The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams tells the rather interesting true story of Eric Prokopi and the T. bataar skeleton that he tried to sell. T. bataar is a dinosaur who is a cousin of T. rex and is seemingly only found in the Gobi desert, more specifically in the part that is currently in Mongolia. Eric Prokopi was a long-time fossil hunter and commercial paleontologist who was a native of Florida. He had made a living off of finding, preparing and then selling fossils and other related artifacts with some of his clients including some rather famous people such as Nicholas Cage and Leonardo DiCaprio. However, when faced with some rather severe financial strain he took a chance and made arrangements for the purchase of T. bataar bones from Mongolia, not realizing that purchase may not have been legal. As the skeleton went up for auction people realized exactly what it was and where it likely came from with some Mongolians demanding legal action to return the bones to Mongolia where they came from. The book masterfully weaves together all of the disparate elements that came together to lead up to the sale of the skeleton and the aftermath.
This was an interesting read in that it was not necessarily what I was expecting based off of the description. I was expecting for it to focus more heavily on the sale of the skeleton and the legal difficulties created by that sale but instead it focused more on what sequence of events culminated in that sale to start with. It ended up covering a lot of information as part of that background including the history of paleontology in general and in specific locations such as various parts of the U.S., England, and Mongolia. On top of that it also covered the background of several people involved in the trial and not just Eric Prokopi. Don’t get me wrong as it did cover the trial and the aftermath but it also spent way more time building up to the trial. While that may not have been what I was expecting I do feel like it helped to set the stage and properly explain why this was a problem in the first place. Because of that I also feel like I learned quite a bit about how commercial paleontology works and the debate about the ethics of selling fossils, which is not really something I had ever thought about. There were times where it was a bit difficult to follow though and that was primarily due to how it tended to change focus in the middle of a chapter or section and would go from discussing one thing to discussing something else which was only tangentially related. It didn’t do this all the time but it did it frequently enough I found it minorly annoying, even if I was expecting that considering this is nonfiction. The book was still a good read and I am happy giving it four out of five stars.
This is a pretty good work of nonfiction and would probably hold the most appeal to readers who enjoy nonfiction or for readers who enjoy learning more about unusual court cases or about dinosaurs and paleontology. I would recommend readers keep in mind that it may be a bit on the dry side and that if you are not familiar with reading nonfiction to be prepared for the change in style that it would necessitate. Despite the fact the book focuses on a court case and criminal trial there is very little in it that I would consider inappropriate for younger readers. The only thing potentially stopping them from reading it is their ability to comprehend the text so if they are not having problems I suggest they go ahead and try it out. As always I hope you will consider trying this one and if you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.