Roberta Westwood's Reviews > The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times

Super interesting - but seriously lacking a PDF accompaniment

My listening experience started out on a low, as the narrator announced that the audio will refer to illustrations in the print and ebook. I took a quick look for a PDF accompaniment, but no luck. If it wasn’t for my Audible Plus free access, I would be complaining that I paid just as much for the audiobook and deserved the same content.

I had a look at the sample of the Kindle version, and suggest you do the same. It contains a timeline, a long list of illustrations, several photographs and half a dozen maps (only two are visible, could only but they are worth looking at).

Before Chapter 1, the narrator read out the timeline, year by year. Yawn. No one could take this in without looking at a copy in print or on screen. Thank goodness the list of illustrations wasn’t similarly read out.

Ironically, this is a super interesting book - and once the first chapter got started, the mystery the author was tracking down immediately hooked me - and I couldn’t wait to hear more. Good thing I didn’t check out during the timeline reading.

Perhaps what I liked best about this book was how it transported me to ancient Greece, and how discoveries of dinosaur remains were interpreted, and what would happen to them. And I love how archaeologists had to figure out what a humongous bone found at the Acropolis were initially baffled, before they surmised that someone had taken it there, perhaps in worship. There are all sorts of stories like this in the book.

Also enjoyed the signs of the Griffin that are believed to have been found, and the modern day views on whether this creature existed or not.

Later in the book the narrator made reference to other materials (“Appendix 1 gives examples of the largest species…”), but as I could not see these, I’m not sure how good or extensive these were. I would have liked to look at them.

For the most part, the narration was good, though I wish the narrator learned how to pronounce provenance.

I am giving this book a rating of 4 for its careless approach to the audiobook listener’s experience, but it’s an awesome book that otherwise deserves a 5.

Below is a listener’s guide I created while listening to the audiobook, starting with a transcription of the chapter list. I hope you find it helpful:

CHAPTERS

Introduction (2 versions)
Historical Time Line
Chapter 1: The Gold-Guarding Griffin: A Paleontological Legend
Chapter 2: Earthquakes and Elephants: Prehistoric Remains in Mediterranean Lands
Chapter 3: Ancient Discoveries of Giant Bones
Chapter 4: Artistic and Archaeological Evidence for Fossil Discoveries
Chapter 5: Mythology, Natural Philosophy, and Fossils
Chapter 6: Centaur Bones: Paleontological Fictions

TIME FRAMES

To refresh your memory of geological time frames, or for a first-time look, here is the full list (I’ve marked the period from which the fossils discussed in the book came from):

Precambrian (4.5 billion–541 million years ago): earliest known life forms

Paleozoic (541–250 million years ago): early fish, amphibians, and reptiles appear

Mesozoic (250–65 million years ago): the age of dinosaurs; this is the period from which the fossils that inspired ancient legends were formed

Cenozoic (65 million years ago–present): mammals dominate; Ice Age megafauna like mammoths emerge

Holocene (10,000 years ago–present): modern humans and recorded history begin



Edition details below refer to the Audible audiobook I listened to:

The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times
Written by: Adrienne Mayor
Narrated by: Donna Postel
RELEASE DATE 2021-02-23
FORMAT Unabridged Audiobook
LENGTH 8 hrs and 59 mins
PUBLISHER Tantor Audio

©2000 Princeton University Press (P)2021 Tantor