The Fossil Hunter
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"Emling writes with a style that makes "The Fossil Hunter" very hard to put down before reaching the last page."--"Winnepeg Free Press" "Readable, journalistic, Emling's amply footnoted book skillfully puts Anning's work into the scientific and sociological context." --"The New York Times" "Released just weeks after Tracy Chevalier's fictional account of Anning's life, Emling's account pays tribute to Anning in an original and gripping historical biography." --"Financial Times" "Dinosaurs are astonishing today -- and we've had several hundred years of biology to help us absorb the shock. Imagine the shock caused by these monster creatures discovered and presented by a poor, twelve-year old girl, in the early 19th century. This is the remarkable story that Emling tells so well, evoking a world far from ours that in just a few years took a destitute pre-teen scavenging the crumbling cliffs of Lyme Regis to the pages of the leading scientific journals of her time." -- Peter Galison, author of Einstein's Clock's and Poincare's Maps and Joseph Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University
"Shelley Emling vividly brings to life the fascinating story of Mary Anning, the greatest fossil hunter of the early nineteenth century. Anning single-handedly recovered an extraordinary collection of fossils of marine and flying reptiles that helped shape the way we now see the incredibly long history of life on Earth. With this enjoyable book, Emling gives Anning her deserved place in history." --Hans Sues, Associate Director of Research and Collections, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
""The Fossil Hunter "at long last brings to life one of the central figures in the early golden age of paleontological discovery -- a woman of great diligence, and passion, and with a keen eye for fossil bone in the rock. As a young child, I was greatly inspired by Mary Anning. As an adult, working paleontologist, I remain so, a conviction doubtless reinforced by Sh
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In 1811, when she was only twelve years old, Mary Anning discovered the first dinosaur skeleton - of an ichthyosaur - while fossil hunting on the cliffs of Lyme Regis. Mary, the child of a poor family, became a fossil hunter, selling her discoveries and attracting the attention of fossil collectors and eventually the scientific world. Until Mary's discovery, it was widely believed that animals did not become extinct. But the bizarre nature of the fossils Mary found made it impossible to ignore the truth, sparking the conversation about evolution carried on by scientists from Charles Darwin to Stephen Jay Gould.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Ms Emling has undoubtedly carried out lengthy research into her book however the book is too full of subjective comments. The book tries to mix fact with fiction however the fiction part is too full of improvised comments or guess work i.e.constantly inferring what 'must have happened' to Mary, what she must have been thinking or what may have happened. I found it quite wearing. Bare in mind that the book is aimed at the American market. (Something I missed at purchase)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I, too, missed the fact that this book was written by an American. I finished it only because I was interested in finding out more about Mary Anning. It is very disappointing to find that her research did not stretch as far as finding out that Dorset and Devon are not "boroughs" but counties! Or that it wasn't just people in Lyme who drank small beer because the water was undrinkable or that "small beer" was not strong beer watered down.
I appreciate that the American reader comes from a different cultural base than British readers, but this type of error serves only to perpetuate an inaccurate picture. The writing style is florid and repetitive. Lack of detail has been compensated for by conjecture - she would have been better to admit to ignorance. Her editor needs sacking!
I appreciate that the American reader comes from a different cultural base than British readers, but this type of error serves only to perpetuate an inaccurate picture. The writing style is florid and repetitive. Lack of detail has been compensated for by conjecture - she would have been better to admit to ignorance. Her editor needs sacking!
Format:Hardcover
This is probably the most badly-written, sloppily-edited popular science book I've ever read. To be fair, the author does warn us about what to expect: "I have taken a few liberties in an effort to fill the gaps in Mary's life but tried to make it clear when this was the case." She's not exaggerating - almost every paragraph contains the words "may have", "perhaps", "probably" etc. It's truly painful to read. And, as has also been pointed out, the book is full of inexcusably careless errors. Sorry, Shelley, you won't get a free pass from me just because you're American!
I eventually gave up after reading the following:
"By the late 1820s, diabolical beasts from the past were gripping the public's imagination like never before, with some wondering whether snaky bodies might still be alive, lurking beneath the leaden cloak of the sea...The image defied the sensibilities of many, with educated critics and even the humblest farmers unable to fathom such a thing as an Age of Reptiles...Even Mary probably sometimes wondered whether she might turn a corner on the Lyme Regis shore, only to catch a sudden glimpse of the bulging eyes of an ichthyosaur of the crushing teeth of a pterodactyl."
There's something equally cringe-worthy on almost every page. This sort of writing might pass muster with a vanity press, what how on earth did it get published by Macmillan?
I eventually gave up after reading the following:
"By the late 1820s, diabolical beasts from the past were gripping the public's imagination like never before, with some wondering whether snaky bodies might still be alive, lurking beneath the leaden cloak of the sea...The image defied the sensibilities of many, with educated critics and even the humblest farmers unable to fathom such a thing as an Age of Reptiles...Even Mary probably sometimes wondered whether she might turn a corner on the Lyme Regis shore, only to catch a sudden glimpse of the bulging eyes of an ichthyosaur of the crushing teeth of a pterodactyl."
There's something equally cringe-worthy on almost every page. This sort of writing might pass muster with a vanity press, what how on earth did it get published by Macmillan?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
She sell sea-shells
I think some reviews have been somewhat harsh; I have throughly enjoyed this book and it has encouraged me to search out more books on Mary Anning. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Mrs. M. G. Powling
The Fossil Hunter
An excellent biography which made me, as soon as I got to London, rush off to the Natural History Museum to see her fossil finds. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2009 by Angela Macaulay
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