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The Bone War of McCurtain County - A True Tale of Two Men's Quest for Treasure, Truth and Justice
The Bone War of McCurtain County is a true adventure story about two rustic naturalists, Cephis Hall and Sid Love, who discovered and excavated a world-class dinosaur and found themselves mired in controversy and strife. After recovering one of the rarest, most valuable specimens in history, the two men became embroiled in a titanic struggle over ownership rights with the landowner, a major timber corporation, and its friends in government and academia.The conflict was so intense and personal that the author has elected to call it a war - a bone war. Although Cephis and Sid had found their share of valuable treasures, the grand prize had long eluded them.Their dream was to discover and extricate a rare and valuable dinosaurian fossil and make their mark on the scientific world. They were not credentialed scientists, but rather intrepid explorers of nature. The problem was that their dream was unauthorized and didn't fit neatly into the status quo. After securing permission from the corporation, the two men dug for four years and recovered the remains of a very rare and elusive theropod dinosaur (the Acrocanthosaurus) worth millions if it could be saved. As apex predator of North America during the early Cretaceous Period (about 115 million years ago), it was approximate in size and ferocity to the mighty T-rex, but lived some 50-million years earlier. It hunted and feasted on giant sauropods weighing as much as 100 tons. The corporation didn't take the two men seriously and considered them incapable of finding, let alone excavating, anything of scientific significance. But Hall and Love would prove them wrong. The two men had bought into a tenuous version of the American Dream that was poised to "reap the whirlwind." Their ambition brought them to the brim of abyss and cataclysm. Powerful people and institutions stood in the way of their ambition. But a dream and will to pursue it can result in war.
365 pages, Paperback
Published August 15, 2016
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January 15, 2019
A WISHING SHELF BOOK REVIEW
12th December, 2018
TITLE: The Bone War of McCurtain County
AUTHOR: Russell Ferrell
Star Rating: ****
CATCHY QUOTE
‘A gripping and insightful story of two men battling for what they feel is right in a corporate-dominated world.’ Wishing Shelf
REVIEW
This is a very well-written story of how two ‘ordinary’ men discovered the skeleton of a dinosaur, and how they battled to keep what they felt rightfully belonged to them. Written by Russell Ferrell, it is a no-holds barred and, often, very in depth study into how the government and parts of the corporate world attempted to disregard them and control the find.
For the most part, I enjoyed the men’s story. In fact, so much so, I often felt upset, even angry, when I saw how the world, corporate and academic, attempted to belittle them. Yes, the author tends to overwhelm the reader with information; and, yes, I felt parts of it could be cut, but this very much is a gripping story, and I was captivated till the very end.
The author’s writing style is very good. He is capable at describing setting and developing the characters – mostly Cephis – but without being overly flowery. The author’s no Hemingway but that’s okay; often, with historical, fact-based books, if the writing style is too complex, it kills the pacing of the story. Well, that’s not a problem here. The pacing is, for the most part, excellent, but be prepared to be immersed in a lot of information regarding American history and, of course, dinosaur fossils. Also, the author is not scared to keep a sentence short and simple where it’s needed; and, by doing so, helping to improve the pacing where it is needed.
If I was to suggest anything to the author, it would be to alter the cover. This story is gripping, or, perhaps a better word, captivating; as such it is deserving of much better than a generic picture of a river running through a forest. Firstly, it is not particularly ‘grabbing’, which is the job of a cover, and, secondly, it suggests a totally different story to what the reader will find between the covers.
So, now to the important bit. Would I recommend the book and, if so, who to? The answer is very much, yes. In fact, a very BIG yes! And who to? I think, possibly, to anybody interested in American history, specifically the hunt for relics of any kind, and the law relating to it. Of course, this book would sit very happily on the shelf of any paleontologist or, indeed, archeologist. Also, finally, I would recommend this story to anybody who has sympathy for the ‘small’ man battling for what’s right in a corporate-controlled world. Which is pretty much everybody, right!
STATS
Writing Style 9/10
Subject Knowledge 10/10
Editing 8/10
Cover 5/10
Unputdownable or Putdownable: Totally Unputdownable
Who’s it For: Students of American history / paleontologists / archeologists
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
12th December, 2018
TITLE: The Bone War of McCurtain County
AUTHOR: Russell Ferrell
Star Rating: ****
CATCHY QUOTE
‘A gripping and insightful story of two men battling for what they feel is right in a corporate-dominated world.’ Wishing Shelf
REVIEW
This is a very well-written story of how two ‘ordinary’ men discovered the skeleton of a dinosaur, and how they battled to keep what they felt rightfully belonged to them. Written by Russell Ferrell, it is a no-holds barred and, often, very in depth study into how the government and parts of the corporate world attempted to disregard them and control the find.
For the most part, I enjoyed the men’s story. In fact, so much so, I often felt upset, even angry, when I saw how the world, corporate and academic, attempted to belittle them. Yes, the author tends to overwhelm the reader with information; and, yes, I felt parts of it could be cut, but this very much is a gripping story, and I was captivated till the very end.
The author’s writing style is very good. He is capable at describing setting and developing the characters – mostly Cephis – but without being overly flowery. The author’s no Hemingway but that’s okay; often, with historical, fact-based books, if the writing style is too complex, it kills the pacing of the story. Well, that’s not a problem here. The pacing is, for the most part, excellent, but be prepared to be immersed in a lot of information regarding American history and, of course, dinosaur fossils. Also, the author is not scared to keep a sentence short and simple where it’s needed; and, by doing so, helping to improve the pacing where it is needed.
If I was to suggest anything to the author, it would be to alter the cover. This story is gripping, or, perhaps a better word, captivating; as such it is deserving of much better than a generic picture of a river running through a forest. Firstly, it is not particularly ‘grabbing’, which is the job of a cover, and, secondly, it suggests a totally different story to what the reader will find between the covers.
So, now to the important bit. Would I recommend the book and, if so, who to? The answer is very much, yes. In fact, a very BIG yes! And who to? I think, possibly, to anybody interested in American history, specifically the hunt for relics of any kind, and the law relating to it. Of course, this book would sit very happily on the shelf of any paleontologist or, indeed, archeologist. Also, finally, I would recommend this story to anybody who has sympathy for the ‘small’ man battling for what’s right in a corporate-controlled world. Which is pretty much everybody, right!
STATS
Writing Style 9/10
Subject Knowledge 10/10
Editing 8/10
Cover 5/10
Unputdownable or Putdownable: Totally Unputdownable
Who’s it For: Students of American history / paleontologists / archeologists
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
Displaying 1 of 1 review