A competent enough look at some of the first palaeontologists active in the United States in the nineteenth century, and particularly how one man, Barnum Brown, was involved in the discovery of the Tyrannosaurus rex. David K. Randall has an eye for nuggets of detail, but he's neither a historian nor a particular expert in the topic he's talking about and it shows. It's the kind of book where for instance Randall is aware that Brown and his contemporaries were in part driven by certain ideas about masculinity, but he doesn't do anything with that observation beyond mentioning it and moving on.

Not mad I read it, but I wouldn't describe it as a must-read either. ( )

Mildly interesting, but I don’t really like nonfiction books written by regular joes without expertise in the subject… there are enough good books written by SMEs or just interesting people. Will research the next books more before reading ( )

They don’t find the T-Rex until the last 1/3 of the book. In the beginning of the book the author wonders ‘Who found these dinosaurs’ and yeah that ‘who’ is the focus for the book, not ‘these dinosaurs.’ It’s a LOT of biographical info about the people doing the fossil hunting. Quick surveys of other fossils, obligatory chapter about Cope & Marsh ‘Bone Wars,’ but focus is on who found the first T. Rex fossils. It’s a LOT of biographical info about the two main people who found and then displayed them. One of the men was ok but not compelling. The other man was a real jerk, personally and professionally, and a racist, a eugenicist, and he eventually supported the Nazis in the 1930’s so… it’s not like it’s much FUN to hear about him at length. The book does not get into the T. Rex - as an animal - very much. Does not cover what we learned about the T. Rex from each subsequent fossil specimen. After the initial discovery and display, all the other T. Rex fossils between 1905 and 1997 are skipped over. The Stan and Sue fossils get mentioned in the epilogue, but mostly just for their auction / prices.

Kinda feel like the movie trailer for this book could have gone like: “In an era… when everybody was a jerk… and ‘scientists’ paid cowboys to dynamite fossils out of quarries… One Man makes a living by finding fossils for the biggest jerk of them all…. And now… he’s found a fossil with the biggest teeth of them all…. Read about their empty and repetitive personal lives in excruciating detail… You’ll be looking askance at Natural History Museum administrators for months.” ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am in awe of people who can look at a hill/creek bed and think: I should check this out. And they find dinosaur bones. Barnum Brown had that inate ability. It was so interesting to read about the nascent field of paleontology and how it intersected with theories on evolution. Makes me look at mountain sides and creek beds in a whole new way. It is a very readable book. ( )

The Monster's Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World
by David K. Randall
Narration by Roman Howell

This seemed well researched and very informative but written in a way that kept me interested from the very beginning to the end. The book read more like a novel than a historical account with just facts. This book was filled with emotion, intrigue, treachery, love, the excitement of discovery, and fear of defeat. Wonderful real characters that felt alive and intriguing.

This book mainly has two characters but it discusses many more that is involved in the movement of starting a great museum, what should go into it, and the great bone race. Also, how the dinosaurs bone race started, who was involved, and when is explained in here. It really was exciting if you love history, dinosaurs, and fate!

Its really amazing how this boy from a farm, Brown, became such an intricate part of the dino preservation and discovery history. How he got his name and who he met during his life too!

I found this book very interesting and I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome book! I learned so much! I have read a lot about the bone wars but this took me into personal lives and let me experience it from a whole new perspective!
The narration was excellent!
Thanks again! Highly recommend! ( )