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Read Dinosaurs In The Attic: An Excursion Into The American Museum Of Natural History (1993)

Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History (1993)

Online Book

Rating
4.14 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0312104561 (ISBN13: 9780312104566)
Language
English
Publisher
st. martin's griffin

Dinosaurs In The Attic: An Excursion Into The American Museum Of Natural History (1993) - Plot & Excerpts

Now this was satisfying from nearly beginning to end. It's a look at New York City's natural history museum, split into two parts. The first is a more straightforward history of the institution, both how it came about as well as how the philosophy of managing an enormous natural history collection developed over the years. The second half is a look at some of the specific pieces in the collection, selected to illustrate various aspects of the mission of the museum. And, let me stress, it had A LOT of Ripley's Believe It Or Not type trivia facts. Isn't that what really sparks the interest of a six year old kid in a museum in the first place? And did you know there are broken plaster casts of dinosaurs buried in Central Park? Coincidentally, this book was written in the mid 80s, which was about the time I first became very familiar with the AMNH, and shortly before the explosion of brightly colored and loud interactive displays at museums. I know I'm a curmudgeon, but I cannot express how much I hate that trend in museums. Oftentimes, the display is broken to begin with, and even if it's not, I'm put off by how manky all the buttons and screens are after having been touched by countless grabby people, many of whom would seem to have recently eaten greasy food. In addition to being generally informative, I loved this book because it created such a vivid picture of the natural history museums I remember. Museums where you were supposed to be quiet and contemplative and smell like floor polish. If you need me, I'll be yelling at kids to get off my lawn.Grade: A+Recommended: To armchair naturalists, fans of natural history museums, and people who enjoy reminiscing about New York City cultural touchstones.2008/11

Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History by Douglas Preston★★★★Dinosaurs in the Attic is a chronicle of the expeditions, discoveries, and scientists behind the greatest natural history collection ever assembled – found at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. I love museums and I love books (obviously), so this was right up my alley. This book doesn’t delve into the most of the more known objects and people associated with the museum but those behind the scenes that made it what it is such as the collectors, explorers, and researchers. And what tales they are! Adventure, murder, and deceit – and that’s only in the first 60 pages. The first half of the book deals with the beginning of the museum while the second part deals with more “modern” technology and research. There were also 36 photos that were quite good and I enjoyed them.It must be said that this book was written in 1986 so it is a little out of date and no doubt the museum has been updated to some extent since then not to mention the naming of some countries (for example, Zaire is mentioned in this book, a country that no longer exists). This was a very enjoyable book and I had trouble putting it down. It’s a subject that may sound boring to some but it was far from. My one annoyance was my Kindle copy I have. It’s fairly obvious that it didn’t convent properly in some places, such as words with “in” in them came through as “m” on my Kindle. So for example, “finalized” came out as “fmalized”. A minor bother that I was able to get through.

What do You think about Dinosaurs In The Attic: An Excursion Into The American Museum Of Natural History (1993)?

Great book for all you museum lovers. This was a great way to learn the behind the scenes, neat stories about the history of the American Museum of Natural History and some of the exhibits and relics within. Douglas Preston's writing style and interest in the subject matter makes this a more enjoyable read. It was organized to tell a good story, rather than chronologically like a history of the museum would have been.Two things I wish 1) He had written an updated version once the Night At the Museum movies came out. Not necessarily to include movie facts and trivia, but it makes me interested to know how the museum, its layout, and its story has changed in the last 25 years. 2) I would like to find one similarly written regarding the Smithsonian museums in DC. I have never been to NYC or the Amerian Museum of Natural History, but I spent my childhood bouning around the Smithsonian Museums. I read this book assuming (correctly) that it would hold my interest and fulfill my desire for cool non-fiction/history trivia (this is like a long look into the Science, History, or Discovery Channel's hour long specials, with no commercials!)
—Julianne

This is a very well written book that takes snapshots in the building of the American Museum of Natural History and brings them to life for the reader. He documents key events in the life of the Museum and delves into the origins of much of the material that is in the Museum today. His intelligence and passion for natural history come through clearly in his prose, which captures the reader and propels them to the next item.I was attracted to Preston's work because of a movie that I loved (The Relic), which was based on a book written by Preston and Lincoln Childs. After reading it, I decided to read everything else of theirs I could get my hands on. It so happens I started with this. The book is lively, social, and engaging. I was enthralled from the first page.
—Amy

This book is a pleasant guided tour through one of the best known museums in New York. It is also a history of where I work. AMNH is a massive place with a great history, a history that isn’t as well organized as Preston’s book would let you believe. The institutional memory is spotty, and not well-organized. I have spent some days digging around old files and found some odd things myself, but not about objects that are quite as famous as the ones in this book. And so I am thankful to have this resource.Preston does a very good job in creating quick biographical portraits of the important players in the museum. I don’t know if anyone involved in “A Night at the Museum” has read Dinosaurs in the Attic but they certainly missed out on a lot of great opportunities for real characters, stories, and events, more than Teddy Roosevelt and a gum-chewing statue. I have used this book as a guide to some of the less celebrated objects that are on display. It is very enjoyable to read about an object one night, and see it the next day at work. This book puts the museum’s cursory label decks to shame, not that I blame the AMNH editorial staff (whom I work with) but rather I blame how museum artifacts are consumed. I don’t think many people would stop to read 500 words about a diorama, no matter how many people died to produce it.I’m very glad to have read Dinosaurs in the Attic, and I wish that there were a few more volumes to wander through, because, to be perfectly honest, the museum is just too damn big, and even I can’t get into all of the rooms.
—Roy

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