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Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin and the War Between Science and Religion
Impossible Monsters is the captivating story of the discovery of the dinosaurs and how it upended our understanding of the origins of the world.‘An astonishing book about an extraordinary subject' PETER FRANKOPAN'As thrilling as it is sweeping' TOM HOLLAND‘The most talented young historian around ... A triumph’ SATHNAM SANGHERAIn 1811, a twelve-year-old girl uncovered some strange-looking bones in Britain’s southern shoreline. They belonged to no known creature and were buried beneath a hundred feet of rock. Over the next two decades, as several more of these ‘impossible monsters’ emerged from the soil, the leading scientists of the day were forced to confront a profoundly disturbing the Bible, as a historical account of the Earth's origins, was wildly wrong.This is the dramatic story of the crisis that engulfed science and religion when we discovered the dinosaurs. It takes us into the lives and minds of the extraordinary men and women who made these heretical discoveries, those who resisted them, as well as the pioneering thinkers, Darwin most famous among them, who took great risks to construct a new account of the earth’s and mankind’s origins.Impossible Monsters is the riveting story of a group of people who not only thought impossible things but showed them to be true. In the process they overturned the literal reading of the Bible, liberated science from the authority of religion and ushered in the secular age.‘Truly marvellous ... an intellectual thriller’ RICHARD HOLMES‘A stunning work ... of surprises and revelations’ STEVE BRUSATTE
475 pages, Hardcover
First published March 14, 2024
About the author
Michael Taylor
3 books11 followersMichael Taylor is an historian of colonial slavery, the British Empire and the British Isles. He graduated with a double first in history from the University of Cambridge, where he earned his PhD (2015) - and also won University Challenge. He has since been Lecturer in Modern British History at Balliol College, Oxford, and he is currently a Visiting Fellow at the British Library's Eccles Centre for American Studies.
(courtsey of Penguin Books, 2020.)
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(courtsey of Penguin Books, 2020.)
Librarian note: There are other authors on Goodreads with this name. This profile takes 8 spaces:Michael^^^^^^^^Taylor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
September 16, 2026
"Нима допреди само двадесет и пет години учените мъже не твърдяха, че летящият дракон е невъзможно чудовище? А нима сега не знаем, че стотици от тях се откриват фосилизирани надлъж и нашир по земята? Наричат ги птеродактили: просто защото се срамуват да ги нарекат летящи дракони, след като толкова дълго са отричали съществуването им".
XIX век е период на велики открития (във всяка област на познанието), последвалото от тях възникване на нови науки - геология, палеонтология* и др, както и ускорено развитие на вече съществуващите; на които било писано да променят из основи представите на хората за света, който обитават, неговата същност, произход и и най-вече възраст**. Появата на първите значителни фосили, сред тях делфиноподобният ихтиозавър и дългошиестият плезиозавър, подали се от глинестите шисти и варовици на Дорсет, е катализаторът на процеса, довел до възхода и настоящето властване на науката. Книгата обаче се занимава с динозаврите и техните братовчеди като повод (но никога не пропуска да ни запознае с възхищението, изпитвано към тях***). Централният проблем е сблъсъкът на тези оборващи Светото писание доказателства с господстващия светоглед, според който планетата е на 5800 години, създадена е, заедно с живота върху нея, от висша божествена сила само за 6 дни и оттогава нищо върху й не се е изменило; и последвалия дебат, който авторът Майкъл Тейлър обозначава с популярната в момента на запад от нас фраза "културна война". И докато първото поколение геолози и палеонтолози се опитва да помири новите факти с вярата и нейната история за произхода, следващото нерядко къса радикално с глава първа на книга Битие, макар и сравнително рядко да изпада в откровен атеизъм.
"Невъзможни чудовища" бъка от имена - някои дълбоко познати като Чарлс Дарвин, Ричард Оуен (основателят на лондонкия Музей за естествена история), Томас Хъксли (небезизвестния "булдог на Дарвин"); едновременно с това из нея се запознаваме с забележителната Мери Анинг, ловджийката на фосили от Лайм Риджис, либералния теолог Чарлс Кингзли, автор на цитата, с който започнах това ревю, Алфред Ръсел Уолъс, Самюел Уилбърфорс, Чарлс Лайл, Уилям "Страта" Смит, Уилям Бъкланд, Гидеон Мантъл, оставили имената си в историята на науката. Въпреки изобилието от сведения, стилът е гладък и непрепъващ, отделните подтеми са ясно свързани помежду си, не са пропуснати иронията и духовитостта.
Защото тогава си запазвам 1 звезда ли? Защото исках повече динозаври!
* Първите две касаят пряко разказа.
** На което е отделено доста място във въведението. Не го прескачайте.
*** Дори когато възстановките им изглеждат изключително тромаво и неавтентично.
XIX век е период на велики открития (във всяка област на познанието), последвалото от тях възникване на нови науки - геология, палеонтология* и др, както и ускорено развитие на вече съществуващите; на които било писано да променят из основи представите на хората за света, който обитават, неговата същност, произход и и най-вече възраст**. Появата на първите значителни фосили, сред тях делфиноподобният ихтиозавър и дългошиестият плезиозавър, подали се от глинестите шисти и варовици на Дорсет, е катализаторът на процеса, довел до възхода и настоящето властване на науката. Книгата обаче се занимава с динозаврите и техните братовчеди като повод (но никога не пропуска да ни запознае с възхищението, изпитвано към тях***). Централният проблем е сблъсъкът на тези оборващи Светото писание доказателства с господстващия светоглед, според който планетата е на 5800 години, създадена е, заедно с живота върху нея, от висша божествена сила само за 6 дни и оттогава нищо върху й не се е изменило; и последвалия дебат, който авторът Майкъл Тейлър обозначава с популярната в момента на запад от нас фраза "културна война". И докато първото поколение геолози и палеонтолози се опитва да помири новите факти с вярата и нейната история за произхода, следващото нерядко къса радикално с глава първа на книга Битие, макар и сравнително рядко да изпада в откровен атеизъм.
"Невъзможни чудовища" бъка от имена - някои дълбоко познати като Чарлс Дарвин, Ричард Оуен (основателят на лондонкия Музей за естествена история), Томас Хъксли (небезизвестния "булдог на Дарвин"); едновременно с това из нея се запознаваме с забележителната Мери Анинг, ловджийката на фосили от Лайм Риджис, либералния теолог Чарлс Кингзли, автор на цитата, с който започнах това ревю, Алфред Ръсел Уолъс, Самюел Уилбърфорс, Чарлс Лайл, Уилям "Страта" Смит, Уилям Бъкланд, Гидеон Мантъл, оставили имената си в историята на науката. Въпреки изобилието от сведения, стилът е гладък и непрепъващ, отделните подтеми са ясно свързани помежду си, не са пропуснати иронията и духовитостта.
Защото тогава си запазвам 1 звезда ли? Защото исках повече динозаври!
* Първите две касаят пряко разказа.
** На което е отделено доста място във въведението. Не го прескачайте.
*** Дори когато възстановките им изглеждат изключително тромаво и неавтентично.
January 15, 2025
Michael Taylor's Impossible Monsters is a real treat for people who enjoy considering the ways issues/topics can affect other issues/topics. I like reading books about dinosaurs. I also like reading books about the history of religion. This makes Impossible Monsters a two-fer: the discovery of dinos impacting accepted religious belief and religious belief influencing the ways dinosaur fossils were originally understood.
The book has occasional slow spots, but for the most part Taylor keeps readers engaged and ready to turn to the next page. It's the reading equivalent of a multi-course meal, with one delicious item after another.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
The book has occasional slow spots, but for the most part Taylor keeps readers engaged and ready to turn to the next page. It's the reading equivalent of a multi-course meal, with one delicious item after another.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
April 4, 2025
them british scientists were so MESSYYYYY
August 6, 2024
First, let me say that I was impressed with the narrator, James MacCallum. I could tell, just by the tone and volume of his voice, when he was reading a quote and when he was reading a parenthetical (or possibly footnote?) insertion. Quite a talent. For a nonfiction audio book this is important to me.
I also enjoyed the book itself. I knew some of this, but I learned very interesting things about exactly when scientists suspected dinosaurs evolved into birds, what Darwin really thought and said about religion, how the discovery of dinosaurs reinforced the theory of evolution, and more. Solid history read.
I also enjoyed the book itself. I knew some of this, but I learned very interesting things about exactly when scientists suspected dinosaurs evolved into birds, what Darwin really thought and said about religion, how the discovery of dinosaurs reinforced the theory of evolution, and more. Solid history read.
Read
September 8, 2026This will be a more lengthy review, but allow me to make one thing clear, even if you read nothing else that follows: the simple fact is that you do not think about dinosaurs nearly enough.
Over the last few weeks not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought about dinosaurs, and it has been such an astonishing subject for pondering. When (a few years ago) I took a course on cosmology I was forced to dwell upon the stars, and it greatly deepened my awe for God’s creation. Simply thinking about dinosaurs more has now had a similar impact. Seriously—take a step back and consider the fact that in our world there once walked reptiles that were over 50 feet tall. That there were sea creatures truly worthy of the title leviathan. That there were scaled beasts with wingspans up to 36 feet that actually flew. The reality of dinosaurs is one of the most incredible things; 19th century author Charles Kingston was right to say “Did not learned men, too, hold till within the last twenty-five years, that a flying dragon was an impossible monster? And do we not now know that there were hundreds of them found fossil up and down the world? People call them Pterodactyls: but that is only because they are ashamed to call them flying dragons, after so long denying that flying dragons could exist.” And yet dinosaurs have, for most people, been relegated (whether they realize it or not) to merely a children’s fascination which is one day grown out of, or to a sort of pop culture myth. Of course, people know dinosaurs were real, but it’s simply an intellectual acknowledgment, when there should be awe and wonder.
So clearly, dinosaurs are already exciting enough to hook my interest. But even more, the discovery of these prehistoric creatures was entangled with the Christian culture of the time. So not only is this a book about dinosaurs (cool), but it is also a book about the subsequent reaction from Christians who were wrestling with what these discoveries meant (very cool). I was enthralled the entire time, and definitely recommend this work. Below are a few general takeaways from the book:
First, it’s worth noting that Christians themselves contributed to many of the discoveries of dinosaurs. It’s not all that surprising, given that Britain was still a Christian country at the time, but I still find it interesting considering that now many of these discoveries are viewed as so problematic by contemporary Christians.
Second, Christians’ response to the discoveries and subsequent scientific theories often worsened the conflict between science and faith, rather than helping. Too often Christians were quick to speak dogmatically and confidently without sufficient evidence, and often they dug themselves into interpretive holes that were difficult to escape. Of course, secularists are partially responsible for the conflict between science and faith as well, but more blame falls on Christians than I think we’d care to admit.
Third, the discovery of dinosaurs (and other fossils as well) quickly made the case for an old earth basically undeniable. To believe in a young earth is to hold to an 18th century level of science and methodology. Further, the discovery also made the case for evolution extremely compelling, and Christians (regardless of their stance on the matter) need to wrestle with the fact that the evidence is quite strong. Christians today often fail to do this, and instead resort to bad tactics which have been around for centuries. One such tactic is to deny dinosaurs altogether, like Candace Owen’s did when she called dinosaurs “fake and gay” (no, I’m not making this up, she’s really that insane). Another tactic is to acknowledge dinosaurs’ existence, but then just come up with the most ridiculous theories about how they fit into a young earth scheme (Ken Ham’s forte). Either way, both positions struggle when faced with the evidence, and unfortunately these stances are occupied by more than merely a tiny minority of believers.
Fourth, and this was already touched on in the previous point, but many young earth arguments from the 1800s are still used today. Just some food for thought. (This is obviously because they nailed all the arguments perfectly in the 1800s so they haven’t needed to change at all)
All that to say, this was a fun book. If you’ve read this far, let me give you just a small assignment: Next time you are outside imagine a quetzalcoatlus (look it up) with a wingspan of 36 ft soaring far overhead; then be in awe that such an animal truly once existed; consider the wonderfully strange world we dwell in; lastly, give praise God, the creator and sustainer of it all.
Over the last few weeks not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought about dinosaurs, and it has been such an astonishing subject for pondering. When (a few years ago) I took a course on cosmology I was forced to dwell upon the stars, and it greatly deepened my awe for God’s creation. Simply thinking about dinosaurs more has now had a similar impact. Seriously—take a step back and consider the fact that in our world there once walked reptiles that were over 50 feet tall. That there were sea creatures truly worthy of the title leviathan. That there were scaled beasts with wingspans up to 36 feet that actually flew. The reality of dinosaurs is one of the most incredible things; 19th century author Charles Kingston was right to say “Did not learned men, too, hold till within the last twenty-five years, that a flying dragon was an impossible monster? And do we not now know that there were hundreds of them found fossil up and down the world? People call them Pterodactyls: but that is only because they are ashamed to call them flying dragons, after so long denying that flying dragons could exist.” And yet dinosaurs have, for most people, been relegated (whether they realize it or not) to merely a children’s fascination which is one day grown out of, or to a sort of pop culture myth. Of course, people know dinosaurs were real, but it’s simply an intellectual acknowledgment, when there should be awe and wonder.
So clearly, dinosaurs are already exciting enough to hook my interest. But even more, the discovery of these prehistoric creatures was entangled with the Christian culture of the time. So not only is this a book about dinosaurs (cool), but it is also a book about the subsequent reaction from Christians who were wrestling with what these discoveries meant (very cool). I was enthralled the entire time, and definitely recommend this work. Below are a few general takeaways from the book:
First, it’s worth noting that Christians themselves contributed to many of the discoveries of dinosaurs. It’s not all that surprising, given that Britain was still a Christian country at the time, but I still find it interesting considering that now many of these discoveries are viewed as so problematic by contemporary Christians.
Second, Christians’ response to the discoveries and subsequent scientific theories often worsened the conflict between science and faith, rather than helping. Too often Christians were quick to speak dogmatically and confidently without sufficient evidence, and often they dug themselves into interpretive holes that were difficult to escape. Of course, secularists are partially responsible for the conflict between science and faith as well, but more blame falls on Christians than I think we’d care to admit.
Third, the discovery of dinosaurs (and other fossils as well) quickly made the case for an old earth basically undeniable. To believe in a young earth is to hold to an 18th century level of science and methodology. Further, the discovery also made the case for evolution extremely compelling, and Christians (regardless of their stance on the matter) need to wrestle with the fact that the evidence is quite strong. Christians today often fail to do this, and instead resort to bad tactics which have been around for centuries. One such tactic is to deny dinosaurs altogether, like Candace Owen’s did when she called dinosaurs “fake and gay” (no, I’m not making this up, she’s really that insane). Another tactic is to acknowledge dinosaurs’ existence, but then just come up with the most ridiculous theories about how they fit into a young earth scheme (Ken Ham’s forte). Either way, both positions struggle when faced with the evidence, and unfortunately these stances are occupied by more than merely a tiny minority of believers.
Fourth, and this was already touched on in the previous point, but many young earth arguments from the 1800s are still used today. Just some food for thought. (This is obviously because they nailed all the arguments perfectly in the 1800s so they haven’t needed to change at all)
All that to say, this was a fun book. If you’ve read this far, let me give you just a small assignment: Next time you are outside imagine a quetzalcoatlus (look it up) with a wingspan of 36 ft soaring far overhead; then be in awe that such an animal truly once existed; consider the wonderfully strange world we dwell in; lastly, give praise God, the creator and sustainer of it all.
Read
April 2, 2024Darwin once speculated that the first spark of life had originated long ago, ‘perhaps millions of ages before the commencement of the history of mankind’. According to his dark Malthusian vision, the natural world resembled ‘one great slaughter-house, one universal scene of rapacity and injustice’ governed by a simple law: ‘Eat or be eaten!’ That evocative image reeks of Victorian cut-throat capitalism – but it was forged at the end of the 18th century by Erasmus Darwin. Long before his grandson hit the headlines, many naturalists recognised some form of evolutionary theory and agreed that the Bible did not provide an accurate guide to the age of the earth.
Charles Darwin is routinely celebrated as a British hero whose principle of natural selection mirrored society’s industrialisation, but his ideas had older roots. He studied his grandfather’s work closely, and was constantly haunted by this embarrassing ancestor. During the notorious debate at Oxford in 1860, Bishop Wilberforce supposedly taunted Thomas Huxley – Charles Darwin’s ‘bulldog’ – by asking which of his grandparents had descended from an ape, but in his written review of On the Origin of Species, it was Darwin’s own ‘ingenious grandsire’ Erasmus whom he named, shamed and blamed.
Along with many of his contemporaries, this earlier Darwin plays no part in Michael Taylor’s Impossible Monsters. As his rousing title suggests, Taylor has mapped out an exciting if idiosyncratic route through the tangle of 19th-century thought, maintaining that evolution struggled to become accepted in the face of resolute religious opposition. He ‘unapologetically’ sets his story in Britain during the Victorian era, when ‘British opinion often mattered more’ than anybody else’s, and glosses over earlier views that the biblical account of creation failed to account for the geological facts.
Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.
Patricia Fara is an Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.
Charles Darwin is routinely celebrated as a British hero whose principle of natural selection mirrored society’s industrialisation, but his ideas had older roots. He studied his grandfather’s work closely, and was constantly haunted by this embarrassing ancestor. During the notorious debate at Oxford in 1860, Bishop Wilberforce supposedly taunted Thomas Huxley – Charles Darwin’s ‘bulldog’ – by asking which of his grandparents had descended from an ape, but in his written review of On the Origin of Species, it was Darwin’s own ‘ingenious grandsire’ Erasmus whom he named, shamed and blamed.
Along with many of his contemporaries, this earlier Darwin plays no part in Michael Taylor’s Impossible Monsters. As his rousing title suggests, Taylor has mapped out an exciting if idiosyncratic route through the tangle of 19th-century thought, maintaining that evolution struggled to become accepted in the face of resolute religious opposition. He ‘unapologetically’ sets his story in Britain during the Victorian era, when ‘British opinion often mattered more’ than anybody else’s, and glosses over earlier views that the biblical account of creation failed to account for the geological facts.
Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.
Patricia Fara is an Emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.
June 15, 2024
Книжка про те, як наука звільнялася від домінування релігії. Читається як пригодницький роман :)
October 18, 2025
4.5 stars
this book begins where many forget. this book begins with twelve year old mary anning rummaging on the west country shoreline. this book begins with mary anning’s ichthyosaur, and the road she paved for the entire field of evolution, for earth science and biology.
this is not a book *about* mary anning, but it is one which gives her more credit than many.
as someone who works in the paleo sciences, i found this was a very well researched and accessible journey through the emergence of evolutionary thought and the impact that had on religion, science and politics throughout europe as well as further afield.
i may come back and write something longer, but i think this is an incredibly well compiled text that walks the reader through how huge swathes of this planet’s 4.04 billion years. whether your interest is the science, the politics, or the religion, i highly recommend this book.
this book begins where many forget. this book begins with twelve year old mary anning rummaging on the west country shoreline. this book begins with mary anning’s ichthyosaur, and the road she paved for the entire field of evolution, for earth science and biology.
this is not a book *about* mary anning, but it is one which gives her more credit than many.
as someone who works in the paleo sciences, i found this was a very well researched and accessible journey through the emergence of evolutionary thought and the impact that had on religion, science and politics throughout europe as well as further afield.
i may come back and write something longer, but i think this is an incredibly well compiled text that walks the reader through how huge swathes of this planet’s 4.04 billion years. whether your interest is the science, the politics, or the religion, i highly recommend this book.
March 14, 2025
This book is a lot of book. Putting it better this is three books in a trench coat trying to be a book. It’s about the history of the discovery of dinosaurs/fossils but it’s also about the history of the theory of evolution but it’s also about the history of the fight between science and religion in the United Kingdom. It’s a lot.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the book for the most part. There were a lot of really fascinating points in the writing. I love reading about the history of dinosaurs and fossils and how they were discovered. The history of the theory of evolution was mostly interesting. And the history of the battle between science and religion had some good parts. Can you tell which of the books in this book I liked more?
While there were interesting parts in this there were a lot of places that actively struggled to keep my attention. I had the audiobook version of this and there were multiple parts that I had to listen to again (sometimes multiple times) because I would suddenly realize that my brain had shut down a bit ago and I had no idea what was going on anymore. Most of this was well written but some parts were very dense and once again it took a couple relistens for me to catch what was going on.
I struggle to decide if I recommend this. If you’re in it for the fossil history I definitely do but other than that I’m not sure. Overall giving this a basic 3 stars and moving on with my reading year.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked the book for the most part. There were a lot of really fascinating points in the writing. I love reading about the history of dinosaurs and fossils and how they were discovered. The history of the theory of evolution was mostly interesting. And the history of the battle between science and religion had some good parts. Can you tell which of the books in this book I liked more?
While there were interesting parts in this there were a lot of places that actively struggled to keep my attention. I had the audiobook version of this and there were multiple parts that I had to listen to again (sometimes multiple times) because I would suddenly realize that my brain had shut down a bit ago and I had no idea what was going on anymore. Most of this was well written but some parts were very dense and once again it took a couple relistens for me to catch what was going on.
I struggle to decide if I recommend this. If you’re in it for the fossil history I definitely do but other than that I’m not sure. Overall giving this a basic 3 stars and moving on with my reading year.
February 1, 2026
A book about dinosaurs and the Victorian crisis of faith seemed just up my alley, and a historian from the British Bible Belt seemed just the man to write it. But it’s not deep enough, not analytical enough, it even loses track of the main threads of its story. For example: chapter 5 discusses the publication of Lyell’s Principles and how Lyell took pains to avoid a conservative backlash; the next substantive mention of Lyell, chapter 8, takes for granted that there had been a conservative backlash in explaining an anti-Lyellite creationist work. Why did Lyell’s techniques for avoiding backlash fail? Did they fail, or were the backlashers in the minority? Was Lyell eclipsed, or did he keep his popularity? Only among the liberally inclined, or among everyone? These questions receive not even the hint of an answer; and similar questions appear every other page. An extraordinarily sad paragraph in the acknowledgments makes clear that Taylor had really awful mental health during the research for this book. Poor guy, I hope he’s ok now; but—and I really don’t mean to be insensitive, but—it does just seem he wasn’t well enough to do all the research that this story demands.
August 10, 2024
Simply a superb and often gripping narrative account of the rise of secularism in 19th century Britain. The main battleground in the 21st century in the contested ground between science and religion is now the US, but the battle lines were drawn in Britain. Among other things I certainly learned a few things about British political history from this riveting read.
December 6, 2024
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
It was dense, full of so much history, science, and commentary.
It was dense, full of so much history, science, and commentary.
July 28, 2026
3.5 stars; I find the history of science an absolutely fascinating topic, and this book taught me a lot about the history of palaeontology in England that I knew absolutely nothing about. However, there were a handful of minor errors or oversights in the text and I found that certain topics could have been discussed with more depth and detail than they currently were, whereas other parts could have been significantly shorter. Altogether it was still a really fun read though, definitely would recommend.
September 9, 2024
For me this fell into a category of historical book where each chapter felt like new names and a new place but the same point. Wasn’t my thing.
November 4, 2025
I didn’t realize when I started reading that this is primarily a history book rather than a paleontology book (but that’s on me for not reading the summary carefully enough). It can be rather dense and pedantic at times, especially towards the beginning — a bit more like a formal essay than a work of “popular history”. That, combined with my wilted attention span and a couple breaks to read other books, led to Impossible Monsters taking a little while for me to get through. But as I made more progress, I started to get way more into it. It was interesting to see how these deep-seated religious beliefs evolved and clashed with the infancy of science and secular thinking, and how the discovery of fossils played a central role. It’s obvious that this book was very well-researched. I particularly enjoyed the passages and quotes that really fleshed out the people who lived and died during these times and made them seem like more than just names in a textbook. We now live in a much better time for science, agnosticism/atheism, and free thinking, but after reading about some of the things that happened back in the 18th and 19th centuries, it’s funny to see that in some ways people haven’t changed at all.
August 10, 2025
An excellent, illuminating, and entertaining history of the intellectual revolution of popular science in Victorian England. The discovery of dinosaurs is the jumping off point, but not the main subject (I was duped!) The true focus is the steady unravelling of Creationism and how Britain went, in less than a century, from a highly devout, Anglican, society which believed in a literal Genesis; to one that accepted evolution, palaeontology and the existence and extinction of fantastical monsters, and that the earth was in fact many millions of years old. It’s well structured around five key sections, each with a small cast of lynchpin figures, and the author Michael Taylor focuses on the people behind the discoveries: Mary Anning, Mantel, Darwin, Owen and Huxley. It’s richly engaging and really brightly told: proof again that history can be told with the vigour of a novel.
April 5, 2026
A very well written and interesting book, consisting of 5 parts. Especially parts 3 through 5 managed to constantly keep me engaged and interested. However, and I hope this does not make me sound heartless, I just could not bring myself to care about many of the (quite extensively written) backstories of people featured in the beginning of the book (largely in parts 1 and 2). This slightly worsened the pacing of the beginning of the book for me. For this I retracted one star. But overall I would definitely recommend this great work on history, science and religion.
November 30, 2024
Loved it. Taylor brings to life how one day not so long ago (truly not long ago - particularly in the scheme of our 4.4b old rock), a whole heap of bones got dug up pointing to the existing of an alien past full of inconceivable beings / impossible monsters. Who knows how this would be comprehended today.
I suspect theists are still struggling to square all this.
I suspect theists are still struggling to square all this.
May 7, 2024
Stupendous read, detailing the early nineteenth century onwards growing schism between previously paired realms of religion and science. Impeccably researched, fascinating, funny and a joy learn from. Has the captivating snare of fiction whilst equally demonstrating its scientific merits and credentials. Hugely recommended.
September 5, 2025
A fascinating history of the resistance scientific discoveries faced at a time when the Protestant Church was all-powerful.
Justice for Mary Anning
Justice for Mary Anning
June 7, 2026
3.5 stars
April 25, 2024
A fascinating read.
July 25, 2025
An especially fun read for someone who was still raised to believe the earth is 6000 years old 👍
August 1, 2025
LOVED 🦖🦕🦖🦕🦖🦕🦖🦕🦖🦕🦖
Justice for Mary Anning!!
Need to visit the natural history museum again soon 🧠🧠🧠
Justice for Mary Anning!!
Need to visit the natural history museum again soon 🧠🧠🧠
April 1, 2024
Lost some steam in the last third or so.
January 27, 2025
I enjoyed this book, but it won't appeal to probably a majority of people.
I liked the way the book was organized: he focused on a specific period of time, and a relatively small number of people, which kept the book pretty concise. He segued between the people and the time periods very well. I also liked the way he wove in cultural / societal events to give a more complete picture of what was happening in Britain while these culture wars between science and religion were happening. Finally, although focusing mostly on Britain, he recognizes and acknowledges the work being done in other parts of the world, and that the United States ended up contributing the most fossils.
While only 334 pages in length, there is a lot of information packed in and some of it is a little dry and/or quite detailed. So, the reader must enjoy this type of writing and be patient working through parts of it. It's a book that takes time to read, but it is very enjoyable and I learned so much. Taylor did a great job of making the "characters" come alive. I also really appreciated that, where possible, he included women and the contributions they made to the fields of geology and paleontology. This ranged from actively discovering fossils (Anning) to the wives of several of the men whose contributions might "only" have been transcribing their husband's works or supervising their physical health. It was refreshing that Taylor saw and acknowledged these contributions.
I liked the way the book was organized: he focused on a specific period of time, and a relatively small number of people, which kept the book pretty concise. He segued between the people and the time periods very well. I also liked the way he wove in cultural / societal events to give a more complete picture of what was happening in Britain while these culture wars between science and religion were happening. Finally, although focusing mostly on Britain, he recognizes and acknowledges the work being done in other parts of the world, and that the United States ended up contributing the most fossils.
While only 334 pages in length, there is a lot of information packed in and some of it is a little dry and/or quite detailed. So, the reader must enjoy this type of writing and be patient working through parts of it. It's a book that takes time to read, but it is very enjoyable and I learned so much. Taylor did a great job of making the "characters" come alive. I also really appreciated that, where possible, he included women and the contributions they made to the fields of geology and paleontology. This ranged from actively discovering fossils (Anning) to the wives of several of the men whose contributions might "only" have been transcribing their husband's works or supervising their physical health. It was refreshing that Taylor saw and acknowledged these contributions.
March 12, 2025
This book is not so much about the history of the actual creatures discussed (mainly dinosaurs), but more about the history of paleontology and how the fascination about old fossils spurred some seriously intense debates about science, history and religion. Starting from a family living near the English seashore in the early 19th century, the book goes in chronological order as different figures saw different things about the bones in question. Some saw a new vision of the past, one that threw previously held assumptions out the window. Yet, others saw these bones as a major threat to the religious order that held sway over much of humanity. The book brings in the works of Darwin, evolution and ends with the “Bone Wars” in the American West to close out the 19th century/start of the 20th.
Overall, an engaging read about the story of those who tried to tell the story of the past. The twists and turns of the debates of religion vs science would not seem so out of place in the 21st century. Overall, a very readable book that will be well worth the time invested in it (be it audiobook or hard/e-copy).
Overall, an engaging read about the story of those who tried to tell the story of the past. The twists and turns of the debates of religion vs science would not seem so out of place in the 21st century. Overall, a very readable book that will be well worth the time invested in it (be it audiobook or hard/e-copy).
April 8, 2025
My rule of thumb is 100 pages, if a book doesn't grip me by page 101 I go to the next one.
This, was one of those times.
The premise is strong; the events in the 1820s to 1860s that led to discoveries of fossils standing in the face of the established historical narrative based on biblical understanding.
What I found was that the book is littered with mini biographies of the individuals who partook in said discoveries.
It wasn't engaging to me but amatuer paleontologists, geologists and historians will be thrilled.
This, was one of those times.
The premise is strong; the events in the 1820s to 1860s that led to discoveries of fossils standing in the face of the established historical narrative based on biblical understanding.
What I found was that the book is littered with mini biographies of the individuals who partook in said discoveries.
It wasn't engaging to me but amatuer paleontologists, geologists and historians will be thrilled.
July 23, 2025
It is hard for us to appreciate how much courage, stubbornness and contrariness it took to argue in favor of Darwin's theories in 19th century England. This is a history of that battle of ideas from 1810, when the first recognized dinosaur bones were discovered in England, to Darwin's death in 1882.
Taylor starts with a prologue about Archbishop Ussher who discovered in 1650, by biblical and historical analysis, that the world was created on the night on October 22-23, 4004 BC. His date was adopted by the Church of England. It appeared as the definitive date in most bibles.
In most modern books, Archbishop Ussher is a figure of fun, particularly because of the definiteness of his dating. Taylor argues that he was a respected and learned authority. He used techniques that were widely accepted. He was considered a reliable and sensible expert. He is typical of the weight of authority that scientist had to battle with when they changed the story of the history of the world.
Taylor traces two interconnected stories. A collection of amateurs and scientist began in the early 1800s to discover large unknown bones from animals that were extinct. The Church did not believe that God made mistakes, and therefore there should be no extinct animals. The evidence began to pile up from around the world that these unknown animals existed.
Taylor makes the story exciting. He is good at character sketches of the strong personalities, and he tells a good story. For example, he describes a meeting of the Royal Geological Society in 1824. "On that late winter's evening in February 1824, Buckland achieved a first in human history; he had described a dinosaur."
The second story is the development of the theory of evolution. He traces Darwin's very slow development of the theory and the push he gets from the simultaneous discovery by Wallace. The religious opposition is fierce. God created the species perfectly. They did not change or evolve.
Taylor shows that throughout this period, there was real risk to challenging Christianity. In the early part of the century publishers were being jailed for publishing blasphemy which challenged the teaching of the Church. When Darwin began publishing his ideas, men were losing prestigious jobs because they were challenging accepted religious dogma.
By the 1880s the stories merge. The robust dinosaur evidence provided strong evidence of evolution of species. The Church was also rapidly losing its power in England. The dinosaur hunters were now battling each other about dinosaur theories and for credit for new discoveries
This is a deeply researched book, but Taylor is a pleasure to read. He seems to be enjoying himself. I chuckled at this turn of phrase, "James Parkinson, the doctor who described the eponymous palsy...". I laughed when he did it again 250 pages later when discussing, "Charles Bell, who had described the eponymous palsy..."
Besides a fascinating story, the book is filled with interesting stuff.
There was a group of "scriptural geologist" who fought the new ideas.
William Buckland, one of the first scientist to study dinosaurs, "set himself the mission of tasting every animal on Earth." A guest complained about a crocodile dish he was served but he enjoyed the "delicate toast of mice."
The child's rhyme about "She sell seashells by the seashore." is about Mary Anning of Lyme Regis, England. She was one of the first dinosaur bone hunters. She made some important discoveries, and she sold the shells and bones she discovered at the seashore to scientists and museums.
Here is a good line. Gideon Mantell, "with no sense of irony, dined with Edward Bulwer-Lytton on a "wet and stormy " night." (Look up "dark and stormy night")
Samuel Wilberforce, the Bishop of Oxford was a virulent enemy of Darwin and his ideas. He was known as "Soapy Sam" because Benjamin Disraeli had described him as "unctuous, oleaginous and saponaceous". "Saponaceous" means soapy.
English Vocabulary. Richard Owen, a Darwin opponent, "resigned in a strop". "Strop" in English slang is a bad mood or temper tantrum.
This is my favorite type of nonfiction. An important story is well told. The author has wit and style. I learned something and enjoyed myself.
Taylor starts with a prologue about Archbishop Ussher who discovered in 1650, by biblical and historical analysis, that the world was created on the night on October 22-23, 4004 BC. His date was adopted by the Church of England. It appeared as the definitive date in most bibles.
In most modern books, Archbishop Ussher is a figure of fun, particularly because of the definiteness of his dating. Taylor argues that he was a respected and learned authority. He used techniques that were widely accepted. He was considered a reliable and sensible expert. He is typical of the weight of authority that scientist had to battle with when they changed the story of the history of the world.
Taylor traces two interconnected stories. A collection of amateurs and scientist began in the early 1800s to discover large unknown bones from animals that were extinct. The Church did not believe that God made mistakes, and therefore there should be no extinct animals. The evidence began to pile up from around the world that these unknown animals existed.
Taylor makes the story exciting. He is good at character sketches of the strong personalities, and he tells a good story. For example, he describes a meeting of the Royal Geological Society in 1824. "On that late winter's evening in February 1824, Buckland achieved a first in human history; he had described a dinosaur."
The second story is the development of the theory of evolution. He traces Darwin's very slow development of the theory and the push he gets from the simultaneous discovery by Wallace. The religious opposition is fierce. God created the species perfectly. They did not change or evolve.
Taylor shows that throughout this period, there was real risk to challenging Christianity. In the early part of the century publishers were being jailed for publishing blasphemy which challenged the teaching of the Church. When Darwin began publishing his ideas, men were losing prestigious jobs because they were challenging accepted religious dogma.
By the 1880s the stories merge. The robust dinosaur evidence provided strong evidence of evolution of species. The Church was also rapidly losing its power in England. The dinosaur hunters were now battling each other about dinosaur theories and for credit for new discoveries
This is a deeply researched book, but Taylor is a pleasure to read. He seems to be enjoying himself. I chuckled at this turn of phrase, "James Parkinson, the doctor who described the eponymous palsy...". I laughed when he did it again 250 pages later when discussing, "Charles Bell, who had described the eponymous palsy..."
Besides a fascinating story, the book is filled with interesting stuff.
There was a group of "scriptural geologist" who fought the new ideas.
William Buckland, one of the first scientist to study dinosaurs, "set himself the mission of tasting every animal on Earth." A guest complained about a crocodile dish he was served but he enjoyed the "delicate toast of mice."
The child's rhyme about "She sell seashells by the seashore." is about Mary Anning of Lyme Regis, England. She was one of the first dinosaur bone hunters. She made some important discoveries, and she sold the shells and bones she discovered at the seashore to scientists and museums.
Here is a good line. Gideon Mantell, "with no sense of irony, dined with Edward Bulwer-Lytton on a "wet and stormy " night." (Look up "dark and stormy night")
Samuel Wilberforce, the Bishop of Oxford was a virulent enemy of Darwin and his ideas. He was known as "Soapy Sam" because Benjamin Disraeli had described him as "unctuous, oleaginous and saponaceous". "Saponaceous" means soapy.
English Vocabulary. Richard Owen, a Darwin opponent, "resigned in a strop". "Strop" in English slang is a bad mood or temper tantrum.
This is my favorite type of nonfiction. An important story is well told. The author has wit and style. I learned something and enjoyed myself.
February 12, 2025
he Ambitions of the Monstrous: A Review of Impossible Monsters by Michael Taylor
There is an old adage, passed down from history’s more cynical observers, that power corrupts. This truism, which has launched a thousand freshman philosophy essays, is generally accepted with the same lazy assent that people offer to platitudes about the weather. What is rarer, and far more valuable, is a book that does not merely recite this observation but interrogates it with the precision of a scalpel and the curiosity of an archaeologist unearthing an uncomfortable truth.
Michael Taylor’s Impossible Monsters is such a book. It is an inquiry into the psychology of ambition, the elasticity of moral compromise, and the ways in which civilization, with its pretensions to order, often acts as an incubator for those it professes to abhor. This is a book that does not ask whether monsters are real but instead suggests that monstrosity may be an inevitable byproduct of the systems we have built.
A Study of Power and the Psychology of the Monstrous
Taylor’s thesis—or at least the thread that winds its way through this searching, elegantly constructed book—is that the monsters of history, of politics, and of the boardroom do not emerge fully formed from the abyss. Instead, they are sculpted by circumstances, nudged along by incentives, and, most unsettlingly, often celebrated before they are condemned.
Taylor does not settle for easy answers. He does not moralize, nor does he stoop to the sort of overheated denunciations that fill the airwaves of our time. Instead, he examines the phenomenon of the “monstrous” with a calm, forensic patience. In this, he recalls the tradition of writers who understand that history’s villains were often, at least for a time, seen as its visionaries.
It is to Taylor’s credit that his prose is not merely insightful but wickedly precise. He writes with the sort of disciplined elegance that suggests a mind allergic to cliché. His sentences unfurl with the kind of crisp authority that demands the reader’s full attention—no skimming allowed.
A Catalog of the Monstrous, or an Indictment of Us All?
The book is at its most compelling when Taylor turns his gaze toward the uncomfortable reality that societies, in their pursuit of greatness, often cultivate their own destruction. He does not offer a parade of easy villains, nor does he traffic in the sort of overwrought historical analogies that are the refuge of lazier commentators. Instead, he shows how the incentives of power tend to reward traits that, in hindsight, we prefer to denounce rather than acknowledge.
One is reminded, reading Taylor’s case studies, of the old Chestertonian observation that “there are no uninteresting subjects, only uninterested people.” In Taylor’s hands, even well-worn themes—ambition, corruption, the moral hazard of unchecked influence—become newly illuminating. He forces the reader to reconsider not just the nature of those we call “monsters” but the conditions that made them possible in the first place.
A Book to Ponder, and Perhaps to Fear
It is difficult to read Impossible Monsters without an uneasy sense that its lessons are as relevant to our time as they are to the past. If history’s greatest transgressors were not always seen as villains in their own time, then what does that say about our own era? Are the celebrated figures of today merely the cautionary tales of tomorrow?
Taylor does not answer this question outright. He does something more valuable: he forces the reader to ask it for themselves.
In an age where the term “monstrous” is applied with reckless abandon, often as a substitute for deeper thought, Impossible Monsters demands a more precise reckoning. It is not an easy book, nor is it a comforting one. But it is, unmistakably, an important one.
And in the end, that may be the most unsettling revelation of all.
There is an old adage, passed down from history’s more cynical observers, that power corrupts. This truism, which has launched a thousand freshman philosophy essays, is generally accepted with the same lazy assent that people offer to platitudes about the weather. What is rarer, and far more valuable, is a book that does not merely recite this observation but interrogates it with the precision of a scalpel and the curiosity of an archaeologist unearthing an uncomfortable truth.
Michael Taylor’s Impossible Monsters is such a book. It is an inquiry into the psychology of ambition, the elasticity of moral compromise, and the ways in which civilization, with its pretensions to order, often acts as an incubator for those it professes to abhor. This is a book that does not ask whether monsters are real but instead suggests that monstrosity may be an inevitable byproduct of the systems we have built.
A Study of Power and the Psychology of the Monstrous
Taylor’s thesis—or at least the thread that winds its way through this searching, elegantly constructed book—is that the monsters of history, of politics, and of the boardroom do not emerge fully formed from the abyss. Instead, they are sculpted by circumstances, nudged along by incentives, and, most unsettlingly, often celebrated before they are condemned.
Taylor does not settle for easy answers. He does not moralize, nor does he stoop to the sort of overheated denunciations that fill the airwaves of our time. Instead, he examines the phenomenon of the “monstrous” with a calm, forensic patience. In this, he recalls the tradition of writers who understand that history’s villains were often, at least for a time, seen as its visionaries.
It is to Taylor’s credit that his prose is not merely insightful but wickedly precise. He writes with the sort of disciplined elegance that suggests a mind allergic to cliché. His sentences unfurl with the kind of crisp authority that demands the reader’s full attention—no skimming allowed.
A Catalog of the Monstrous, or an Indictment of Us All?
The book is at its most compelling when Taylor turns his gaze toward the uncomfortable reality that societies, in their pursuit of greatness, often cultivate their own destruction. He does not offer a parade of easy villains, nor does he traffic in the sort of overwrought historical analogies that are the refuge of lazier commentators. Instead, he shows how the incentives of power tend to reward traits that, in hindsight, we prefer to denounce rather than acknowledge.
One is reminded, reading Taylor’s case studies, of the old Chestertonian observation that “there are no uninteresting subjects, only uninterested people.” In Taylor’s hands, even well-worn themes—ambition, corruption, the moral hazard of unchecked influence—become newly illuminating. He forces the reader to reconsider not just the nature of those we call “monsters” but the conditions that made them possible in the first place.
A Book to Ponder, and Perhaps to Fear
It is difficult to read Impossible Monsters without an uneasy sense that its lessons are as relevant to our time as they are to the past. If history’s greatest transgressors were not always seen as villains in their own time, then what does that say about our own era? Are the celebrated figures of today merely the cautionary tales of tomorrow?
Taylor does not answer this question outright. He does something more valuable: he forces the reader to ask it for themselves.
In an age where the term “monstrous” is applied with reckless abandon, often as a substitute for deeper thought, Impossible Monsters demands a more precise reckoning. It is not an easy book, nor is it a comforting one. But it is, unmistakably, an important one.
And in the end, that may be the most unsettling revelation of all.
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