Early Book Review: Battle of the Dinosaur Bones: Othniel Charles Marsh vs Edward Drinker Cope

Battle of the Dinosaur Bones: Othniel Charles Marsh vs Edward Drinker Cope by Rebecca L. Johnson is a children's non fiction book scheduled for release on November 1 2012. The book details the scientific curiosity, and eventually rivalry, of two great names in paleontology. Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope were very different men, but they each had an intense love of learning that resulted in great discoveries and some less than stellar work in their efforts to out do each other. The good and the bad of their relationship is thoroughly explored, along with the effects it had on the scientific community of the time, and long after their deaths.

Battle of the Dinosaur Bones is a interesting and well researched book that captured my attention quickly. The scientific community and its discoveries in the 1880's is fascinating to me, and exploring one small section of those discoveries only deepened my admiration for the people that acted as pioneers in the scientific frontier. I already knew much about Marsh and his connection to Peabody, but I was not aware of the depth of the rivalry between him and Cope. Young readers, and even adults, that are fascinated by dinosaurs, earth sciences, and the evolution of how we look at the world will enjoy exploring the book.

I highly recommend Battle of the Dinosaur Bones to anyone that holds an interest in science, particularly dinosaurs and the men who laid a firm foundation for the field of paleontology while supporting Darwin's theory of evolution. Facts about the science, and the personal lives of the two men, are well researched and written in such a way that informs while fully engaging the reader and inspiring further interest in the field and related sciences.