{"product_id":"the-dinosaur-artist-obsession-betrayal-and-the-quest-for-earth-s-ultimate-trophy-9781911617907","title":"The Dinosaur Artist : Obsession, Betrayal, And The Quest For Earth's Ultimate Trophy","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew Yorker magazine staff writer Paige Williams delves into the surprisingly perilous world of fossil collectors in this riveting true tale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: 'a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton'. In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar - a close cousin to the more-famous T. rex - that had been unearthed in Mongolia. At 2.4 metres high and 7.3 metres long, the specimen was spectacular, and the winning bid was over $1 million.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eEric Prokopi, a 38-year-old Floridian, had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A one-time swimmer who'd spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fuelled a thriving business, hunting for, preparing, and selling specimens to clients ranging from natural-history museums to avid private collectors like Leonardo DiCaprio.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut had Prokopi gone too far this time? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. An international custody battle ensued, with Prokopi watching as his own world unravelled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history, and about a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artist illuminates the history of fossil collecting - a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, and enthusiast and opportunist can easily blur.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Scribe Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42977573666982,"sku":"9781911617907","price":19.9,"currency_code":"MYR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0443\/8471\/4918\/products\/9781911617907.jpg?v=1656103221","url":"https:\/\/bookxcess.myshopify.com\/products\/the-dinosaur-artist-obsession-betrayal-and-the-quest-for-earth-s-ultimate-trophy-9781911617907","provider":"Staging Site ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}