From my childhood library

This work is based upon the records of the author's 1922-1929 expeditions to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia which lead to the discovery of the ancestor of the ceratops group of Dinosaurs , and the first Dinosaur eggs ever found; prior to that they had much speculation, but no proof, as to how Dinosaurs reproduced.

It's a first person narrative written 31 years after the expedition for a juvenile audience by the organizer and leader of the expedition. Other than the year the expeditions began being given, specific dates are not identified; the sequence of events, to the best of my knowledge, is correctly recounted. Reading it, you have no idea that it covers the events of several years of exploration, rather than just one expedition; it wasn't until just now, as I checked Wikipedia that I became aware of this, which drops it down the scale as a source for information. It's not a source you would cite in a research paper, but it is useful in regard to giving you a launching place for further research. It's good for popularizing the activity, which was it's purpose, after all.

The first 33 pages of 138 pages of actual text are a background on the history of Paleontology up to the time of the expedition, to provide proper context. It's a very good introduction to the history of Paleontology up to the time of publication; the interesting thing is that while there may have been some changes in the technology of recording the discovery and preservation of fossil remains prior to transport, the specifics of excavation haven't really changed that much. So while not a current work, it really won't steer you wrong in regard to what paleontology is like for those actively seeking new fossil finds, and it presents a very realistic account of what such an expedition is like, including the amount of sheer luck involved; yes, one can determine if an area had the proper circumstances for the creation of fossils, but actually locating them is very much a matter of dogged perseverance combined with luck, given the limited time for such exploration each year; it isn't something you do outside of the dry season, the actual excavation.

While it is pointed out that the purpose of the expedition included collecting specimens of current flora and fauna, and recording their distribution, and mapping the area covered, the primary focus of the text is the search for and discovery of fossil remains. And it is made very clear just how much chance was involved in their actual discoveries, how only the slightest deviation in the course and timing of their actions would have been needed to result in their not having made the discoveries that they made. Such an expedition is made only on the understanding that you may not have any useful results from it other than expanded knowledge of the current geographic environment.

The raising of funds for expeditions such as this has always been problematic, as there are few upfront economic incentives; those seeking more than the expansion of knowledge have to recognize that there is no guarantee that the results will be of economic advantage to them; those involved in petitioning for and organizing and leading such activities do so because they are driven to do so by their personal interests/obsessions, not from the perspective of economic benefit, although those who are successful in the long term do develop means of monetizing the results of their research out of sheer necessity; popularizations such as this being a case in point. In this particular case, while not mentioned in the book itself, one source of funding was a group that believed that Central Asia was where Homo Sapiens developed, and was hoping that evidence supporting this theory would be found; such evidence was not found, not surprising in the light of future research establishing Africa as the region of origin for our species; but, in order to find evidence to support their beliefs, someone had to actually go there and examine the fossil record, which made them a source of funding for those interested in exploring that region; apparently, at the time the author had been a perty to their belief, so he was aware of them as a funding source. Since by the time he wrote this book that belief had been disproven, he had personal reasons to not mention it in a work popularizing the expeditions. Which is another point against this as a non-biased account, although quite understandable; no one wants to portray themselves as a fool. However, not including in your published thesis things that you set out to prove which you instead disproved, or at least didn't prove, is a form of scientific dishonesty, that if found out, can come back to bite you; it makes all of your reports suspect.

I first read it ~1969 as a nine year old. I still have that copy, which cannot be said of very much that I'd read up until then. Despite all the things I've learned while researching it as I wrote this review, it's still very good for what it is, namely, a positive presentation of paleontology historically and in practice. Just recognize that it's a popularization aimed at a juvenile audience in the early 1950s, and not a scientific report. There are undoubtedly better works popularizing paleontology currently available, but not concerning this series of expeditions in specific. ( )

Great in it's time for a seven-year old kid! ( )