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House of Lost Worlds: Dinosaurs, Dynasties, and the Story of Life on Earth by Richard Conniff
daumari's review against another edition
5.0
Like [b:The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History|25465895|The Rarest of the Rare Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History|Nancy Pick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1431198557s/25465895.jpg|1295084] and [b:Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums|1096222|Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums|Stephen T. Asma|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347967023s/1096222.jpg|1083060], this examines the natural history of a natural history museum. Unlike RotR, House goes beyond collections and recalls the history of the Peabody Museum itself, from how it initially began as collections in search of home, eventually given by George Peabody, uncle to O.C. Marsh of the Bone Wars. Marsh takes up over half the chapters of this book, as he should given his large personality.
I enjoyed how Conniff takes the story of the museum all the way into modern day, with the age of DNA and discoveries still being made from collection store rooms (deciphering fossilized ink, for example, came from one of Marsh's long forgotten invertebrate fossils). There are plenty of sidebars throughout chapters of other interesting stories of Peabody Museum curators and researchers who could easily have had their own chapters.
I enjoyed how Conniff takes the story of the museum all the way into modern day, with the age of DNA and discoveries still being made from collection store rooms (deciphering fossilized ink, for example, came from one of Marsh's long forgotten invertebrate fossils). There are plenty of sidebars throughout chapters of other interesting stories of Peabody Museum curators and researchers who could easily have had their own chapters.
meghanmarion's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book free from Goodreads Giveaways.
When I first looked the book over I wasn't too sure if it would be my cup of tea, but it was a wonderful exploration of the creation of the Peabody Museum at Yale. Who knew that paleontologists could be so ruthless? If you like learning about science and the creation of an institution than I definitely recommend this book. Wasn't boring at all!
When I first looked the book over I wasn't too sure if it would be my cup of tea, but it was a wonderful exploration of the creation of the Peabody Museum at Yale. Who knew that paleontologists could be so ruthless? If you like learning about science and the creation of an institution than I definitely recommend this book. Wasn't boring at all!
sarrie's review
4.0
This is a beautifully printed history of the Peabody Museum, a place on my list of places I want to visit. Though it touches on a lot of topics, the biggest by far was dinosaurs - which for me is an automatic win. I really enjoyed it, though you could see a definite slant in bias on a few occasions.
uberbutter's review against another edition
5.0
I love history. I love museums. This is the perfect book for me! It was informative and I loved the pictures. It took me awhile to read just be sure there was so much info packed into this book. May not be for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
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