The Dinosaur Hunters cover art

The Dinosaur Hunters

A True Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World

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The Dinosaur Hunters

By: Deborah Cadbury
Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
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About this listen

The story of two nineteenth-century scientists who revealed one of the most significant events in the natural history of this planet: the existence of dinosaurs.

In ‘The Dinosaur Hunters’ Deborah Cadbury brilliantly recreates the remarkable story of the bitter rivalry between two men: Gideon Mantell uncovered giant bones in a Sussex quarry, became obsessed with the lost world of the reptiles and was driven to despair. Richard Owen, a brilliant anatomist, gave the extinct creatures their name and secured for himself unrivalled international acclaim.

©2009 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers
World Natural History Paleontology

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All stars
Most relevant
the concise yet poetic depiction of the emergence of modern biological science and beautifully portrayed through the lives of the pioneers in the field. wonder book. well narrated.

Defines what we now know.

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Hugely enjoyable and fascinating book on the history of dinosaur studies. Well read by AS. Wished it was longer but felt I really learned something.

Brilliant book!

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What made the experience of listening to The Dinosaur Hunters the most enjoyable?

This book is wonderfully written and superbly narrated. It is also quite light hearted. It grips you from the very start and is never boring.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Has to be Mary Anning, probably the first true dinosaur hunter, and one of the most overlooked people in history.

What about Andrew Sachs’s performance did you like?

Can't fault it he is a good choice for this book and obviously enjoyed it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes how poor the Anning family were

Any additional comments?

This is one of my favorite audiobooks it really is hard to fault, except that author does refer to the Bible saying the world was made in seven days, it says six, as the Almighty rested on the seventh, but it's the only fly in the ointment which is otherwise very informative and entertaining.

Very engrossing

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What a wonderfully interesting read!
Completely changed my opinion on Richard Owen - highly, highly recommend!

Wonderful book!

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It is a shame that this is an abridged story. Very well narrated. A fascinating story of to me unknown dinosaur hunters. Well worth a listen

Good listening

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