Dinosaur Impressions
Dinosaur Impressions
Kevin Padian
Out of Print
Perhaps you are a paleontologist or have always wondered what it is like to be one. Or you are fascinated by fossils and like to read about the origins and natural history of dinosaurs. Or maybe you are an avid traveler and reader of travelogues. If you are any of these things, then this book is for you.
Originally published in 1994 in French, Dinosaur Impressions is the engaging account of thirty years of travel and paleontological exploration by Philippe Taquet, one of the world's most noted paleontologists. Dr. Taquet takes the reader on a surprisingly far-flung tour ranging from the Provence countryside to the Niger desert, from the Brazilian bush to the Mongolian Steppes, and from the Laos jungle to the Moroccan mountains in search of dinosaur bones and what they have to tell us about a vanished world. With wry humor and lively anecdotes, Dr. Taquet retraces the history of paleontological research, along the way discussing the latest theories of dinosaur existence and extinction.
Elegantly translated by Kevin Padian, Dinosaur Impressions provides a unique, thoughtful perspective not often encountered in American- and English-language works. This insightful, first-hand account of an exceptional career is also a travelogue par excellence that will enthrall enthusiasts and general readers alike.
Philippe Taquet is the Director of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.
Kevin Padian is a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Curator of the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the editor of The Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs (Cambridge, 1986) and The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (1997).
- Very well written and accessible to the general reader and enthusiast
- Hardback received excellent reviews
- Enthralling and unique first hand account of an exceptional career
Reviews & endorsements
"Taquet's book--an interweaving of travelogue, history of paleontology, and popular presentation of the results of dinosaur studies...provides an overview of an extraordinary field-based research program and tells the story of discovery of some of the most significant specimens and localities found in the past thirty years." Palaios
"Whether excavating the spinal crest of a new dinosaur species from the African desert, preserving traces of fossilized dinosaur skin in Mongolia, or puzzling over a auropod tail in Laos, Taquet draws readers into the high adventure of discovery. From the dirty work with pick and awl to the intellectual daring of framing new evolutionary theories, readers experience the full range of a paleontologist's tasks...lucid and fascinating..." Booklist
"...[Taquet] is on the whole an engaging writer, one who has produced a book that's an oddly sweet mix of ephemera and hard science." Publishers Weekly
"Lively, vivid, bracingly enthusiastic....Here [Taquet] acts as an elder statesman--avuncular, discriminating, with lots of old chestnuts to share--passing on some of the fruits of his life's passion....Taquet is a good storyteller, his lessons as easy to consume as shucked oysters, and the thrill he finds in his work is catching." Kirkus Reviews
"Renowed paleontologist Taquet relates his incredible 30-year hunt for dinosaur fossils from Africa to Asia, focusing on his exciting discoveries....He also offers glimpses into milestone theories in geology and paleontology...Both informative and captivating, this book is highly recommended..." Library Journal
"In the dinosaur business for nearly 30 years, this French paleontologist reflects on his storied career by carefully blending anecdotes with current theories about dinosaur life and extinction." Science News
"Mr Taquet's book is charmingly written, generous with credit to fellow scientists, terse in describing mean climates and bad roads, and eloquent in conveying the excitement and growing delight the author felt when `a few bony fragments' emerged as `the whole right side of the skull of a superb Protoceratops'. Enormously informative about dinosaurs, and a real pleasure to read." The Atlantic Monthly
"...a smooth translation." Scientific American
"Dinosaur Impressions is `must' reading for aspiring students of paleontology and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in dinosaurs and the science that reveals them to us." The Midwest Book Review
"While the book is aimed principally at the non-specialist, and should certainly ignite and fuel the enthusiasm of this readership, it will also appeal to professionals curious to learn about the field experiences and career of a fellow palaeontologist...an enjoyable and illuminating book which can be thoroughly recommended." Journal of Natural History
Product details
September 1998Hardback
9780521583725
260 pages
235 × 160 × 22 mm
0.5kg
40 b/w illus.
Unavailable - out of print
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Translator's preface
- Preface
- 1. Gadoufaoua: in the sands of the Ténéré
- 2. The Ouranosaurus
- or, how to bring a dinosaur back to life
- 3. Tracking the dinosaurs
- 4. Many crocodiles, one continent
- 5. In Morocco with the giants of the Atlas
- 6. In the Steppes of Central Asia
- 7. A bone hunter in Laos
- 8. Across Europe with the dinosaurs
- 9. The rise and fall of the dinosaurian empire
- Bibliography
- Index.
