Tyrannosaurus Sue

Rating:
Summary: Only in America
Review: In the summer of 1990, a team of fossil hunters representing the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, led by Peter Larson, unearthed the nearly complete skeleton of a mighty darn large Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur buried on South Dakota land owned by one Maurice Williams. Larson paid Williams $5,000 for the skeleton, named it "Sue", and then moved it to the Institute's facility at Hill City for preservation and restoration. In May 1992, the Bandini hit the fan with an FBI raid and confiscation, and TYRANNOSAURUS SUE is the story of the 7-year legal mess that resulted. A mess that could only happen in America, the Land of the Free and the Home of Eternal Litigation.

Steve Fiffer, a Windy City journalist, has ably reconstructed Sue's saga, from the time her bones were spotted by Sue Hendrickson in a sandstone cliff, to their auction years later to an unlikely consortium comprised of the Field Museum of Natural History, Disney Corporation, and McDonald's. Most of the narrative details the protracted and acerbic civil and criminal litigation that surrounded custody of the fragmented skeleton, the chief contestants being Larson, Williams, the Cheyenne River Sioux, and the U.S. Justice Department. If the reader is a paleontologist, or just otherwise fascinated by big, toothy lizards, then this book is a must read. However, my interest was only mildly inquisitive, so I found parts of it dry going. First of all, there are no photos - not a single one. I find this hard to fathom, since Sue's excavation site was extensively photographed, the various court sessions heavily (if only locally) covered, and the reconstructed skeleton was put on permanent display before the book was published. I mean, c'mon Steve! Secondly, that part of the account describing historical aspects of dinosaur hunting in the U.S. was pretty much irrelevant to the central story, and Chapter 10, which contained too much of the criminal trial's verbatim testimony, was cause for Droopy Eyelids Syndrome. Lastly, I couldn't muster much sympathy for any one or more of the principal courtroom adversaries. Peter Larson, indicted with others from the Institute by the Feds for illegally removing artifacts from government land, was, at best, a naïve fossil-hunting nerd, or, at worst, a cunning and disingenuous outlaw. The government's chief prosecutor, Kevin Schieffer, came across as unreasonable and intransigent. Maurice Williams, who denied he was selling Sue when given that $5K, was the quintessence of greed. And how about those the Cheyenne River Sioux? A bunch of opportunists! Patrick Duffy, Larson's lawyer, conducted himself like a certifiable idiot. The only likable person in the entire tale seemed to be Sue Hendrickson, but, with no picture, it's hard to say for sure.

The value of TYRANNOSAURUS SUE was, to me, learning something about the world around me that I didn't know before. For the average reader, it's a fine exposé of what happens when a government prosecutor has way too much time on his hands.

Rating:
Summary: A very disturbing book on the US Justice system ...
Review: Listening to this very well done audio book I immediately wrote a letter to Vice President Al Gore. Warning: This book will horrify you with regards to the maliciousness of the Republican Department of Justice in the early 1990's.

Vice President Gore I have just been listening to a very disturbing audio book called, Tyrannosaurus Sue : The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought over T-Rex Ever Found. The book is about a real story which involved some palentologists who unearthed a T-Rex and the malicious attempts of a manipulated Republican Justice Government division to destroy not only the palentogists livelyhood but their company which endevoured to save and restore dinosaur fossils.

I would like the United States to pass a policy which would allow the collection of dinosaur bones for both profit and non-profit enterprises from Federal and State lands for the intended purpose of science, preservation and display.

I have never been so angered by the abuse of perceived justice by the United States as I have heard in this case. It made me sick to hear how manipulated Republican Justice Government officials (Kevin Schaffer) could use the cloak of the law in such a malicious, vendictive way.

By passing a policy which would allow for the collection of dinosaur bones for both profit and non-profit enterprises from Federal and State lands for the intended purpose of science, preservation and display, the above injustice in the Tyrannosaurus Sue will not happen again.

It should not be a crime in this country to make a profit from earning a livelyhood and it definitely shouldn't be so in the case of palentogists, especially if they find the fossils on Federal or State owned/controlled Government land.

Arnold D Yoshida-Veness

Rating:
Summary: The State rivals T-Rex in amorality
Review: One of the greatest dinosaur finds in history - perhaps THE greatest - was caught up in politics, money and jealousy. It is just pathetic what the government did to this scientist and makes one wonder question the rationality of "officials" who would commit such deeds.

All the ins and outs of scientific rivalry, government bumbling and misplaced priorities are thoroughly described. The story is fascinating and will hold your attention for days. Our view of T-rex and dinosaurs in general changed following this discovery. Good book, guaranteed to make you furious.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Story of T-Rex Sue.
Review: This book told the dramatic events leading up to and including the purchase of Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex fossil found in South Dakota in 1990. The book details how the fossil was found, excavated, then confiscated by the government in the years preceding its auction. The drama unfolds as the auction proceeds in the book, and the glimpses into the lives of persons and groups who hunt and buy fossils is fascinating. Intrigue, suspense, and courtroom drama--it has it all. I hope they make a movie out of this book.