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Author:

Conniff, Richard, 1951- author.

Title:

House of lost worlds : dinosaurs, dynasties, & the story of life on earth / Richard Conniff.

Publisher:

Yale University Press,

Copyright Date:

2016

Description:

xvi, 331 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), portraits ; 26 cm

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-316) and index.

Contents:

Introduction : hunting for truffles -- A West that was actually wild -- The patriarch -- The education of O.C. Marsh -- The wooing of George Peabody -- Rock render -- A rumor of war -- The Marsh expeditions -- Professor M on the warpath -- The year of enormous dinosaurs -- Fossils, buffalo, and the birth of American conservation -- A building of their own -- In the shadow of O.C. Marsh -- The prince of bone hunters -- Bone wars -- Trilobite magic and cycad obsessions -- Mapping ancient worlds -- A city raised like a chalice -- Teaching evolution -- The rise of modern ecology -- The beauty of the beasts -- The art of being invisible -- Into the unmapped world -- Zoology in the time of geneticists -- The man who saved dinosaurs -- Epilogue -- The Peabody's scientists.

Summary:

This fascinating book tells the story of how one museum changed ideas about dinosaurs, dynasties, and even the story of life on earth. The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, now celebrating its 150th anniversary, has remade the way we see the world. Delving into the museum's storied and colorful past, award-winning author Richard Conniff introduces a cast of bold explorers, roughneck bone hunters, and visionary scientists. Some became famous for wresting Brontosaurus, Triceratops, and other dinosaurs from the earth, others pioneered the introduction of science education in North America, and still others rediscovered the long-buried glory of Machu Picchu. In this lively tale of events, achievements, and scandals from throughout the museum's history, readers will encounter renowned paleontologist O.C. Marsh who engaged in ferocious combat with his "Bone Wars" rival Edward Drinker Cope, as well as dozens of other intriguing characters. Nearly 100 color images portray important figures in the Peabody's history and special objects from the museum's 13-million-item collections. For anyone with an interest in exploring, understanding, and protecting the natural world, this book will deliver abundant delights.

ISBN:

0300211635
9780300211634

OCLC:

(OCoLC)930798099

LCCN:

2015949553

Locations:

USUX851 -- Iowa State University - Parks Library (Ames)

BOPG851 -- Ames Public Library (Ames)

GUPF501 -- Newton Public Library (Newton)