The Dinosaur Artist - obsession, betrayal, and the quest for Earth's ultimate trophy (Paperback)

New Yorker magazine staff writer Paige Williams delves into the surprisingly perilous world of fossil collectors in this riveting true tale. In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: 'a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton'. In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar - a close cousin to the more-famous T. rex - that had been unearthed in Mongolia. At 2.4 metres high and 7.3 metres long, the specimen was spectacular, and the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a 38-year-old Floridian, had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A one-time swimmer who'd spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fuelled a thriving business, hunting for, preparing, and selling specimens to clients ranging from natural-history museums to avid private collectors like Leonardo DiCaprio. But had Prokopi gone too far this time? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. An international custody battle ensued, with Prokopi watching as his own world unravelled. The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history, and about a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting - a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, and enthusiast and opportunist can easily blur.

General

Imprint:	Scribe Publications
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	August 2018
Authors:	Paige Williams
Dimensions:	234 x 153 x 30mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	432
ISBN-13:	978-1-911617-90-7
Categories:	Books > Fiction > True stories > Crime Books > Fiction > True stories > Discovery / historical / scientific Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Dinosaurs & the prehistoric world Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Rocks, minerals & fossils Promotions Books > Fiction > Promotions
LSN:	1-911617-90-7
Barcode:	9781911617907

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