What a fascinating read! I had never heard of Eric Prokopi, his business, or his million-dollar find, but I am always fascinated by tales of obsessive collectors and their purveyors. This one did not disappoint!

While interesting and clearly well-researched, I found The Dinosaur Artist to be slow and a bit uncohesive at times. If you love paleontology, I'd recommend, however, if it is a fascinating true crime story you are looking for, you may be disappointed.

THE DINOSAUR ARTIST

Dinosaurs are inherently fascinating. That said, and notwithstanding its title, Paige Williams' book The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal and the Quest for Earth’s Ultimate Trophy isn't about dinosaurs per se; it's about paleontology.

Yes, there is a difference.

To be more specific, The Dinosaur Artist is about the black market for dinosaur fossils, and the tug-of-war between scientists on the one hand and commercial paleontologists and fossil hunters on the other. The former view paleontology from a purist’s perspective, concerned as they are with advancing the cause of science. The latter appreciate that there is a market value to fossils given intense interest from collectors of all stripes, for which reason fossil hunting has become a viable profession for many.

Ironically, paleontology is where it is today thanks to contributions on both sides of the fence, and there is plenty of room for the two to coexist. Indeed, many expeditions that unearthed fossils in the name of science were aided by paleontologists with a commercial bent, and the most successful fossil hunters follow the same protocols as scientists do when it comes to preserving and presenting fossils. Yet there is an ongoing tension between the science of paleontology and the price that fossils can fetch, which Williams adeptly explores in The Dinosaur Artist.

The book builds on Williams’ prior reportage on of Eric Prokopi, a paleontologist who gained fame/notoriety as a fossil smuggler. A person who by all accounts was a very talented fossil hunter—he previously assembled and/or supplied fossils that were eventually acquired by Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholas Cage––he would eventually be convicted of illegally acquiring and trading a near-complete Tarbosaurus Bataar skeleton. The species appears to have been practically native to Mongolia, where the law mandates that all fossils discovered there remain government property. Hence, Prokopi’s case was largely open-and-shut, though his tragic story was anything but straightforward.

In fact, Williams weaves a fairly elaborate tapestry in The Dinosaur Artist to help readers appreciate the complexities of modern paleontology. As much as her book is about Prokopi’s exploits, it offers plenty of information about dinosaurs, paleontology, and the inconsistent application of laws throughout the world as they apply to fossils, as well as plenty of context on Mongolia, which literally has a fossil-rich history. On the whole, the book has a long narrative arc focused on Prokopi with chapters on these seemingly tangential subjects interspersed in between. But by the end of the book, it becomes apparent that these asides weren’t so tangential after all, contributing as they do to allow the reader to come up with a more nuanced picture of the issues that surround the black market trade in fossils.

When one thinks of smuggling, images of shady deals and covert shipments come to mind. In Prokopi’s case, however, the reality was more mundane: illicitly acquired fossils bought in bulk, containerized, then shipped through different ports of call. It was technical smuggling at best yet a crime nonetheless––and the makings of an interesting story. Equally interesting is the central debate of whether the commercialization of fossils is good or bad for science in general. Williams does not opine on the matter in The Dinosaur Artist, opting to report on the issue with a journalist’s professional distance and critical eye. The result? A book that goes to show that there are more fascinating things about dinosaurs than the dinosaurs themselves.

In 2012, a very unusual item appeared in an auction catalog: a nearly complete skeleton of Tarbosaurus bataar, the eight feet tall, 24-feet long cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex. The expected million dollar sale would solve a lot of financial problems for the skeleton's owner Eric Prokopi, a Floridian who had turned his life-long passion for hunting fossils into a business selling natural history specimens to museums and celebrity collectors.

There was only one problem, T. bataar was unearthed in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

Mongolian law forbid the export of its significant paleontological specimens. So how had Prokopi obtained T. bataar and would the skeleton's sale be blocked by an international group of paleontologists determined to see it returned home to Mongolia?

Based on her New Yorker article on the sale, Paige Williams has expanded the personal story of Prokopi's fossil obsession into a millennia-long epic detailing the annals of paleontology, the geopolitical history of Mongolia, the uneasy friction between scientists and commercial fossil hunters, international law, and high end, luxury auction houses. From the Late Cretaceous Period when T. bataar walked the earth, to the 13th century when Ghengis Khan's Mongol Empire stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe, to the 1800s when fossil hunter Marry Anning discovered history-changing specimens in the cliffs along the English Channel, The Dinosaur Artist covers a lot of territory.

The amount of detail can be daunting, but Williams centers the book by always remembering to bring it back to the personal story of Eric Prokopi, a man who might have let his obsession with natural history go too far.

Who "owns" fossils? Who has a right to search for, prepare, and sell pieces of history? In The Dinosaur Artist, Paige Williams does a fantastic job of taking an enormous topic and whittling it down to compelling narrative non-fiction. I knew nothing about the conflict between scientists and free-market fossil enthusiasts before reading this book and felt like it was a great introduction to the topic - as well as the history and politics of Mongolia. Williams balances the history with the drama and the strange characters involved. If you're a fan of The Feather Thief or The Orchid Thief, you'll love this book.

This has been one of my favorite non-fiction reads this year. Part paleontology lesson, part true crime, this book gave me a lot to think about. Who owns fossils and should profiting from their sale be allowed by private parties? What if the funds raised by the sale of these fossils directly contributes to scientific discovery? What about when the discovery of these fossils occurs in a country without the infrastructure to regulate this type of sale or if it's not clearly described? Honestly, it sounds kind of dry when I describe it, but it was a total page-turner.

I was completely unaware of the issues presented but chose to read this simply because I have a dino-obsessed kid and thought it would give us something to talk about. It did!

I requested The Dinosaur Artist because I was that kid that watched Jurassic Park repeatedly and told my first grade teacher that I wanted to be a singer and a paleontologist. There was not a doubt in my mind that I was going to love this book. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me.

To be perfectly clear, I do not think this is a bad book or that you should not read it. I was just the wrong audience for this one. I studied museology and anthropology at university, which means that a lot of the information that Williams was presenting throughout the book I had prior knowledge of and found myself tending to skim more than actually wanting to read or being fully engaged.

Who I think that this would be a great book for is someone that is beginning to get interested in paleontology and fossil hunting or maybe has not studied it extensively. Even individuals who have loved ones massively interested in the topic would benefit greatly from picking up this book. For those individuals there is a wealth of knowledge presented clearly in these pages and you would have a good foundation to move onto more complex reads.

I went to download this after getting e-mail approval and it was archived. Sorry because of the Florida connection and planning to suggest as title for my book club. A friend at Washington Post recommended. He would have given it 4 stars and since I can’t get in touch with you unless I write review and give rating, here’s your four stars

Did you have a dinosaur phase? If you’ve ever stared at a giant dino skeleton in a museum (or uh, watched Jurassic Park) and had your imagination piqued, think about cracking open THE DINOSAUR ARTIST by Paige Williams, out today from Hachette Books.

In telling the story of a single fossil skeleton sale which turns wildly contentious, Williams gives sympathetic voice to all the stakeholders in the fossil hunting game: museums, academics, passionate fossil aficionados, natural history buffs, commercial traders, and all the affected sovereign governments around the world. You’re probably aware that fossil hunting exists, but have you ever considered who these long-dead creatures actually *belong* to? Who has rights to something that is, for all intents and purposes, a piece of the earth? Are they natural resources (fairly well-regulated)? Or cultural resources (less well-regulated)? Can falling inside a man-made border constrain an object that is from a time before humans even existed?

I’ve been fascinated by dinosaurs for most of my life, but I’d never considered the complex social web that their remains exist in, and how all the threads in that web affect what we the public see, know, and learn about them. Williams does an excellent job of drawing out each of those threads for clarity, then weaving them back together in a compelling narrative that ensures you’ll never react the same way to an image of a T. Rex.

While this book was *pretty specifically* up my alley, it’s also a broadly fascinating read. If you’re looking for some non-fiction that goes down easy and contains shades of Hollywood, crime, international intrigue, investigative reporting, and a cast of colorful real-life characters, check this sucker out. Thanks to @netgalley and @hachettebooks for the dARC!

An absolutely fascinating and rich story with fossil dealer Eric Potkopi & Mongolian dinosaur fossils at it core. This richly detailed story relates Potkopi's life and story and Mongolia's as background to the twisty tale of the skeleton of an apex predator and how it became the lynchpin in investigations, trials, and the future of Mongolia.

I loved it.

As the aunt of 6 year old “future paleontologist”, I have learned a good deal about dinosaurs and fossils in the last couple years. I have been looking forward all summer to reading The Dinosaur Artist, a well-researched narrative journalistic book about the controversy surrounding a Florida man who prepared and auctioned a Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton from fossils unearthed in Mongolia. The book did not disappoint. While I learned a considerable amount about everything from fossil hunting to the history of Mongolia, I didn’t however come away with a clear-cut opinion about who ultimately owns the past as unearthed in fossils. It’s complicated. Amateur fossil hunters have much to contribute to our knowledge base but the scientific process and human history must also be taken in to consideration. I would have given this 5 stars but felt it got bogged down a little in the details of true crime style biography of rogue fossil artist Eric Prokopi.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hatchette Books, and author Paige Williams for the advanced reader’s copy.

The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams is so very interesting and so well written. This is the story of a fossil hunter, collector and then dealer; a lifelong passion, hobby and then career. This idea of fossil collecting is a much bigger game than I ever could have imagined. I was totally captivated! Thank you NetGalley and Hatchette Books! #thedinosaurartist#netgalley

Mix a couple parts Jurassic Park, one part Indiana Jones and Indy Jane, and a dash of the law and you have The Dinosaur Artist. This is the tale of one man's desire to make a living at selling dinosaur bones. Yet, in his path lies an ongoing debate that has been raging for centuries: Who owns fossils and what are the roles of fossil hunters, paleontologists and collectors? Eric Prokopi is an American "commercial paleontologist" who buys a Mongolian T-rex's cousin's skeleton, fixes it up, and tries to sell it at auction. Prokopi's story, the history of fossil hunting, the landscape of the hobby/ business/ criminal activity, and the international politics behind it are all explored.

I read Chasing Aphrodite by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino a couple years ago. It a very good book about how the Getty Museum procured its collection of classical art. Obviously, one is about antiquities and the other is about fossils, but both deal with black market looting of priceless, one-of-a-kind objects for the sake of egos, science, and/or beauty. At the heart of both books lies the controversies of "protecting" history, exploiting nations and people, and greed. Different objects, but both look at the ideas of "preserving" history in similar ways. 

Williams winds her story through so many colorful characters and landscapes.  Each with a story of his or her first, the first fossil found...  the itch of the hunt that never goes away. She also includes several with relatable contemporary allusions and metaphors that help the reader's understanding of the subject.  There are some slow parts, i.e. the narrative gets bogged down at times in history of Mongolia. But,maybe I just preferred the profiles of the fossil hunters a little more.

The Dinosaur Hunter starts with controversy then maps the geography of the fossil landscape, from hunters to politics to jealousies and poachers. Williams covers the history of paleontology as well that of natural history museums. There's even some celebrity sighting: a Cage/ DiCaprio fight over a 67-million-year-old skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar. The Dinosaur Artist is a memorable read with great tension over the timeless themes of the hunt, money, and greed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books, and Paige Williams for an advanced copy for review.

Fossils have gotten a lot of attention in the news recently and I feel this book is a good compliment to revealing the quest to find these creatures for profit and the crazy things people will do in order to find the next dino bone

This book contained so many things that I like: dinosaurs, journalism, natural and political history; how could I not read it?

This book evolved from an article that Paige wrote for The New Yorker, titled "Bones of Contention," which was published in 2013. It told the story of Eric Prokopi, and his Tarbosaurus (T. bataar) skeleton that swept the media by storm. Why? Because he tried to sell it at an auction in the USA, only to have the Mongolian government demand it back.

The Dinosaur Artist tells an incredibly compelling story about a niche black market: fossils.

Paige did a deep-dive into this case, tore it apart, and put it back together again. Her narrative explains how Eric got into fossil hunting, and how he was able to make a living from it. She also explores the history of palaeontology, and the fine line between professional scientists and amateur fossil hunters (the latter making a sizeable number of discoveries, and helping museums and researchers push forward in their respective fields).

One of the main questions posed throughout this book is "who owns natural history?" This question may seem tricky; as I mentioned, if you find a fossil on the ground, what's stopping you from keeping it?

Well, a lot of laws are. Eric didn't know this when he was in Mongolia, but the Mongolian government considers everything on or under the ground to belong to the country. So finding fossils and bringing them back to the USA is illegal. However, at the time, there were very few regulations in place to police this.

As a result, numerous Mongolian fossils were brought out of the country and sold. This stopped, though, after Eric's case. As a result of the case "law enforcement now had more insight into the illicit fossil trade."

In fact, when Mongolia began repatriating fossils, private collectors (including Nicholas Cage and Leonardo DiCaprio) had to give up pieces of their collections. For real, I looked it up after finishing the book.

The Dinosaur Artist is more than awesome dinosaur stories and facts; it's about scientific discoveries, international law, history, and that sense of curiosity that lives inside us all. When I first saw this book, I knew I had to read it, and I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to the publisher for an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I received an advanced reading copy courtesy of Hachette and NetGalley. Thanks!

This was a great read. The story of a man who was prosecuted for illegally selling a dinosaur skeleton that originated in Mongolia, Williams does a great job of explaining the history of paleontology and commercial fossil hunting, and the chain of events that led to the prosecution in this case. It was an engaging read, and I highly recommend it.

The world of fossil collecting is far more competitive and far less legal than I ever thought.

Paige William’s new novel follows eponymous title artist Eric Prokopi from his humble Florida beginnings through to smuggling fossils out of Mongolia and attempting to sell them in New York for sums in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

It is when the lens focuses on Prokopi that the novel truly shines- there’s something faintly apocryphal about his origin story- he’s folksy, a champion swimmer who marries the all-American beauty and then settles into a life of collecting fossils from Florida’s rivers and swamps. Williams does a deft job of handling how Prokopi gradually transforms from someone who takes joy in the hobby of fossil collection to someone who realizes the true extent of the profits he could reach, selling his work to celebs like Nicholas Cage.

Interwoven into Prokopi’s story is the history of fossil hunting and paleontology itself, from Mary Anning to her more acknowledged male counterparts. Politics between paleontologists and ‘hobby’ fossil hunters like Prokopi also make up a bulk of the text, and it’s here it sometimes gets bogged down in the details. I fully acknowledge that in this I may have some privilege, having been interested in paleontology when I was younger and then being best friends with two paleo-bio majors during my undergrad. As such, none of the information was new to me, and the sheer density of it made the reading feel bogged down. It was only when I returned to Prokopi’s descent into illegal fossil peddling that I felt like the text was stretching forward at a good pace. Perhaps those with no background in the subject WILL find this interesting however, though I maintain that it is sometimes excessively dry, lacking the humor that surrounds the personal narrative at the heart of the book.

Still, as an educational summer read, I think you could do far worse. I learned new things, which is really one of the biggest things you can garner from nonfiction, and I found myself almost in awe of the audacity of the hobby fossil hunters as they conducted their business. In my heart, I think I’m still a dinosaur girl, and this was enough to make me feel like a child again in all the best ways.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I have always been fascinated with dinosaurs. This is a story of Eric Prokopi who was a fossil hunter and dealer. He started looking for fossils when he was just a kid, As he got older, he found there was big money to be made selling all manner of fossils.whether he found them or bought them from others. In the meantime,  paleontologists and scientists heard that Eric would be auctioning off a complete skeleton he had found in Mongolia. The President of Mongolia was advised that the skeleton was being sold and that he needed to claim it for Mongolia. An attorney was hired to get the auction stopped until the ownership could be resolved.  Who owns the fossils, can they be sold to private citizens, should they stay in the country of origin? Endlessly fascinating. This book was extremely well researched and written. I received this book from Net Galley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy . All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Like all children I was fascinated with dinosaurs; Eric Prokopi was no different. He loved hunting for fossils in his native Florida as a child and continued to hunt for them as an adult, all over the world. He made a handsome living buying and selling fossils, but he also truly believed he was advancing the science of paleontology. Scientists and paleontologists has other opinions about Prokopi, and none of them were good. Prokopi’s biggest deal was going to be the auctioning off of a complete skeleton of T. baltaar, which he had found in Mongolia. Bidding was to begin at 1 million dollars, but things fell apart after the president of Mongolia demanded his valuable skeleton back. Williams writes a captivating tale (think The Orchid Hunter) about who has the right to own the story of our evolution and if knowledge should only be available to the highest bidder