A fascinating read about the history of the beginning of the study of palaeontology, geology and the oftentimes fractious reactions of Victorian society to the realities being uncovered.

The impact of the first modern dinoaur discoveries must be in the air now. This is the third reference I've come across this year, and it's the best. A month or two ago I read an ARC about the subject on NetGalley, and it did a good job but it stopped too soon. It covered the discoveries, the players, and some of the activities, but it didn't get into the impacts on society. That book ended with Darwin, and he's akey player in this book. The author gets into the scientific and religious debates that resulted, covers their impact on Victorian and other societies, and covers all angles that I can think of. Dinosaur fans get their fill, and the those wanting to know what people thought and their thoughts changed throughout the 1800's will get their fill, too. This is one of the best ARC's I've read this year.

Though this was interesting, it was not as entertaining a read as other recent books on similar topics.

An interesting look at the history of the discovery of dinosaurs and the impact of that discovery. It is obvious from the reading of this book, that great dedication was taken in writing it. I absolutely love paleontology and history and enjoyed reading this book. I learned a number of facts that I had not know before. I look forward to using what I learned from this book to continue researching and learning more. It's a bit awe inspiring to think about the short amount of time that humans have really been aware of dinosaurs...