The Gilded Dinosaur : The Fossil War Between E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh and the Rise of American Science

Rating:
Summary: Grammar cost it a star, but very good otherwise
Review: I found this book to be very well researched and interesting, but unfortunately somewhat poorly written. There are many grammatical errors and typos that should have been caught by the editors but weren't, which made me feel like I was reading a rough draft. Other than that annoying flaw, it's well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A good anecdotal history of 19th century science
Review: Major characters--I think of Agassiz and Lyell--come to play in this story of the collection of fossils (primarily in America) that contributed to the emerging science of evolution. The competition between Cope and Marsh, of course, is the major story and serves as a good vehicle for the larger story of the struggles of scientists to find the truth.

Rating:
Summary: No Bones About It!
Review: Mark Jaffe has succeeded in bringing the fascinating and richly historical world of paleontology to life in this novel about Edward. D. Cope and O.C. Marsh. One does not have to be a dinosaur nut to appreciate the thoughtful and entertaining way Mr.Jaffe describes the awakening world of paleontology and scientic research in late nineteenth century America. Although I am a student of earth science and anthropology and I am quite familiar with the flora, fauna and geologic descriptions flowing out of "The Gilded Dinosaur", I still appreciated the way the author told the story; I was not bored. He described the war between Cope and Marsh impartially and with descriptive vigor, but he also added enough scientific dialogue that it kept my scientific curiosity piqued. Any casual paleontology, political or history buff will enjoy the way the story flows;it is sometimes sad, sometimes humorous, but always fascinating.This book is a must for any Jurassic junky, political history or science fan to read. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, but not without merit.
Review: Mark Jaffe's account of the infamous feud between Cope and Marsh is neither as well written nor as well researched as D. R. Wallace's book on the same subject (The Bonehunter's Revenge). But it is a fairly enjoyable read and paints a reasonably accurate and lively portrait of vertebrate paleontology (and the life of paleontologists) during the second half of the 19th century.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Story Bogged Down by Superfluous Details
Review: Not a bad book--and certainly the material's exciting. The best past was at the beginning, when both men were working the field every year. My main problem was the weight the author gave to different parts of the story. For example, he states almost casually that it was Marsh who made the "biggest palentological error in history" by putting the wrong head on the Brontosaurus, causing the Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus confusion, but never gets back to who figured out the error. He gives a disporportionate amount of weight to parts of the story that just weren't as important, such as Cope's financial problems and the silver mines. Also-I do have a sneaking admiration for Marsh--he may not have been writing touching letter to his daughter, as Cope did, but he did much more to promote fair treatment of the Indians, etc. As I said, not bad, but still not the definitive book.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Story Bogged Down by Superfluous Details
Review: The heart of the book is the war of words between E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh. These two men were the top paleontologists of their day and were among the first scientists to do serious scientific studies in the American West, they also hated each other. The accouts of their expiditions in the 1860's and 1870 are as exciting as any western. One of the expiditions was working in the little Big Horn area at the time of Custer's last stand. At that time Paleontology was the hot new science, the way cloning and genetics aretoday. Darwin's theory of evolution had only recently published. America was trying to recover forn the Civil War. A large part of the American identity was wrapped up in the West. The fantastic fossils that were being found there were something America had that Europe did not and therefor important to the American public.

In addition to enduring the hardship of field collecting Cope, Marsh, and their contemporaies were inventing modern science as we know it. They also were building the univerities and museums, (Yale, Harvard, The Smithsonian) that would become the breeding grounds for the educated scientific community in America. Jaffe has a sort of 'Ken Burnes" style with lots of excerpts from letters that really makes the material come alive. I'd say anyone who has more than a passing interest in paleontology would enjoy this book, but so would any one who is interested in the history of American Science.

Rating:
Summary: Bones, bones, and more bones.
Review: What could be drier than a book devoted to two men battling over collecting fossils and gaining the rights to name creatures extinct for over 100 million years - and this having taken place over 125 years ago at that. Well it could be dry and stuffy but not when Mark Jaffe takes his broad brush to his canvas and we find that intertwined in this story traipse the likes of: P.T. Barnum, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, George Custer, and even Buffalo Bill Cody. We also will find U.S. Grant's cronies siphoning off aid that was supposed to go to the Indians. Add to the mix a few thousand Sioux warriors to liven up the story.

At the core is the story of O.C. Marsh and E. D. Cope in the 1870's building the foundation of modern paleontology. These two totally different personalities immediately began to clash and we have one of the more interesting personal warfares in the history of science. Each built a coterie of supporters but at times the various personae and the shifting of loyalties begins to make the story seem like Tolstoy's War and Peace.

There is never a dull moment. We have T.H. Huxley musing with O.C. Marsh's in Marsh's precious bone room at Yale. We see Marsh banging on doors in Washington until he eventually meets with Grant himself to try and right the injustice he sees happening to the Indians. It's always a race against time and in his haste Cope puts the head of one of his dinosaurs on the end of the tail. Marsh will forever remind Cope and the world of his folly. True, an innocent enough mistake, but in this world no one gives any quarter, especially Marsh.

Is it political infighting you like? Like really nasty stuff? You've got it. In Jaffe's remarkable book we have our friendly bone hunters smashing precious fossil skeletons when packing up and leaving a site so the other guy can't get them. We have letter writing campaigns smearing reputations so that opponents won't get fellowships in prestigious societies. One side will hire away the other's help in the field. Bone hunters making $90.00 a month for working winters digging in the Wyoming wilderness have no loyalties.

Humor? Just imagine Sioux warriors trying to make any sense out of these crazy men working feverishly hauling wagons with tons of bones out of the wilderness. The Sioux were at first certain that these men were seeking gold but when they saw them hauling out wagons of rocky bones, they new they were crazy. Not only the Sioux, just imagine any settler in those days making sense out of this seeming madness.

Jaffe keeps our interest. He can intertwine all of these fascinating mini-stories without loosing sight of the main theme of Marsh and Cope. His research is impeccable and he is able even to give a good picture of the forces at work in the Indian Wars of the 1870's.

Oddly enough this is not a book about dinosaurs or paleontology per se. The critters and their bones are only an adjunct to the tale being told. You will not learn much about the dinosaurs and other extinct animals. Lots of names pass by but unless you have some previous knowledge of dinosaurs, most of this is just names, but then it is not essential to the understanding of the story to know your beasts. The real story is the personal warfare between Marsh and Cope and how this colored the politics of the West and influenced scientific institutions. So even if dinosaurs are not your thing -- if history, the West, or how science really operates in the real world are, or maybe you just like a good story, don't miss this book.