Gideon Mantell and the Discovery of Dinosaurs

by Dennis R. Dean

Gideon Mantell and the Discovery of Dinosaurs is a scholarly yet accessible biography--the first in a generation--of a pioneering dinosaur hunter and scholar. Gideon Mantell discovered the Iguanodon (a famous tale set right in this book) and several other dinosaur species, spent over twenty-five years restoring Iguanodon fossils, and helped establish the idea of an Age of Reptiles that ended with their extinction at the conclusion of the Mesozoic Era. He had significant interaction with such well-known figures as James Parkinson, Georges Cuvier, Charles Lyell, Roderick Murchison, Charles Darwin, and Richard Owen. Dennis Dean, a well-known scholar of geology and the Victorian era, here places Mantell's career in its cultural context, employing original research in archives throughout the world, including the previously unexamined Mantell family papers in New Zealand.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 13, 1999

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in depth and scholarly account of one my scientific heroes. I grew up in Cuckfield, where Mantell discovered his Iguanodon dinosaur so particularly enjoyed learning more about the importance of my village in geological history. The whole book is a great read for palaeontology nerds like me. 🦕 🦖

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a strange book. It's called a biography on the backside of the book and it does provide a wealth of detailed information on Mr Mantells productive life. However, Gideon Mantell or any of the characters around him never come to life in the book. For me, though a valued source of interesting facts, a lost chance to pay tribute to the man and show his remarkable life to the world.