Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2019 Gr 7 Up—The conflict between two pioneering 19th-century scientists provides a framework for detailing the burgeoning scientific fields of evolutionary theory and paleontology in this accessible history for younger readers. Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh came to their professional scientific careers in the wake of the U.S. Civil War from very distinct backgrounds and achieved prominence through different means, but they began work as contemporaries and affable colleagues and ended as bitter enemies. Noyes details Marsh and Cope's individual accomplishments, their feud and its repercussions, contemporary developments in the scientific community that impacted their work, and the popular interest in science that supported their research and gave an audience to their dispute. The discovery of troves of pre-historic bones in the opening American West provided an apt landscape upon which Marsh and Cope could act out their resentments toward each other, use the media to shape the public's understanding of dinosaurs and science as a discipline, and outline the direction of paleontology for generations to come. Detailed sidebars and insets give the history and science behind Cope and Marsh's work and the ways that the pair have influenced paleontology and scientific inquiry today. VERDICT An exciting retelling of the passionate rivalry between two researchers, and the dinosaurs that ignited their intellectual labors and fueled their conflict. Recommended for middle and high school nonfiction collections.—Kelly Kingrey-Edwards, Blinn Junior College, Brenham, TX - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2019 The Wild West: home of outlaws, showdowns, rustlers, raids—and dinosaur wars? It seems impossible, but as recently as 200 years ago, most people were ignorant of these prehistoric creatures. When troves of bones surfaced out west during the mid-1800s, it ignited fierce competition to find, classify, and excavate skeletons, led by two polar opposites: Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh. Cope was an overeducated, passionate, self-funded prodigy; Marsh had a sketchy education, family money, and connections. These opposing parties schemed to secure the rarest, biggest, longest, and most complete treasures, resorting to spies, lies, thievery, disclaimers, accusations, and written warfare in science journals. In their haste to out-do each other, mistakes were made: identical specimens cataloged under multiple names, body parts mixed up, skulls mounted backwards (or even on the wrong end). The entertaining text reports this evolving chaos in an accessible, engaging style, deftly integrating historical events (the Civil War, Custer's Last Stand), sidebars, and period illustrations. The cover will attract browsers, and the delivery and fresh content should satisfy readers—paleontologists or otherwise. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.