Boneheads: My Search for T. Rex

by Richard Polsky

Richard Polsky's seriously hilarious book My Search for T. Rex leads us deep into the South Dakota Badlands where he discovers a lost tribe—the Boneheads—and becomes one of them. This oddball group of dinosaur hunters is intent on bagging the Holy Grail of the a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Fewer than 50 skeletons have ever been found, but one of them brought $8.3 million at Sotheby's.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2011

Reviews

[Bill Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the author had a great interest in dinosaurs, events lead him to a life in the art world culminating in his becoming an art dealer. In his fifties he finds the opportunity to return to dinosaurs and travels to the Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase in Tucson with the idea of doing his own search for a T. rex fossil. There, he meets the members of the commercial community of collectors, vendors and mounters. The book describes his various interactions with these people, leading to his own search in the field.

Few paleontologists are active at any time as financing is meagre for the field. Similarly, the market for good bones is diminishing, making the commercial collection less attractive. Collectors describe their uncertainty that those of the next generation will follow them.

Part of the plot revolves around possibly finding T. rex eggs, an event which would re-ignite the dinosaur market. While dinosaur eggs have been found at around 200 sites around the world, most have been those of Hydrosaurs and Ovirapters which produced large broods. T. rex was fewer in numbers and probably produced two eggs per nest, making the chances of finding the eggs much less likely.

Fossils are transient in that once they weather out they don't last long. Polsky offers the example of a "terrific" crocodile skull that was found, but on federal land. When a high profile academic was notified, he declined to recover it due to the paperwork and overhead of getting the required permits from the government.

Good book, largely due to Polsky's characterizations of the collectors.

[OK Dad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A $1 find at a thrift store in Iowa City while scouting Iowa colleges with the family.

Bright colors on cover, unusual title and promise of dino fossil hunting on the inside jacket proved too good to pass up for a buck.

20 pages in I figured out it was non-fiction and was only slightly disappointed. What man didn't want to study paleontology as a lad, I ask you. I certainly did and this book fills in a few blanks on what a career digging fossils would have entailed.

[Nancy Petralia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like many kids I loved dinosaurs. I even thought about becoming a paleontologist. (That is until a friend with a similar bent realized that most of the work consisted of dusting ancient bones in the bowels of a museum.) So when I stumbled onto this book I was intrigued.

It's certainly not great writing. A workman-like product that reads pretty much like, "this happened, then this happened, then he said, then we went to..." But it does follow the author's quest for a T-rex and introduces the reader to a myriad of dusty characters who are all looking for fossils.

Polsky seems to ask each one to tell him about the "big story" in their lives. And so we learn the ins and outs of dino hunting. But it all comes off pretty flat.

Bottom line: I think the story is more interesting to the author than a reader.

[Robert Hobkirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I've read all of Polski's books. Maybe this one, Boneheads, wasn't as good as those about the art world, but that's understandable because the author spent his career working in the art biz. He has a dry subtle wit, self-deprecating some of the time, which is a refreshment along the way of reading.

Got to give him 3 stars just for choosing such an original topic: his memoirs while stalking fossil remains of a T-rex, or more closely, tracking the pros in this business. I would have given it another star, but it didn't have as much meat on bone as his other books. He spoiled me with his earlier books, set the bar too high.

[Susan Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I had expected to. I got it from the library subsequent to the CNN documentary about the Sue litigation which had left me with several unanswered questions about the nature of paleontological research. This book gave me the answers in an entertaining, informative format. My impression was that the writer is a successful, insightful person who is presenting a story he feels needs telling.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paleontology Lite (very light): nevertheless, an amusing first person venture into the American epicenter of commercial Big Game (as in T rex) fossil hunters. More sociology than science, with a little bit of the history of such thrown in, including some of the legal controversies. Quick, easy read.