King of the Dinosaur Hunters: The Life of John Bell Hatcher and the Discoveries that Shaped Paleontology

by Lowell Dingus

The story of the extraordinary adventures behind the man who has discovered some of the amazing wonders of natural history.

Every year millions of museum visitors marvel at the skeletons of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures discovered by John Bell Hatcher whose life is every bit as fascinating as the mighty bones and fossils he unearthed.

Hatcher helped discover and mount much of the Carnegie Museum's world famous, 150 million-year-old skeleton of Diplodocus, whose skeleton has captivated our collective imaginations for over a century. But that wasn’t all Hatcher discovered. During a now legendary collecting campaign in Wyoming, Hatcher discovered a 66 million-year-old horned dinosaur, Torosaurus, as well as the first scientifically significant set of skeletons from its evolutionary cousin, Triceratops. Refusing to restrict his talents to enormous dinosaurs, he also discovered the first significant sample of mammal teeth from our relatives that lived 66 million years ago. The teeth might have been minute, but this extraordinary discovery filled a key gap in humanity’s own evolutionary history.

Nearly one hundred and twenty-five years after Hatcher’s monumental “hunts” ended, acclaimed paleontologist Lowell Dingus invites us to revisit Hatcher’s captivating expeditions and marvel at this real-life Indiana Jones and the vital role he played in our understanding of paleontology.

Genres: Nonfiction, Palaeontology, Science, Biography, Dinosaurs, History, Geology

568 pages, Hardcover

Published December 4, 2018

Reviews

[Susan Paxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not a good sign, reading a biography, that one is relieved when the subject passes away. That was the case here. Dingus' book will be very useful for future researchers, but as casual reading it falls down. The book is almost entirely a very bald recitation of facts based on Hatcher's surviving letters; there is very little insight into the man himself. Hatcher suffered from some kind of ailment - it may have been an autoimmune disorder - but Dingus contents himself with describing it as "rheumatism," quotes included. Hatcher was a contentious man, almost to a ridiculous extreme, but Dingus never analyzes what might have laid behind that. Hatcher's finds are listed in tedious detail but only rarely is a glimpse given of their importance. One of the weirdest moments of the book finds Hatcher married and with a child, a year after it happened. No analysis, no mention of how he might have met his wife, nothing. Now and then the book suddenly breaks out into a very readable section - Hatcher's expeditions to Patagonia, for instance - but most of it is very tedious.

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though his name isn't one the average person will recognize, the legacy of fossils he collected in a brief career make John Bell Hatcher worthy of the title of this book.
A farmer's son, Hatcher labored as a coal miner to earn the money for his education. Introduced to Othniel Charles Marsh, the nation's first professor of paleontology and curator of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History, Hatcher informed Marsh he wanted "..a job collecting fossils, anywhere, anytime, at any salary."
Impressed, Marsh sent him west where he began a remarkable career of finding, preserving and shipping to major museums some of the most impressive specimens to be found in the United States and Patagonia. He changed employers several times before becoming a curator at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum. Troubled by ill health throughout his life, Hatcher died at the young age of 42.
Unfortunately, the biography falls short of giving us insight into the 'real man' behind the legendary collector whose finds are represented in some of the nation's most prestigious museums.
The copious excerpts from letters between Hatcher and his various employers do give evidence of the difficulties of field work in the 19th century and the cataloguing of his finds will be of value to paleontology buffs. Despite this, the same documentation soon grows tedious for readers seeking more information about Hatcher than his carping about delays in payment and equipment inventories.
Though I'd looked forward to reading this book, I'm sorry to say, for the most part, I found it dry as bones.

[Haley The Caffeinated Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was SO excited to pick this book up from the library, dinosaurs are still one of my fave things to learn about! So, reading about such a prolific fossil finder and researcher? Count me in.

Unfortunately.

UNFORTUNATELY.

This was less of a biography about John Bell Hatcher than a drolling book of irate letters from Hatcher to his various employers and their responses. It was full of these petty letters and the issues of politics within the paleontological world and list after list of the weight in tons of the fossils Hatcher found and their genera and it was taxing.

I gave it three stars because the chapters about Hatcher's Patagonia's expeditions were quite exciting and I did enjoy learning about the work he did outside of field research.

Overall there are some interesting tidbits but even as an academic text this would have been dry to read and not informative in regards to Hatcher as the King of Dinosaur Hunters. I would though be tempted to read another of L.D.'s books and hope for the best.

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I respect the research that went into this study of one of the first modern paleontologists, too much of it reads merely like a catalog of the tonnage of materials that John Hatcher excavated on his various expeditions. Towards the end Dingus bemoans the lack of documentation for his subject's private life, but there had to be a better way to organize this material if he was trying to reach a popular audience. Perhaps the way forward would have been to admit that a popular history wasn't possible and to accept that one was writing institutional history; I would have liked to have known more about what Hatcher's ultimate paymasters at the United States Geological Survey thought about their participation in the "Bone Wars" between O.C. Marsh and Edward D. Cope.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing account of John Bell Hatcher, premier fossil collector, famed for his discoveries in the American Plains and West as well as Patagonia. He is as much an Indiana Jones character as Roy Chapman Andrews, but largely unsung in the public eye. Much of the book is taken with excerpts of his voluminous correspondence with Marsh, Cope, Carnegie and other luminaries of dinosaur history. One outstanding thread is the incredible amount of physical labor and hardship required in this field at this time—hardly the sort of lifestyle one imagines for an academic. Also covers the political infighting that took place between Cope and Marsh, the administrative intrigues of Yale, Princeton, the Peabody Museum, Carnegie Museum and other institutions competing for specimens and exhibits. The book shows Hatcher to be a tireless and dedicated professional, although not the easiest to get along with. At times, Hatcher seemed more accountant than paleontologist. There is an illustration section, but it could have used a map of the Patagonian expeditions and more illustrations of the species discussed. Most readers will be familiar with the common dinosaur species (diplodocus, triceratops, stegosaurs, mammoths, rhinos, etc.), but many species have had two or three name changes over the decades. There is a useful Glossary of Genera in the frontmatter, but I really wanted some illustrations of the less common species frequently referenced rather than a litany of Latin/Greek names. I’d also like to have seen some illustrations/diagrams of the methodology used to extract fossils during this era--seems like an impossible task for only two or three workers. Also, images of the tools used would’ve been nice. That said, I think this book is targeted more at the academic community and paleontologists than the general public, but still a compelling and highly informative read.

[Cherei · Rating 4 out of 5]

King of the Dinosaur Hunters: The Life of John Bell Hatcher and the Discoveries that Shaped Paleontology
by Lowell Dingus is a fascinating read for those who have tramped about in Montana and Wyoming taking searching for fossils. Much of the land is still relatively untouched.. I was surprised to find that Hatcher was a sickly child considering how much he pushed himself in physical and mental pursuits! I loved that he paid for his own college education during a time when most that would have grown up in similar circumstances would have struggled to even finish sixth grade.

The multiple digs that he initiated and the many dinosaurs he found opened up a new world for the average person in the late 1800's. His research and documentation gave the world insight into the fearsome lizards that were being uncovered all over the world. His methods were adopted by so many.. and thankfully led to museums displaying the many dinosaur bones for the public to enjoy and also served to broaden many horizons!

Somewhat of a dry read.. but a must have book for anyone who enjoys reading about scientific discoveries!

[Holly Kaplan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I truly wanted to love this book. Hatcher is the real life version of Indiana Jones so this should be an interesting tale of science and adventure. Sadly it is a long litany of dinosaur bones found, letters griping about pay, and only cursory information about what drove Hatcher to seek his quarry. The Patagonia chapters are a highlight. It is humorous to read about the professors fighting about who gets credit for findings, authorship, and tenure. Also the never ending search for funding. Some things just don’t change!

As a side note, this man’s wife was either a saint or a martyr or both.

[Mhd]

Read about half of this book. Interesting in general, but long sections are simply lists of dinosaur bones found that day & recorded in his letters/journal. Seems to going almost day-by-day through his life/work. Most interesting: the job of dinosaur hunter, the incredibly large number of bones removed from Native American property, nitty-gritty of museum collection creation. I intend to finish this book someday...it's got to go back to the library...I may buy it.

[Richard Olsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably a good book if you are interested in paleontology, but this is not for everyone. I was only able to make it through the first 100 pages. The book mainly seems to bounce around between complaints from the dinosaur hunter to his benefactor and a list of fossils that were collected and back again. Not much real substance.

[Sarah Hueneke Meyerholz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is as dry as a dusty fossil.

[Marianne Mason Sievers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much verbatim recounting of primary sources and too little analysis.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulous in its historical detail, King of the Dinosaur Hunters is the definitive biography of the quietly famous and influential fossil collector John Bell Hatcher. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2018...

[Beatriz Robaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

bem esquisito o ato de ler uma biografia e ficar aliviado quando o assunto morre. o livro do dingus sobre o hatcher é listado de detalhes incógnita e a maioria das sessões legíveis foram das expedições pra patagônia - a austrália ter conexões com esse lugar por terra- me encanta o dinamismo da descoberta <3

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed biography of one of the earliest dinosaur paleontologists. Unfortunately, it is also slanted towards evolution, with references to fossils being "millions of years old".