Though paleontology is the study of life from millions of years ago, the field itself is relatively new. Two-hundred years ago, no one knew dinosaurs existed. Through eight detailed biographical profiles of paleontologists, Clinton shows how far the study of ancient life-forms has come. The first chapter covers Georges Cuvier, who was one of the first scientists to speculate what kind of creatures left behind such enormous fossilized bones. Gideon Mantell discovered the Iguanodon and came up with the phrase "The Age of Reptiles." He was followed by Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, who were fiercely competitive about uncovering fossils. More recent figures include Robert Bakker, who believes some dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded, and John Horner, who discovered dinosaurs that cared for their young. The author is frank about some of the less-than-perfect personalities of these men and how their natures influenced their work. There's enough information in each chapter to provide facts for a report, but the book also provides a history of paleontology when read cover-to-cover. The black-and-white photos and reproductions are a bit dark; the bibliography and list of Internet sites will be useful.?Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 1822 Gideon Mantell, a doctor from Lewes, East Sussex, described a fossil tooth which his wife had found by the side of the road in Cuckfield, West Sussex.   This tooth was the first dinosaur fossil in the world ever to be identified.  For the very first time people began to realize that creatures as large as dinosaurs had once existed.   

Gideon Mantell went on to search for, discover and identify many other dinosaur remains.  

He was the first dinosaur hunter.

Smith is credited with creating the first nationwide geologic map and is known as the "Father of English Geology". However, recognition was slow in coming. His work was plagiarized, he was financially ruined, and spent time in debtors' prison. The genteel practitioners of the new science of geology and founders of the geological societies snubbed the low-born Smith. It was only much later in Smith's life that he received recognition for his accomplishments.  In February 1831 the Geological Society of London conferred on Smith the first Wollaston medal. It was on this occasion that the President, Adam Sedgwick, referred to Smith as "the Father of English Geology".

Paleontology draws extensively from both biology and geology. Some subdisciplines of paleontology are defined by the types of organisms that are studied. Examples are vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, and micropaleontology (study of single-celled fossils). Paleoecologists study extinct ecosystems. Related areas include biostratigraphy, the study of fossil distributions in different strata (rock layers), and taphonomy, which examines the process of fossil formation. Biological disciplines in which contributions of paleontology are particularly critical include systematics and taxonomy. They focus on determining phylogenetic relationships (the sequence of branching events in evolutionary history which have resulted in the production of divergent species) between extinct as well as extant organisms. Another such discipline is comparative anatomy, which examines the morphology (form) and structure of organisms. Still another is evolutionary biology, which examines how biological organisms change over time.

The study of the fossil record also permits the identification of periods of major change in biological diversity. Sudden shifts in flora and fauna result from major events involving the extinction of organisms, such as the one that eliminated the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. In fact, geological eras are bounded by these sudden changes.