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Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey
Sam Chiarelli's Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey explores why we're so fascinated with dinosaurs and why some people--dinophiles--never outgrow their Mesozoic obsession.
Dig follows Sam on a cross-country Amtrak trip with a final destination of a fossil dig in Colorado. Buried within these pages are encounters in museums big and small, prep labs, robotic dinosaur parks, and prehistoric themed hotels--and interviews with many of Sam's childhood heroes: paleontologists, artists, and others who've dedicated their lives to revealing the distant past.
Part science and nature adventure and part memoir, this book is all dinosaur.
Dig follows Sam on a cross-country Amtrak trip with a final destination of a fossil dig in Colorado. Buried within these pages are encounters in museums big and small, prep labs, robotic dinosaur parks, and prehistoric themed hotels--and interviews with many of Sam's childhood heroes: paleontologists, artists, and others who've dedicated their lives to revealing the distant past.
Part science and nature adventure and part memoir, this book is all dinosaur.
- GenresMemoir
252 pages, Paperback
Published November 6, 2018
805 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 4, 2019
A wonderful blend of travel, memoir, and research. I heard the author’s charming read at HippoCamp 2018, before the book was released, purchased his book at HippoCamp 2019 and savored the journey. What child or child-in-the-adult doesn’t love dinosaurs?
January 30, 2019
If you love prehistoric ferocious beasts then you will love this book! A+ A true delight to read. As a child of the 1990’s, Dig! really brought me back - all the way back millions of years!
January 3, 2020
”I am holding a part of an animal that was born at least 66 million years before I came into being. As it is a toe, I am, in some way, shaking hands with one of the largest dinosaurs to ever exist.”
This makes me want to jump on the train and go exploring, and has me recalling childhood dreams I’ve yet to chase, just for the joy of adventure. Chiarelli tells a story of his love for everything prehistoric while simultaneously offering philosophical musings on both the endurance of the past and the fragility of the present.
“We think their fossilized facial bones are a sign of victory over time itself, over death. But it is the dinosaurs that survived for 200 million years and left descendants to soar over us today. Humanity celebrates nothing but our ingenuity in reconstructing their lives.”
A well-told, well-written account of how the exploration of childhood fascination can define the course of your life, and how maybe we all should stop and smell the coprolites. Or maybe just appreciate all there is to learn.
“I wonder what relics from our world will remain after the passage of another 70 million years.”
This makes me want to jump on the train and go exploring, and has me recalling childhood dreams I’ve yet to chase, just for the joy of adventure. Chiarelli tells a story of his love for everything prehistoric while simultaneously offering philosophical musings on both the endurance of the past and the fragility of the present.
“We think their fossilized facial bones are a sign of victory over time itself, over death. But it is the dinosaurs that survived for 200 million years and left descendants to soar over us today. Humanity celebrates nothing but our ingenuity in reconstructing their lives.”
A well-told, well-written account of how the exploration of childhood fascination can define the course of your life, and how maybe we all should stop and smell the coprolites. Or maybe just appreciate all there is to learn.
“I wonder what relics from our world will remain after the passage of another 70 million years.”
September 25, 2019
This book reminds us all that there is a world that can be unlocked by the things that spark excitement within us. For Sam, it's dinosaurs. For the rest of us, it can be jazz music, baseball, watercolor paintings, gnomes, or otters. Whatever we love, we are reminded that there is magic in it. It was such a lovely and refreshing read that makes you think about the things you love most in life.
Sam's writing voice is authentic, friendly, and warm. You feel very much like you're chatting with an old friend over tea as you travel across the U.S. in search of fossils and new frontiers of scientific discovery. I love when a book's author is excited about a topic and Sam's love of dinosaurs radiates through every chapter. You learn so much along the way, too!
Highly recommended for those who love dinosaurs or for sharing with anyone who has ever loved something so much that his or her face lights up when talking about it. Such a delightful read.
Sam's writing voice is authentic, friendly, and warm. You feel very much like you're chatting with an old friend over tea as you travel across the U.S. in search of fossils and new frontiers of scientific discovery. I love when a book's author is excited about a topic and Sam's love of dinosaurs radiates through every chapter. You learn so much along the way, too!
Highly recommended for those who love dinosaurs or for sharing with anyone who has ever loved something so much that his or her face lights up when talking about it. Such a delightful read.
January 28, 2019
In a chaotic world swirling with responsibilities, it is easy to lose sight of the childhood dreams that once were. The enchanting and delightful story of DIG provides the roadmap for readers to rekindle juvenility fervor. This informative book packed with personality is a desirable read for dinophiles and nondinophiles alike.
June 13, 2023
"In Dig, Chiarelli explores the personal, social, and scientific aspects of dinophilia—the three stages of dinosaur obsession—while journeying to an archeological dinosaur dig in Colorado. Chiarelli travels to some of the most noteworthy places to discuss dinos with top researchers and childhood heroes, while uncovering dinophilia in some of the most unlikely places—a family-run start-up business, a Best Western hotel, an artist’s studio. From the quirky to down-to-earth, the exuberant to stoic, all encounters add an entertaining search for the root of dino-madness."
Read the rest of my review on the Brevity Blog at https://brevity.wordpress.com/tag/din...
Read the rest of my review on the Brevity Blog at https://brevity.wordpress.com/tag/din...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews