Review "Conniff [is] a writer with a gift for teasing out the bizarre human dramas endemic to natural history. . . . While House of Lost Worlds chronicles the Peabody’s achievements and luminaries quite thoroughly, it also takes a hard-nosed look at its debacles."—Jennie Erin Smith, Wall Street Journal“A rich and enthusiastic history. . . . This book sparkles with delightful stories and anecdotes.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review"In House of Lost Worlds, Richard Conniff tells the story of the Peabody through the curious characters connected to it. . . . Throughout the book, [He] emphasizes the discoveries yet to be made and the pleasure of finding out something new."—Science News"In House of Lost Worlds, Richard Conniff fills an instructive gap in the story of how and why American museums were invented. The creation of Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History is a tale encompassing all three subjects of the subtitle, with the most delicious being the drag-down drama of how dynastic maneuvering helped spark the museum to life."—Amy Henderson, Weekly Standard“Overall this book is about one of the great stories of science’s coming of age. But by far one of the best reasons to read it is that the author just cannot seems to help but do what science writing should always do: he tells a great story so well that you really do not realize how much you are learning in every paragraph.”—Lorin R. King, Quarterly Review of Biology“A fascinating and magisterial review of the history of the Peabody Museum, and the major figures who made it. It plunges deeply into science, objects, and the lives of the people who collected those objects and made them ‘speak,’ and it does so in an accessible and, indeed, page-turning way.”—Alison Richard, Yale University“An important and riveting story of how real-life scientists built a great museum and what it means for biology and natural history. Exciting from beginning to end, House of Lost Worlds is for anyone who loves adventurous reading.”—Bernd Heinrich, author of One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives“Museums are not just full of fossils and minerals. They’re also packed with wonderfully human stories. House of Lost Worlds tells the stories of one of the world’s great natural history museums, and in the process, it becomes a fascinating chronicle of the rise of American science.”—Carl Zimmer, author of Parasite Rex“Yale's Peabody Museum is a national treasure. Richard Conniff brings the rich history of the Museum alive with stories of the great characters whose discoveries and ideas transformed science over the past century and a half.” —Neil H. Shubin, The University of Chicago, author of Your Inner Fish“Remarkable . . . superbly written and makes the history and individuals come alive. . . . this book should have a much larger appeal than just Peabody-philes because it is so much about the role of museums in the development of American science.”—Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Mason University Read more About the Author Richard Conniff is a prize-winning science writer and journalist and the author of nine books including The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth. He lives in Old Lyme, CT. Read more
P**Y
The Importance of Natural History Museums
An interesting "back-stage" look at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale and how it changed ideas about dinosaurs, dynasties, and even the story of life on earth. For anyone with an interest in exploring, understanding, and protecting the natural world, this book will deliver abundant information and delights. I've been volunteering there for 28 years and still learned a lot of new "stuff" about the people and collections.
D**S
Highly recommend, well done book makes the adventure real
Superb and vivid writing about a subject that is far more of am adventure story than one might anticipate. I visited the Peabody Museum just before I bought the book and feel I understand the place much more than before. I have recommended the book to friends, one of whom turned out to be a distant relative of O.C. Marsh! Fine book.
A**R
it's about people
I was disappointed by this book. The issue was NOT the quality of the writing, which was good enough, but rather the subject matter. I was expecting something to do with dinosaurs, but the book is about the people who hunted the fossils. If you are interested in a people history, then this book is probably for you, but if you are interested in a dinosaur history, forget it.
C**M
A surprisingly engaging read
Odd that I couldn't put this down. But I read through it on vacation as if it were a pot-boiler. Congratulations to the author for making archeology come alive through the characters who honed the profession and the museums who fought over the spoils.
B**H
The tale of early paleontology and a museum
A fascinating recounting of the early years of paleontology in the US and the struggles to understand the finds and create a museum for them.
S**A
History Done Right
I have visited the Peabody Museum, but I knew only a little about the men who brought this museum to life. I had heard about Cope and Marsh and their famous rivalry over dinosaur bones, but there is so much more to know. I am only half way through the book because the book is dense with information, but information presented in an absorbing way. I find myself lingering over the book and reading it slowly. The author succeeds in presenting the men and women who figure in this true story and in bringing them to life for the reader, not just as historical figures but as admirable and sometines flawed human beings. I hope to visit the museum again one day to see all that I missed before.
K**N
Five Stars
Wonderful and interesting book - if you're a natural history lover, read this!
I**Z
I loved the glossy pages and the great old photos
Writing is enjoyable and historically fascinating. I loved the glossy pages and the great old photos. Such interesting anecdotes about the old dinosaur hunters and the world famous Marsh/Leidy feud. Could not put the book down! As a kid I spent lots of time at the Peabody as I lived in Hamden.
W**N
Five Stars
Loved this book. Fascinating if you are interested in the history of the Natural Sciences.
W**P
Five Stars
excellent
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