The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt: The Astonishing and Unlikely True Story of One of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Paleontological Discoveries

by William Nothdurft and Josh Smith

Book Overview

Describes a 1999 expedition from the University of Pennsylvania designed to retrace the travels of Dr. Ernst Stromer who, in 1911, led an expedition to Egypt's Bahariya Oasis in the Sahara, where he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375759794
• ISBN13: 9780375759796
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Captivating story of discoveries and losses.

The search for dinosaur fossils amid sandstorms and desert heat is anything but dry in this lively story of the excavation in January, 2000, of a site in the western Egyptian desert, partially excavated by Ernst Stromer in 1911, but untouched since then. Nothdurft, a professional writer, working in concert with Josh Smith, the young paleontologist who was the team leader of the January, 2000, dig, tells the stories of both the 1911 and the 2000 excavations, along with the fossil discoveries made by each group. Stromer, a German aristocrat and meticulous paleontologist, found the fossils of four unique, 95-million-year-old dinosaurs in Bahariya in 1911, spent twenty years analyzing them, and then supervised the fossils' installation at the Bavarian State College of Paleontology and Historical Geology in Munich. In April, 1944, everything was lost in the allied bombing of Munich. The story of Stromer's efforts, now almost forgotten, alternates with that of Smith and his group of young Ph.D's from the University of Pennsylvania, who hope to find additional fossils in the same area in January, 2000. Financed by a Los Angeles film company making a documentary, the crew ultimately unearths a 80 - 100 ton new dinosaur species, discovering in the process that at least two other equally gigantic dinosaur species shared space with this titan. How this desert area could support three such huge species becomes the question for the geologists on the trip, a mystery which Nothdurft imbues with immediacy and great excitement as they examine the confusing strata for clues. Nothdurft excels in characterizing the paleontologists and geologists so that the reader can easily imagine participating in the dig along with them. His narrative is fast-paced and full of memorable detail--depictions of Bahariya, with its 130-degree heat and its scorpions, the excitement of the young researchers as they uncover new fossils, and their puzzlement at the paradoxes which unfold. With likeable researchers, and photos and drawings which make their discoveries come alive, this is a wonderful introduction to the challenges of on-site research, the scientific methods of the crew, and the respect with which they regard the past. Ultimately, even the almost-forgotten Ernst Stromer shares in their discoveries. Mary Whipple

WONDERFUL stories

In essence, this is two stories about the discovery and then the rediscovery of dinosaur bones in the Western Desert of Egypt. Past and present are skillfully blended together, and the scientific mumbo-jumbo is kept to a minimum. Highly recommended.

a very nice journey into field paleontology

This book is absolutely great reading. What it makes the book very interesting is the dual story. There is always a very good alternation of passages which describe Ernst Stromers expedition in 1912-14 to the Baharia Oasis (Egypt) on the one hand and the recent expedition of Josh Smith on the other hand. Apart from this it is told a piece of paleontology which has been nearly "forgotten" although Baharia has been the origin of very unique predatory dinosaur species. In the years of 1912-14 Stromer excavated bones of three big theropods: Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and Bahariyasaurus. As a continuation of this story which has been sleeping for so many years we get to know how Josh Smiths team has solved the riddle Stromer left: the discovery of a huge plant-eating new dinosaur species: Paralititan. For everybody who is interested in an entertaining story on straight field paleontology I can recommend this book.The book additionally contains 2 very fine passages with b/w photos. The first one shows photos and the well known monographs from Stromer while the second one shows impressions from Josh Smiths expedition. The second passage also contains two very fine life restorations and skeletal reconstructions of Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus as well as of the new discovered Paralititan.

The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt

The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt written by William Nothdurft with Josh Smith is a very well-written book encompassing two similar tales about finding dinosaurs in the desert of Egypt. This book gracefully tells how a young German paleontologist, Ernst Freiherr Stromer von Reichenbach made a long trek across the hot windy sand-blown desert to a place called the Bahariya Depression, where against all odds, found dinosaurs fossils. Not just ordinary fossils, but bones of an enormus dinosaur. Not only were the bones nearly a hundred million years old, but he found four huge and different entirely new dinosaurs along with dozens of other fossil remains. But Stromer's luck soon would run out, as professional setbacks and war interceeded. Later World War II and the Allied bombing would destroy Stromer's work and the dinosaur bones he was studing. Now, that is just but only adventure.Nearly eighty-nine years later following in Stroner's footsteps to locate the dinosaur graveyard, Josh Smith, a young American graduate student and paleontologist, is trying to find Stromer's dinosaur species, to resurrect the German pioneer's legacy. After working around the Bahariya Depression and their luck running out, ready to pack up and go home and call it quits... lady luck smiles a very broad smile... they found a dinosaur bone... not just a bone but a huge bone. A bone of such immensity that it will stun the world of paleontology. What may have been the largest creature that ever walked the earth. Out of the wind swept desert, blowing sands and hot sun comes this remarkable account of these discoveries relating an exciting story involving dinosaurs, exploration and the tides of European history. This is a compelling story engaging the reader on what must have been a very exciting adventure once the bones were located.This book is a companion edition to the A & E documentary of the same name "The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt." I found this to be even more interesting the the documentary, because there is a lot more detail. Detail that the documentary had no time for, but here it makes a very rich tale and describes events that you will not find anywhere else.This is a very well-written account that will keep you captivated.

Fascinating book, should be a terrific documentary!

The search for dinosaur fossils amid sandstorms and desert heat is anything but dry in this lively story of the excavation in January, 2000, of a site in the western Egyptian desert, partially excavated by Ernst Stromer in 1911, but untouched since then. Nothdurft, a professional writer, working in concert with Josh Smith, the young paleontologist who was the team leader of the January, 2000, dig, tells the stories of both the 1911 and the 2000 excavations, along with the fossil discoveries made by each group. Stromer, a German aristocrat and meticulous paleontologist, found the fossils of four unique, 95-million-year-old dinosaurs in Bahariya in 1911, spent twenty years analyzing them, and then supervised the fossils' installation at the Bavarian State College of Paleontology and Historical Geology in Munich. In April, 1944, everything was lost in the allied bombing of Munich. The story of Stromer's efforts, now almost forgotten, alternates with that of Smith and his group of young Ph.D's from the University of Pennsylvania, who hope to find additional fossils in the same area in January, 2000. Financed by a Los Angeles film company making a documentary, the crew ultimately unearths a 80 - 100 ton new dinosaur species, discovering in the process that at least two other equally gigantic dinosaur species shared space with this titan. How this desert area could support three such huge species becomes the question for the geologists on the trip, a mystery which Nothdurft imbues with immediacy and great excitement as they examine the confusing strata for clues. Nothdurft excels in characterizing the paleontologists and geologists so that the reader can easily imagine participating in the dig along with them. His narrative is fast-paced and full of memorable detail--depictions of Bahariya, with its 130-degree heat and its scorpions, the excitement of the young researchers as they uncover new fossils, and their puzzlement at the paradoxes which unfold. With likeable researchers, and photos and drawings which make their discoveries come alive, this is a wonderful introduction to the challenges of on-site research, the scientific methods of the crew, and the respect with which they regard the past. Ultimately, even the almost-forgotten Ernst Stromer shares in their discoveries. Mary Whipple