, Cadbury's work matches any historians but with an added readability that few can match. She's a BBC TV producer, and The Dinosaur Hunters was adapted into a fictional drama by Grenada Television in 2001. Rightly, even after two decades since publication, the BBC should be rendering it into a multi-episode documentary series. Until then, we remain left with Cadbury's wonderfully written volume.
The joy of this book its focus on the main characters. Mary Anning, so ludicrously mistreated by director Francis Lee in his 2020 movie, is recognised as the effective instigator of the art of dinosaur hunting. Though fossils had been found for centuries, it was Anning's findings, most notably of the Ichthyosaurus in the cliffs of Lyme which inspired the gentlemen-scientists of that century, beginning with the Reverend William Buckland.
And throughout the book, the key characters are followed. Anning of course, Buckland, Georges Cuvier, Charles Lyell and the two key ones; Gideon Mantell, the books true hero, and its 'baddie' in the form of Richard Owen. Mantell's work, both as an engaging lecturer who did so much to improve the public's comprehension of the new science and its findings, and his actual discoveries, are exquisitely detailed. Owen, despite his ultimate demise in the face of Charles Darwin and more brutally, his nemesis, Thomas Henry Huxley, is still recognised for his naming of 'dinosauria', when he realised that they were distinct from other reptiles, with some mammalian characteristics. Owen though simply didn't recognise quickly enough that Darwin's theory of natural selection was sweeping all before it.
Despite Owen's Machiavellian traits, Dinosaur Hunters emphasises just how extraordinarily polite the scientific discourse in the 19th century was conducted. Discussions and disagreements were invariably performed through written papers and letters-to-editors. No-one came to blows and conduct was expected to be gentlemanly and restrained. That of course contrasts with our 'modern' society, with its 'Cancel Culture' and established tendencies for the 'kind' element of society to send barrages of rape-and-death threats against those they determine to be satanists or Nazis, simply for not agreeing with them. And the 19th century was one of brutal existence for most, with poverty rife, no recognisable healthcare, 'transportation' to Australia for convicts, and a rigid and misogynistic class system. Yet even so, our societies cultural norms now stand-up badly against the society of 19th century England.
Illustrated throughout and with comprehensive notes and index, Cadbury's work matches any historians but with an added readability that few can match. She's a BBC TV producer, and The Dinosaur Hunters was adapted into a fictional drama by Grenada Television in 2001. Rightly, even after two decades since publication, the BBC should be rendering it into a multi-episode documentary series. Until then, we remain left with Cadbury's wonderfully written volume.
grmatthews's review against another edition
5.0
A book about discovery, but also about those who made the leaps of intelligence and reason. The author's research is detailed and there is an underlying sadness for the fate of some of those forgotten pioneers.
It may be a book about dinosaurs, but at its heart it is a book that revels in the human potential to think and reason.
It may be a book about dinosaurs, but at its heart it is a book that revels in the human potential to think and reason.
rainysplanet's review against another edition
3.0
A great run down of the history of dinosaur fossil finding and the move from religion to science.
krisz's review
5.0
Eszméletlenül jó könyv, mindenkinek ajánlom, akit picit is érdekel a viktoriánus Anglia történelme!
Persze a dinókutatás a fő téma, de azért mégsem. Azt mondanám, ez csupán apropója ennek a jó kis korrajznak, alapos kutatás terméke ugyanis e könyv. Így élt egy birtokát, címét elvesztett család, így élt egy vidéki orvos, így élt egy brightoni herceg, így élt egy szegény lány, egy pap, egy törtető anatómus… Így szerettek egymásba emberek, így hidegültek el egymástól. Így köttettek barátságok, így születtek az ellenségek. Zseniális.
Gyönyörűen, logikusan és időrendben látjuk, mi mikor, miért és hogyan történt. Miért volt egy felfedezés fontos, mely felfedezés minek köszönhető, hogyan jött rá egy-egy ember valamire. Páratlan elemző munka kristálytiszta eredménye ez a könyv. Cseppet részrehajló – de ezt nem vetem Cadbury szemére, azt gyanítom, Owenről sokkal lesújtóbb képet formálhatott a kézirat első verziójában!
A sztori dióhéjban: az 1800-as évek legelején Mary Anning, apja nyomdokait követve, talált egy óriási őshalcsontvázat, sokan felfigyeltek erre és jöttek az ötletek, élhetett-e az ember, az emlős előtt olyan állat a Földön, ami kihalt. Gideon Mantell vidéki orvost nagyon érdekelte mindez, rengeteg leletet gyűjtött, saját múzeumot rendezett be és teóriákat gyártott, élete alkonyán felvették a Királyi Társaságba is és doktori címet kapott mint geológus. Ő és mások sok állatot, földtani korszakot fedeztek fel, rengeteg kacskaringó volt, mire kiderült, hogy voltak növényevő állatok is, mekkorák lehettek, volt, aki két lábon járt, voltak egészen ősi halak, trilobiták… Külön érdekesség, hogy Mantell annyira elhivatott volt, hogy egy kocsibaleset után eltört a gerince (amit csak halála után derítettek ki), mégis még évekig élt és kutatott és harcolt Robert Owennel, az anatómussal, aki másképp gondolkodott a dinókról (és azért sok mindenben igaza volt). Törött gerincét tartósítószerbe tették és kiállították (Hitler lebombázta London támadásakor).
A könyv nyelvezete is remek, olvastatja magát, elrepül az idő a 300+ olvasása közben, és van benne elég kép, hogy tudjuk, milyen állatokról van szó, hogy néztek ki az embereink.
Persze a dinókutatás a fő téma, de azért mégsem. Azt mondanám, ez csupán apropója ennek a jó kis korrajznak, alapos kutatás terméke ugyanis e könyv. Így élt egy birtokát, címét elvesztett család, így élt egy vidéki orvos, így élt egy brightoni herceg, így élt egy szegény lány, egy pap, egy törtető anatómus… Így szerettek egymásba emberek, így hidegültek el egymástól. Így köttettek barátságok, így születtek az ellenségek. Zseniális.
Gyönyörűen, logikusan és időrendben látjuk, mi mikor, miért és hogyan történt. Miért volt egy felfedezés fontos, mely felfedezés minek köszönhető, hogyan jött rá egy-egy ember valamire. Páratlan elemző munka kristálytiszta eredménye ez a könyv. Cseppet részrehajló – de ezt nem vetem Cadbury szemére, azt gyanítom, Owenről sokkal lesújtóbb képet formálhatott a kézirat első verziójában!
A sztori dióhéjban: az 1800-as évek legelején Mary Anning, apja nyomdokait követve, talált egy óriási őshalcsontvázat, sokan felfigyeltek erre és jöttek az ötletek, élhetett-e az ember, az emlős előtt olyan állat a Földön, ami kihalt. Gideon Mantell vidéki orvost nagyon érdekelte mindez, rengeteg leletet gyűjtött, saját múzeumot rendezett be és teóriákat gyártott, élete alkonyán felvették a Királyi Társaságba is és doktori címet kapott mint geológus. Ő és mások sok állatot, földtani korszakot fedeztek fel, rengeteg kacskaringó volt, mire kiderült, hogy voltak növényevő állatok is, mekkorák lehettek, volt, aki két lábon járt, voltak egészen ősi halak, trilobiták… Külön érdekesség, hogy Mantell annyira elhivatott volt, hogy egy kocsibaleset után eltört a gerince (amit csak halála után derítettek ki), mégis még évekig élt és kutatott és harcolt Robert Owennel, az anatómussal, aki másképp gondolkodott a dinókról (és azért sok mindenben igaza volt). Törött gerincét tartósítószerbe tették és kiállították (Hitler lebombázta London támadásakor).
A könyv nyelvezete is remek, olvastatja magát, elrepül az idő a 300+ olvasása közben, és van benne elég kép, hogy tudjuk, milyen állatokról van szó, hogy néztek ki az embereink.
librarianonparade's review
4.0
I originally picked this book up last year, after visiting Lyme Regis, in the hope of learning more about Mary Anning and her fossil discoveries in Lyme that paved the way for the 'discovery' of the dinosaurs. Sadly, she features very little in this book - it is very much more about the British scientists who first began to examine fossils with a scientific eye, with an attempt to classify them and place them in an historical and geological spectrum.
Obviously fossils had long been scientific curiosities, and in other places around the world giant bones and skeletons had been emerging from the earth for centuries. But it wasn't really until the advent of the science of geology that scientists began to examine what remains of creatures embedded within rock actually meant, what the different layers of rock signified about different eras in history, and how this new fossil record cast doubt on the Biblical explanation of human history. Two British scientists were at the forefront of these discoveries - Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen, the latter being the man who coined the term 'dinosaur'.
This book is written very much as an account of the scientific progress and rivalry of these two men - Mantell the earlier, unheralded discoverer of many of the most significant fossil finds, Owen the man who built on (and in some cases stole, or at the very least heavily plagiarised) Mantell's discoveries to achieve wealth, esteem and scientific recognition for himself. Owen is very much the villain in this book! Other well-known figures from 19th century science make an appearance - Mary Anning, who found the first ichthyosaurus skeleton that began the whole affair; Charles Lyell; Charles Darwin; William Buckland; Georges Cuvier.
It was an interesting read, although not quite the book I was hoping for. Knowing next to nothing about, and with even less interest in, geology, rock strata and scientific classification, I found this a bit tedious on occasion, but the human interest of the narrative kept me reading.
Obviously fossils had long been scientific curiosities, and in other places around the world giant bones and skeletons had been emerging from the earth for centuries. But it wasn't really until the advent of the science of geology that scientists began to examine what remains of creatures embedded within rock actually meant, what the different layers of rock signified about different eras in history, and how this new fossil record cast doubt on the Biblical explanation of human history. Two British scientists were at the forefront of these discoveries - Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen, the latter being the man who coined the term 'dinosaur'.
This book is written very much as an account of the scientific progress and rivalry of these two men - Mantell the earlier, unheralded discoverer of many of the most significant fossil finds, Owen the man who built on (and in some cases stole, or at the very least heavily plagiarised) Mantell's discoveries to achieve wealth, esteem and scientific recognition for himself. Owen is very much the villain in this book! Other well-known figures from 19th century science make an appearance - Mary Anning, who found the first ichthyosaurus skeleton that began the whole affair; Charles Lyell; Charles Darwin; William Buckland; Georges Cuvier.
It was an interesting read, although not quite the book I was hoping for. Knowing next to nothing about, and with even less interest in, geology, rock strata and scientific classification, I found this a bit tedious on occasion, but the human interest of the narrative kept me reading.
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