Rex Appeal 2

The second edition of this engaging, groundbreaking book about all facets of the most storied tale in paleontological history—a behind-the-scenes adventure in both the field and drama of the science. Larson, team leader of the field crew that’s dug more T. rex than anyone else, reveals what he’s contributed to hunting, restoring, and researching dinosaurs—over his seven decades of experience. Donnan describes the personal drama that occurred when the most famous rex ever, Sue, was seized by the FBI, changing Larson’s international headlines from science to politics. Released more than twenty years after the first edition, this volume also fills in “what happened next,” with the tales behind the second crop of headlines in Larson’s life—about the second-best rex, Stan, and yet another jaw-dropping lawsuit—as well as Larson’s work to help government agencies and courts to create fair and proper permitting processes for field paleontologists. This is what really happened to this champion of the past—a man who never lost his faith, and the goals he continues to work toward—all for the love of science. This is a book about passion and persistence; if you love dinosaurs, this book is a true inspiration.

Peter Larson has celebrated more than fifty years in business, after starting a fledgling rock business during undergraduate school. Since then, he’s created the largest private fossil company in the world, Black Hills Institute of Geologic Research. The company has placed dozens of real and cast skeletons, as well as countless other fossil specimens in major museums and smaller collections on many continents.

Through his company, Larson also has paved the way for independent paleontologists the world over—and made headlines when the team excavated the world’s two most complete, significant T. rex skeletons, in 1990 and 1992. He knew they were the finds of a lifetime, but Larson had no way of foreseeing that “Sue” and “Stan” would plunge him down an unexpected rabbit hole—into a topsy-turvy, Alice in Wonderland world that caused him to risk everything.