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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 921 ANDREWS | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Renowned for his discoveries of dinosaur bones, whole fossilized dinosaur eggs, and previously unknown dinosaur species in the vast Mongolian desert, the daredevil explorer Roy Chapman Andrews is said to be the model for the movie character Indiana Jones.
Author Notes
Ann Bausum is the daughter of a history professor, and she grew up with a love of American history and a passion for research. She is an award-winning author who has published six titles with National Geographic Children's Books, including the acclaimed Sibert Honor Book Freedom Riders. She lives in Beloit, WI. Visit Ann Bausum at her Web site: www.annbausum.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-9-Whether or not the charismatic Andrews was "the real-life model" for Indiana Jones, he was certainly a flamboyant, headline-grabbing paleontologist in the days of his Mongolian expeditions. This slim, well-researched book is a record of his life and accomplishments. Larded with quotes from his own writings and personal letters, and with fine sepia-toned photographs taken in the field and in more civilized surroundings, the absorbing text invites readers into a world distant in both space and time. Andrews's adventurous spirit and organizational skills opened a new age in scientific exploration, using then-modern technology and a diverse team of experts in various fields. Recent explorations to Central Asia have brought to light startling new fossil finds that have been chronicled in such excellent titles as Mark Norell and Lowell Dingus's A Nest of Dinosaurs (Doubleday, 1999) and Searching for Velociraptor (HarperCollins, 1996), and Margery Facklam's Tracking Dinosaurs in the Gobi (21st Century, 1997). Inevitably, readers of these books will encounter Andrews, and what better way for a fresh generation of dinophiles and budding scientists to further this acquaintance than this exemplary work on an extraordinary individual.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Focusing on the explorer's expeditions in Asia in the 1920s and the numerous fossil species his team discovered, the book provides limited information on Andrews's later tenure as director of the American Museum of Natural History. The drama of exploring the Gobi Desert is more successfully captured in the volume's monochromatic photographs than in the lackluster prose. A chronology is included. Bib., ind. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Along with a generous array of atmospheric, sometimes dramatic, contemporary photographs, this biography charts Andrews's career as intrepid adventurer but praises him chiefly as a scientist who was also a skilled organizer and leader. Plainly a progenitor of Indiana Jones (he even hated snakes), Andrews began by mopping floors at New York's American Museum of Natural History, eventually became its director, and in-between led a series of literally and figuratively ground-breaking expeditions into the Gobi in search of fossils. Bausum barely mentions his private life, but she does add some depth to her portrait by quoting him (``In the [first] fifteen years [of fieldwork] I can remember just ten times when I had really narrow escapes from death'') and by taking him to task for some misidentifications and for his proprietary attitude toward fossils found in foreign soil. Well chosen lists of books and sites cap this tribute to a man whose writings and exploits continue to inspire dinosaur hunters of all ages. (chronology, index) (Biography. 11-14)
Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. Before he was named director of New York City's American Museum of Natural History, the young naturalist Andrews earned his stripes in the field. He began on the sands of Long Island, removing the bones from a beached whale, and then went on to more whale research on both sides of the Pacific. Where Andrews really made his mark, though, was China. Over a 12-year period, he conducted several intensive expeditions into Mongolia and central Asia, uncovering the first dinosaur eggs and the first fossils of Protoceratops, Oviraptor, and Velociraptor. The details of mounting these car-and-camel treks are fascinating, as are the many sepia photos, but Bausum's recounting of the discoveries is surprisingly tame. There is no sense of jubilation at Andrews having "written a new chapter in the history of life upon the earth." We also see little of his personal side once his career is off and running. This is an interesting, but curiously cold biography that will appeal more to dinosaur lovers than armchair adventurers. A chronology and a resource guide are appended. --Randy Meyer