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Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found
Over 65 million years ago in what is now South Dakota, a battle-scarred Tyrannosaurus rex matriarch -- perhaps mortally wounded in a ferocious fight -- fell into the riverbed and died. In 1990 her skeleton was found, virtually complete, in what many have called the most spectacular dinosaur fossil discovery to date.And then another battle began -- a "survival of the fittest" free-for-all involving commercial dinosaur hunters, gun-toting law officers, an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Native American tribe, jealous academics, an enterprising auction house, major museums, and corporate giants, all making their claim for the dinosaur named Sue. Before it was over, there would be claims and counterclaims; charges of checkbook-polluted science, criminal larceny, and vengeful prosecutions; and devastating prison terms. And the gavel would come down on the largest-ever ($8.36 million) auction price tag for a fossil, paid by Chicago's Field Museum, with help from Disney and McDonald's.Capturing the whole range of characters and issues embroiled in the fight for Sue, Steve Fiffer communicates both the excitement over Sue's discovery and the motivations, maneuverings, and absurdities of the various forces attempting to control her destiny.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
May 20, 2024
A specimen of surpassing beauty, Sue can stun into silence even the most jaded and cynical senior scientist. The story has heartbreaking twists and turns, betrayals and palace intrigues, terrible moments of justice gone wrong when the best intentions were rewarded by calumny and imprisonment. Then there are unlikely protagonists: squads of fourth-grade children from Hill City, South Dakota, who tearfully pleaded with the FBI not to take their beloved tyrannosaur away; McDonald's and Disney, who rushed in their forces to save the skeleton from the ignominious fate of becoming the personal trinket of some international financier. As the most perfect T. Rex ever found, Sue belongs to the world.
I adored Raptor Red, a book centered around a Utahraptor. Now, I'm completely engrossed in Tyrannosaurus Sue and thoroughly enjoying learning about these fascinating female dinosaurs.
He could catch a glimpse of the container through an outside window. "I'd just stand there and talk to her," Peter Larson remembers. "I'd say, 'We're gonna get you out of here, Sue. Be patient. Everything's going to be okay.'" Larson, who was in his early forties, did not expect Sue, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex, to respond. Dinosaurs talk only in movies or on television or in theme parks. Still, something in his bones told the paleontologist that he had to reassure Sue that she would survive this ordeal, this indignity, just as she had survived numerous battles with other dinosaurs while alive, just as her skeleton had survived millennia upon millennia of climactic change and chaos virtually intact.
Only 11 other Tyrannosaurus rex had ever been discovered. She was the find of his life, the find of anyone's life—the largest, most complete (90 percent) T. rex ever unearthed. And while she could not talk, she had been telling him remarkable stories over the 21 months since his colleague Sue Hendrickson had first spotted her on August 12, 1990. Her bones offered clues to determining her sex and the sex of other dinosaurs, as well as the usefulness of their upper appendages. Her fibula, which had been broken and then healed over, seemed to indicate that she had survived a crippling injury that would have rendered her unable to fend for herself for a lengthy period of time. Her partially damaged skull indicated that she may have lost her life in combat. Foreign remains in her midsection even revealed her last supper before death a duck-billed dinosaur. So to Larson, who had known he was going to be a paleontologist since he had found his first fossil at age 4, Sue was alive in her own way. She had a name, she had a personality, and she had a history. She was, to him at least, priceless.
Sue was found by explorer and paleontologist Sue Hendrickson and her golden retriever named Skywalker.
Poor Sue (the dinosaur, not the paleontologist) found herself caught in a lengthy custody dispute involving Peter Larson, the Cheyenne River Tribe, and the government. The local community was heartbroken when Sue was seized by the FBI, leading to passionate protests. Children were seen shedding tears while clutching signs, and adults drove around in cars adorned with 'Free Sue' banners.
Sue's skeleton traveled through many locations before finding a permanent home at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Resy easy, Sue. You are just as formidable in death as you were in life.
I adored Raptor Red, a book centered around a Utahraptor. Now, I'm completely engrossed in Tyrannosaurus Sue and thoroughly enjoying learning about these fascinating female dinosaurs.
He could catch a glimpse of the container through an outside window. "I'd just stand there and talk to her," Peter Larson remembers. "I'd say, 'We're gonna get you out of here, Sue. Be patient. Everything's going to be okay.'" Larson, who was in his early forties, did not expect Sue, a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex, to respond. Dinosaurs talk only in movies or on television or in theme parks. Still, something in his bones told the paleontologist that he had to reassure Sue that she would survive this ordeal, this indignity, just as she had survived numerous battles with other dinosaurs while alive, just as her skeleton had survived millennia upon millennia of climactic change and chaos virtually intact.
Only 11 other Tyrannosaurus rex had ever been discovered. She was the find of his life, the find of anyone's life—the largest, most complete (90 percent) T. rex ever unearthed. And while she could not talk, she had been telling him remarkable stories over the 21 months since his colleague Sue Hendrickson had first spotted her on August 12, 1990. Her bones offered clues to determining her sex and the sex of other dinosaurs, as well as the usefulness of their upper appendages. Her fibula, which had been broken and then healed over, seemed to indicate that she had survived a crippling injury that would have rendered her unable to fend for herself for a lengthy period of time. Her partially damaged skull indicated that she may have lost her life in combat. Foreign remains in her midsection even revealed her last supper before death a duck-billed dinosaur. So to Larson, who had known he was going to be a paleontologist since he had found his first fossil at age 4, Sue was alive in her own way. She had a name, she had a personality, and she had a history. She was, to him at least, priceless.
Sue was found by explorer and paleontologist Sue Hendrickson and her golden retriever named Skywalker.
Poor Sue (the dinosaur, not the paleontologist) found herself caught in a lengthy custody dispute involving Peter Larson, the Cheyenne River Tribe, and the government. The local community was heartbroken when Sue was seized by the FBI, leading to passionate protests. Children were seen shedding tears while clutching signs, and adults drove around in cars adorned with 'Free Sue' banners.
Sue's skeleton traveled through many locations before finding a permanent home at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Resy easy, Sue. You are just as formidable in death as you were in life.
May 19, 2011
Discovered by Sue Hendrickson and Peter Larson (president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research) in the wastelands of South Dakota, the largest T-Rex had survived millions of years, Sue’s last meal was some kind of platypus. She was also the subject of multiple lawsuits and a Sotherby’s auction. (She sold for millions and Larson could only participate from his house where remained under house arrest.) Larson wound up in prison, Sioux Indians claimed ownership, the government claimed ownership. Larson had paid the land owner on which Sue was found about $5,000. It was a mess.
Henrickson is a field paleontologist (she’s also the world’s leading procurer of amber) who was searching near Faith, South Dakota. She’s somewhat of an Indianette Jones and has a real knack for finding things. Of the six butterflies in amber in the world, she found 3 of them.
Larson’s problems began soon after the world learned of the discovery and monetary valuations were proposed, many ranging as high as $1 million. The Sioux claimed the skeleton had been stolen from their land, Williams, the land owner, insisted the $5,000 was only for the right to dig, not for anything found, Hill City, South Dakota was building its hopes for economic revival on the presence of a museum in their little town, famous mostly for a large drug store. Because the owner, Maurice Williams, had put his land into a federal trust, the feds got involved. Soon after Williams claimed ownership, the FBI showed up with a warrant to seize all the bones. (I can just imagine the care with which a couple of black shirts treated the bones.) That really pissed off Hill City, an area in which most of the federal government is treated with more than a little suspicion.
Soon there was a battle royale among the academicians, the feds, and commercial fossil hunters. The academics argued that the commercial hunters were interested only in money, not science, should never be allowed on federal land, and didn’t know what they were doing. The commercial types pointed out that most of the great finds were found by those wanting to profit from their finds and that if it were left to the professoriate, most of the great finds of the past two hundred years would never have been retrieved. Not to mention that many well-known paleontologists lauded the fossil hunters for the care and expertise they showed in handling rare fossils. Cynics took the position that each side just wanted to retain all the rights for themselves. Throw in a D.A. who was thinking of running for office and needed the publicity and you have all the ingredients for a nasty fight.
Larson was eventually convicted of custom’s violations (on the intake form the charge is formally listed as -- “failing to fill out forms” -- and served two years in federal prison in what has to be one of the great travesties and wastage of money. The trial itself was the longest in South Dakota history. Williams was awarded ownership (screwing the Indians again) and he sold Sue to the Field Museum in Chicago for $8.5 million. One interesting, if perhaps depressing element, of the trial was that according to a Supreme Court decision, judges could use evidence presented at trial in sentencing even if the defendant had been acquitted on charges related to that evidence That’s spooky. So Larson was convicted only on failing to report travelers’ checks in excess of $10,000 when he returned from Peru into the United States, a misdemeanor. But because the judge was able to use all the evidence presented, he decided that Larson was part of a largely criminal conspiracy to steal fossils and therefore could be subject to much harsher sentencing. **
Feiffer relates a substantial number of stories and events related to the history of palaeontology. Including some famous hoaxes. I particularly enjoyed reading about the Cardiff Giant. Feiffer identifies the culprit as an agnostic farmer (the Wikipaedia says it was George Hull, a NY atheist tobacconist) who was infuriated by local Methodist revivals claiming giants once walked the earth as noted in Genesis. He build a giant man, let it age for a year, then had it buried on his cousin’s farm and later arranged to have it “discovered” while digging a well. He set up an exhibit and started charging admission. Christian preachers declared its validity and a validation of the Bible. Most scholars declared it a fake but that did not detract from its curiosity and Hull sold his interest in the statue for $23,000. P.T. Barnum wanted in on it and offered the new owners $50,000, a huge sum at the time. They turned him down so he created a replica and declared it the “real” Cardiff Giant. Soon Barnum and the Cardiff syndicate accused each other of having fakes. Hull revealed his hoax and a judge ruled that each could not be sued for calling a fake a fake. The two fakes are now in small town museums, each accusing the other of having the wrong (fake?) fake. Priceless.
**I believe the case referred to but not cited is United States v Watts: “the Court held that a jury's verdict of acquittal does not prevent a sentencing court from considering a defendant's conduct underlying the acquitted charge, so long as that conduct has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen G. Breyer concurred. Dissenting, Justice John Paul Stevens argued that the additional offense should have been required to have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt for sentencing purposes, where a defendant's sentence was lengthened. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, also dissenting, expressed the view that the cases should have been set for full briefing and consideration.” (see http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1...)
This, of course, gives a great deal of power to the judge, but I suspect we wold all have applauded such power if used to reverse jury acquittal verdicts in lynching cases decades ago.
Henrickson is a field paleontologist (she’s also the world’s leading procurer of amber) who was searching near Faith, South Dakota. She’s somewhat of an Indianette Jones and has a real knack for finding things. Of the six butterflies in amber in the world, she found 3 of them.
Larson’s problems began soon after the world learned of the discovery and monetary valuations were proposed, many ranging as high as $1 million. The Sioux claimed the skeleton had been stolen from their land, Williams, the land owner, insisted the $5,000 was only for the right to dig, not for anything found, Hill City, South Dakota was building its hopes for economic revival on the presence of a museum in their little town, famous mostly for a large drug store. Because the owner, Maurice Williams, had put his land into a federal trust, the feds got involved. Soon after Williams claimed ownership, the FBI showed up with a warrant to seize all the bones. (I can just imagine the care with which a couple of black shirts treated the bones.) That really pissed off Hill City, an area in which most of the federal government is treated with more than a little suspicion.
Soon there was a battle royale among the academicians, the feds, and commercial fossil hunters. The academics argued that the commercial hunters were interested only in money, not science, should never be allowed on federal land, and didn’t know what they were doing. The commercial types pointed out that most of the great finds were found by those wanting to profit from their finds and that if it were left to the professoriate, most of the great finds of the past two hundred years would never have been retrieved. Not to mention that many well-known paleontologists lauded the fossil hunters for the care and expertise they showed in handling rare fossils. Cynics took the position that each side just wanted to retain all the rights for themselves. Throw in a D.A. who was thinking of running for office and needed the publicity and you have all the ingredients for a nasty fight.
Larson was eventually convicted of custom’s violations (on the intake form the charge is formally listed as -- “failing to fill out forms” -- and served two years in federal prison in what has to be one of the great travesties and wastage of money. The trial itself was the longest in South Dakota history. Williams was awarded ownership (screwing the Indians again) and he sold Sue to the Field Museum in Chicago for $8.5 million. One interesting, if perhaps depressing element, of the trial was that according to a Supreme Court decision, judges could use evidence presented at trial in sentencing even if the defendant had been acquitted on charges related to that evidence That’s spooky. So Larson was convicted only on failing to report travelers’ checks in excess of $10,000 when he returned from Peru into the United States, a misdemeanor. But because the judge was able to use all the evidence presented, he decided that Larson was part of a largely criminal conspiracy to steal fossils and therefore could be subject to much harsher sentencing. **
Feiffer relates a substantial number of stories and events related to the history of palaeontology. Including some famous hoaxes. I particularly enjoyed reading about the Cardiff Giant. Feiffer identifies the culprit as an agnostic farmer (the Wikipaedia says it was George Hull, a NY atheist tobacconist) who was infuriated by local Methodist revivals claiming giants once walked the earth as noted in Genesis. He build a giant man, let it age for a year, then had it buried on his cousin’s farm and later arranged to have it “discovered” while digging a well. He set up an exhibit and started charging admission. Christian preachers declared its validity and a validation of the Bible. Most scholars declared it a fake but that did not detract from its curiosity and Hull sold his interest in the statue for $23,000. P.T. Barnum wanted in on it and offered the new owners $50,000, a huge sum at the time. They turned him down so he created a replica and declared it the “real” Cardiff Giant. Soon Barnum and the Cardiff syndicate accused each other of having fakes. Hull revealed his hoax and a judge ruled that each could not be sued for calling a fake a fake. The two fakes are now in small town museums, each accusing the other of having the wrong (fake?) fake. Priceless.
**I believe the case referred to but not cited is United States v Watts: “the Court held that a jury's verdict of acquittal does not prevent a sentencing court from considering a defendant's conduct underlying the acquitted charge, so long as that conduct has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen G. Breyer concurred. Dissenting, Justice John Paul Stevens argued that the additional offense should have been required to have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt for sentencing purposes, where a defendant's sentence was lengthened. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, also dissenting, expressed the view that the cases should have been set for full briefing and consideration.” (see http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1...)
This, of course, gives a great deal of power to the judge, but I suspect we wold all have applauded such power if used to reverse jury acquittal verdicts in lynching cases decades ago.
October 10, 2010
I have a hard time explaining my reaction to this book. I was very aware of the battle over Sue, because I was living in the Black Hills at the time, and now that I'm in Chicago I make a point of stopping to see her every time I'm at the Field. It's so strange to read about all these people and places I know. And even though I was dinosaur-crazy as a kid, with this book I was impatient every time the author talked about the history of paleontology or the science of dinosaurs. I just wanted to figure out how it all fell apart...and I still don't really know.
One day shortly before I moved to Chicago, I was wandering through the library in Rapid City and looked up to find a GIANT DINOSAUR SKELETON right above me. It was a cast of Stan the T Rex, on loan from the Black Hills Institute. It's a fantastic memory--but it was there to promote the release of Rex Appeal, the book Peter Larson wrote while he was in prison as a result of the chain of events Sue's discovery started.
I wish I could just be awed and amazed when I look at Stan and Sue and not be saddened too by remembering all the people who've been damaged by this.
One day shortly before I moved to Chicago, I was wandering through the library in Rapid City and looked up to find a GIANT DINOSAUR SKELETON right above me. It was a cast of Stan the T Rex, on loan from the Black Hills Institute. It's a fantastic memory--but it was there to promote the release of Rex Appeal, the book Peter Larson wrote while he was in prison as a result of the chain of events Sue's discovery started.
I wish I could just be awed and amazed when I look at Stan and Sue and not be saddened too by remembering all the people who've been damaged by this.
October 9, 2021
This story has everything about how this t-rex was found, lost, saved and those that work so hard to uncover the past to inform us.
April 2, 2013
If you want a reason to be angry, this book will give you one. It chronicles the saga of the most fought over skeleton of T Rex ever found. In the hills of South Dakota, a small private institute spent resources and time of its founders and owners searching for fossils. Their primary aim was education, speaking, giving tours, hoping one day to establish a really nice museum in the town, and selling the fossils to museums all over the world. The institute didn't pay much to the founders and employees, but they worked from love of learning. Then they helped uncover the most complete skeleton of a T rex found to that date, and all awfulness broke loose. Once the find was publicized, the government (read FBI) swooped in and confiscated everything they had, including all their records, because there was a chance that some had been found on federal land and they just knew that the people in the institute were dastardly fossil stealers out to make a fortune from stolen fossils. They, aided and abetted by the academic community who had profited by this institute's finds, but were jealous that anyone outside of that little elite DARED to know more than they did and wouldn't acknowledge their obvious superiority, and by others (Native American tribe and landowner) who hoped to steal the skeleton and claimed ownership, hounded the man who uncovered the skeleton--right into prison, though he really didn't deserve that treatment. Who finally profited? By millions! The man who owned the land on which the skeleton had been found, even though he had consciously sold the skeleton and all rights to it to the man who had uncovered it. Really nasty story!
September 15, 2024
This is the third book I’ve read on the story of Sue the Tyrannosaurus, the first being Peter Larson’s own account Rex appeal (now updated) the second being the Field museums own book, this third book tells a similar story but in places it has more depth with more details on what happened during the court case and after the sale of Sue with Disney and McDonald’s.
It made for interesting reading.
If you’re going to read this book I’d recommend first watching the documentary Dinosaur 13 then reading Peters book but buy the new version Rex Appeal 2 which has been updated and added to, I’ve enjoyed reading and watching everything to do with this incredible story.
It made for interesting reading.
If you’re going to read this book I’d recommend first watching the documentary Dinosaur 13 then reading Peters book but buy the new version Rex Appeal 2 which has been updated and added to, I’ve enjoyed reading and watching everything to do with this incredible story.
November 20, 2017
I listened to this on cassette tapes when it was new, so it's been a good long time ago, but it's stuck with me all those years. I remember enjoying it very much, and my enjoyment was enhanced by having seen the skeleton in person in Chicago. It was a window into something I knew nothing about - amateur dinosaur hunting.
Want to read
June 26, 2008I have been wanting to read this book since it was published. I finally saw Sue at the Chicago Field Museum and decided it was time to read it. I am very diappointed in this work. The author is not an impartial journalist at all. He may have interviewed several people involved, but he didn't consider the other viewpoints. I expected an unbiased look at the fossil of Sue and the court drama that followed. Instead, I read a book that stars Peter Larson as the hero against the system. Very poor writing.
February 26, 2010
This started off so well. It was fun to read, because the author was so obviously enthusiastic about his subject, and he wants his readers to be too. He captures the common fascination we have with dinosaurs as kids and he shows that they really were worth every bit of it. Then the narrative gets twisted up in the legal bickering that followed the excavation and gets stuck there for the rest of book. This might not be the author's fault, but he fell hard and fast from "good" to "boring". I wish his emphases had been different.
May 20, 2021
This book encompasses the field work done to discover and dig up Sue the t rex, some history on current and past dinosaur finders, and an almost unbelievable legal drama. Lastly, there's some commentary on corporations and their role in museums due to their deep pockets. I loved it and really like Pete Larson and Sue Hendrickson. I will most likely read Larson 's book Rex Appeal next.
November 13, 2020
I bought this one on a lark when I saw it on clearance in the Smithsonian gift shop. I’d told the story of Sue so often that I was curious how much deeper it actually went. Let me tell you...I was not prepared! So much deeper, more complex, and tragic than I’d originally thought, the story of Sue turned out to be a complicated tale of hubris, independence, confusion, lawsuits aplenty, and finally of a unique and unprecedented collaboration that stands as a paradoxic counterpoint to the process by which Sue was first unearthed. It also leaves as many questions as it does answers...for one I’m curious how much the process of selling museum pieces at auction has led to the inflation of their price when the museums themselves consider such pieces to be priceless and for another just what ultimately drove so many of the actors involved in this bizarre process. A riveting read featuring some of the most colorful characters I’ve ever encountered on the printed page. Highly recommended to other dinosaur fans and those who just love a great David and Goliath story in general.
January 10, 2021
What an interesting book!!! Sue is the largest complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Named Sue after the paleontologist who found her in the South Dakota bad lands.
She is quoted as saying that the dinosaur called to her. She walked seven miles and found the bones embedded in the soil.
This is a story of not only finding the mega fossil, but the major happenings that occurred as a result of fighting mainly with the federal government over ownership.
A friend and fellow lover of discovery, was jailed for two years because he fought over the right of ownership.
In the end, Sue was placed on auction by Sotheby's in New York City. With the financial support of McDonalds and Disney, when the gavel was finally hit, the total for this incredible discovery was 8.3 million dollars.
Sue is displayed at the Field Museum in Chicago. The journey of 65 million years from when Sue rested in the cretaceous earth, discovered, battled over viciously, she now is housed in a museum where millions can discover her history, this was a fascinating story.
She is quoted as saying that the dinosaur called to her. She walked seven miles and found the bones embedded in the soil.
This is a story of not only finding the mega fossil, but the major happenings that occurred as a result of fighting mainly with the federal government over ownership.
A friend and fellow lover of discovery, was jailed for two years because he fought over the right of ownership.
In the end, Sue was placed on auction by Sotheby's in New York City. With the financial support of McDonalds and Disney, when the gavel was finally hit, the total for this incredible discovery was 8.3 million dollars.
Sue is displayed at the Field Museum in Chicago. The journey of 65 million years from when Sue rested in the cretaceous earth, discovered, battled over viciously, she now is housed in a museum where millions can discover her history, this was a fascinating story.
March 14, 2024
It's good, but a bit of a mixed bag. The stuff about the actual court cases are good, but the author continually interrupts it with irrelevant dinosaur stories. Like, its very clear that, during the research phase, Fiffer found a bunch of cool stories about dinosaurs, and wanted to include all of them. So he'll be talking about how the US government F'd over the museum, and then suddenly be like "you know what this reminds me of? the bone wars." It's not even structured logically, because they interrupt at random.
It's well enough written, but I came for the legal struggles around the ownership of Sue. I didn't come to get reminded what Crystal Palace is, or who Roy Chapman Andrews was. If someone's a big enough dino nerd to want to read about legal proceedings surrounding a dinosaur specimen, they probably already know about Darwin and Huxley. Even if they don't, maybe don't include irrelevant events that happened over 100 years before, in a different country, in your book about a particular string of court cases.
It's well enough written, but I came for the legal struggles around the ownership of Sue. I didn't come to get reminded what Crystal Palace is, or who Roy Chapman Andrews was. If someone's a big enough dino nerd to want to read about legal proceedings surrounding a dinosaur specimen, they probably already know about Darwin and Huxley. Even if they don't, maybe don't include irrelevant events that happened over 100 years before, in a different country, in your book about a particular string of court cases.
March 11, 2018
We read this book for our book club, and I’ll be honest, I struggled to get through it. The book was definitely well-written, and as a resident of southwest North Dakota, only a few hours from Hill City, SD, I enjoyed this relatively unbiased recounting of the events surrounding Sue.
However, it felt like a slog to get through. There was so much information and a lot of legal jargon that really didn’t hold my interest. I also really struggled with the author’s jumping from the Sue case to historical paleontology. It was hard to follow the flow of the book, and I personally feel that most of the stuff about the first paleontologists could have been left out, making this book significantly shorter.
If you’re interested in paleontology as a whole, this would be a great book for you. If you’re interested specifically in the Sue case, I’d probably just look up the old newspaper articles.
However, it felt like a slog to get through. There was so much information and a lot of legal jargon that really didn’t hold my interest. I also really struggled with the author’s jumping from the Sue case to historical paleontology. It was hard to follow the flow of the book, and I personally feel that most of the stuff about the first paleontologists could have been left out, making this book significantly shorter.
If you’re interested in paleontology as a whole, this would be a great book for you. If you’re interested specifically in the Sue case, I’d probably just look up the old newspaper articles.
January 28, 2019
This was an incredible true story about a t-rex named "Sue" who is excavated in South Dakota. But as soon as her bones are collected the question remains: Who does Sue belong to? Does she belong to the individual whose land she was found on, the Sioux tribe, the federal government, the scientists who removed her and were preparing her for exhibit? Should she remain in a public museum or a private one? How much is Sue worth?
This was a really interesting book because it discusses issues regarding tribal sovereignty (and I did NOT pick this book up thinking tribal sovereignty was going to be a huge theme). I could see myself using this as a practical example of how these issues are applied in "real world" examples. Fascinating stuff.
Really loved it, but I've always loved books that deal with sticky legal issues. You add a t-rex to the mix and I was floored!
This was a really interesting book because it discusses issues regarding tribal sovereignty (and I did NOT pick this book up thinking tribal sovereignty was going to be a huge theme). I could see myself using this as a practical example of how these issues are applied in "real world" examples. Fascinating stuff.
Really loved it, but I've always loved books that deal with sticky legal issues. You add a t-rex to the mix and I was floored!
August 30, 2018
This is fascinating true story of the discovery of, controversy surrounding and legal battle over the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever found. The book alternates between the high stakes auction of the fossil and the story of the discovery, ultimate seizure and final fate of the fossil. It a unique look into the world of professional fossil hunters and the antagonism toward them from academia. The parties involved in the story include the fossil hunters, academic departments, US Bureau of Mining, Native tribes, and more. It also includes a history of paleontology in the US and some of its more colorful characters. Part history, part science, part legal thriller, part sociology. This books satisfies as well as any fiction.
Read
August 12, 2019I listened to this 8 hour unabridged audiobook on my one hour each way commute in early June 2006. I remembered bits and pieces about this story while some of it was happening, but not really enough, and so much of the book was also like a mystery to me, to find out who was awarded custody, how much she sold for, and so forth.
The narration was excellent, with the exception that men (I have yet to hear one male narrator NOT do this) make the women sound whiny instead of female when they try to imitate the higher pitched female voice.
I followed the story along and loved how it was told. I also learned more about dinosaurs in this book than I have since I was a young child learning about dinosaurs!
The narration was excellent, with the exception that men (I have yet to hear one male narrator NOT do this) make the women sound whiny instead of female when they try to imitate the higher pitched female voice.
I followed the story along and loved how it was told. I also learned more about dinosaurs in this book than I have since I was a young child learning about dinosaurs!
September 20, 2020
Growing up in Chicago, I was always fond of the Field Museum and the giant Trex named Sue. Though I always knew about her, I never knew the story. So happy to read this and learn about the amazing and dramatic history behind the 12 trex ever found. This book provides a well researched look into the discovery and then following 4 year court battle for the dinosaur bones. Super fascinating and very informative. I appreciated the author’s attempt to get all sides a moment to share their voice even when some would refuse to comment. I think it’s a great nonfiction for any fans of paleontology or even just Jurassic Park.
December 9, 2025
This book goes into detail about the complicated legal battles and controversies behind paleontology, focusing on conflicts over fossil ownership, collection laws, and the uncertain gray areas faced by scientists and collectors.
It also looks back at earlier discoveries, revealing how past paleontologists handled land rights, excavation permits, ethical issues, and competition.
Overall, the book shows how fossil hunting and scientific discoveries have long been shaped by the clash between science, government regulations and complex laws, private property, financial interests, and intense competition within the paleontological community.
It also looks back at earlier discoveries, revealing how past paleontologists handled land rights, excavation permits, ethical issues, and competition.
Overall, the book shows how fossil hunting and scientific discoveries have long been shaped by the clash between science, government regulations and complex laws, private property, financial interests, and intense competition within the paleontological community.
December 30, 2017
An interesting telling of the story behind the famous dinosaur known as "Sue" and now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. Along the way, Fiffer includes stories of some of the collectors and paleontologists that have made finds and mistakes throughout history.
The 3-star rating is due to the author's over-sympathetic portrayal of the Larsons. While I agree that the government abused their prosecutorial powers in this case; the Larsons' behavior, especially towards landowners, is very suspect.
The 3-star rating is due to the author's over-sympathetic portrayal of the Larsons. While I agree that the government abused their prosecutorial powers in this case; the Larsons' behavior, especially towards landowners, is very suspect.
June 24, 2018
"A book about a dinosaur fossil?" I didn't think it was going I was going to blaze through it either, but yet here I am: expertly weaving the history of fossil collection (both scientific and commercial) with the history of our relationship with the facts of dinosaur physiology - all layered on top of a four-party scramble to claim the largest and most complete T. rex ever discovered - Fiffer doesn't just make this interesting: he makes it rewarding. I've ready plenty of single-topic histories, and few capture the topic the way Fiffer does. (That it happened in my own back yard doesn't hurt.)
August 16, 2018
I wanted to give this story a higher rating, the story of Sue is an incredible fascinating one to be sure. I grew up knowing about "Sue" but only recently learned of the controversy and politics surrounding her.
As fascinating as her story is, I would have enjoyed it more if it mostly stuck to her story, and her story alone. However it was intersected with a lot of history on paleontology that, while not uninteresting, messed with the over all flow of the book and seemed mostly irrelevant and unnecessary.
As fascinating as her story is, I would have enjoyed it more if it mostly stuck to her story, and her story alone. However it was intersected with a lot of history on paleontology that, while not uninteresting, messed with the over all flow of the book and seemed mostly irrelevant and unnecessary.
December 10, 2021
The story of Sue the tyrannosaurus rex was in the news since her discovery in 1992 until her final resting place in Chicago at the Field Museum. I remember news reports of the highlights of her court cases. Something that should not have happened. Fiffer presents this information in a logical manner with the added emotional features to make it a very readable book. I am compelled to read Peter Larson's books about Sue. Larson spent 18 months in a federal prison for digging dinosaurs on federal land without permission. A GoodRead.
March 23, 2019
Super, thought-provoking, well-written book about the most complete T-Rex specimen unearthed to date. It details the work of historic paleontologists engagingly, and tells the story of the litigation surrounding Sue in such a way that you’re on the edge of your seat to see how it turned out, even though you already kinda know. Makes you wonder what other finds may be out there that aren’t being discovered because of greed, and the arrogance of both the government and the academy. Great book!
August 20, 2023
Sue, the T. rex, was the reason I ceased renewing my membership at the Field Museum. Found and excavated and jacketed (hundreds of hours worth of backbreaking work) on a hand shake agreement (standard practice until then) by a small troop of dino hunters from a South Dakota museum, the workers found themselves under arrest and the dinosaur becoming the possession of the "land owner." The book will make your blood boil.
August 13, 2021
Albeit dry, this is a very in depth look at the legal case surrounding Sue. I think the author did a lot of work making this look non-biased and displaying both sides. I think it was much heavier on the private collector side, but I know many professionals would be unwilling to talk to a journalist.
August 24, 2018
Excellent back story of Sue, the T. rex found today in Chicago. Unbelievable, the legislative battles that surround this amazing find. It is a good thing that it found its way into a museum for the people and not someones trophy room or another country.
February 1, 2019
This was a fascinating look into the modern history of Sue. It really leaned heavily on the courtroom fights over Sue and the drama that surrounded that. I found it to be generally a very informative book, but it was a bit slow at times.
April 19, 2023
I quit reading after I read the statement "Toronto's Royal Tyrrell Musuem". A disgraceful mistake about a proud Albertan institution. Illustrates the ignorant American mindset which believes Toronto is the only place in Canada worth knowing about.
July 7, 2017
Who knew a book about an old dead lizard would keep me up all night?
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