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otterno11's review
4.0
Retro review*
This interesting travelogue sheds light on the sordid world of international fossil smuggling and would be very useful reading for anyone with a hobby of collecting fossils. It follows Australian paleontologist John Long as he teams up with American "fossil cop" Sgt. Steve Rogers to investigate the theft and destruction of rare dinosaur footprints at an Aboriginal sacred site in Broome, Western Australia. Traveling across the globe, Rogers instructs Long about the illegal world of fossil poachers, criminals who steal the world's cultural and scientific treasures to sell to the highest bidders, often ending up in American and European collectors shops and trade shows. The journey the book takes is interesting in itself, but the book also provides information on fossil smuggling in many countries in the world, and gives advice on how to know if you are purchasing an ethically "legal" fossil, one imported without taking from another country's geological heritage. Photos and illustrations of fossils and the people who discover them also fill the book.
*It has been some years since I read this, so it may be a little vague
This interesting travelogue sheds light on the sordid world of international fossil smuggling and would be very useful reading for anyone with a hobby of collecting fossils. It follows Australian paleontologist John Long as he teams up with American "fossil cop" Sgt. Steve Rogers to investigate the theft and destruction of rare dinosaur footprints at an Aboriginal sacred site in Broome, Western Australia. Traveling across the globe, Rogers instructs Long about the illegal world of fossil poachers, criminals who steal the world's cultural and scientific treasures to sell to the highest bidders, often ending up in American and European collectors shops and trade shows. The journey the book takes is interesting in itself, but the book also provides information on fossil smuggling in many countries in the world, and gives advice on how to know if you are purchasing an ethically "legal" fossil, one imported without taking from another country's geological heritage. Photos and illustrations of fossils and the people who discover them also fill the book.
*It has been some years since I read this, so it may be a little vague
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