Tells the story of fossil hunters Cope and Marsh, and how their early friendship turned into the most famous fossil feud of all time.

Relates the life stories of two nineteenth-century American dinosaur paleontologists and gives details of the bitter feud that existed between them.

Wallace explores in exciting detail the rivalry between the paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Onthniel Charles Marsh--19th-century America's major scientific feud. Cope and Marsh independently discovered hundreds of dinosaur fossils on the high plains when the Indian wars were in full swing.

Edward Drinker Cope was a charming man with a passion for old bones. Othniel Marsh was a stickler for procedure when he studied his fossil finds. They started as friends, sharing ideas and information, but after Marsh tried to poach Cope's digging site, they became bitter enemies. Their decades-long feud fueled their desire to dig up more bones, to discover new species, and to find ever bigger and more unusual dinosaurs. Through their competition, the two men laid a far-reaching foundation for the brand-new field of palentology. A fascinating story told with an engaging narrative technique, and well complemented by period photographs and drawings, a map, a time line, and an author's note.

In the 1880s, science witnessed a major shift: Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution. People dug up the first dinosaur fossils. And the field of paleontology—the study of ancient plants and animals—emerged. Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope became enthralled with these new ideas, discoveries, and developments. Both were determined to become world-famous paleontologists. When they met in 1863, they started off as friends. But within a few years, competition drove the men apart. Each fought bitterly to discover more fossils, name more species, and publish more papers than the other. In their haste to outdo each other, they both produced some shoddy work. The resulting confusion took many years to discover and correct, and their toxic relationship crippled the field of paleontology for decades afterward. However, the competition also produced a wealth of fossils. These laid a firm foundation for the field of paleontology and supported Darwin's theory of evolution. Marsh's and Cope's discoveries generated keen public interest in prehistoric life and rich data for future generations of paleontologists. This book explores the great rivalry between Marsh and Cope, showing how it brought out the best and the worst in them—while bringing humankind a brand-new view of life on Earth.

E. D. Cope and O. C. Marsh were 19th-century paleontologists whose friendship couldn’t withstand their professional rivalry. Their competitive natures led to the frenzied unearthing of hundreds of dinosaur fossils across North America, many of which can still be seen in museums around the world. The captivating tale of these scientists unfolds in this absorbing book, which also includes a timeline, sidebars, and fact boxes offering much information about paleontology, dinosaurs, and excavations as well as photographs and images to further elucidate essential science concepts.

Contains a graphic novel that presents a fictionalized historical tale of two late-nineteenth century scientists who fight over the discovery of dinosaur bones.