{"product_id":"2940170110506","title":"The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate Trophy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e magazine staff writer Paige Williams explores the riveting and perilous world of fossil collectors in this \"tremendous\" (David Grann) true tale of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongoliaamp;mdash;\"a triumphant book\" (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e) that is \"steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and politics\" (Rebecca Skloot).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\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 \u003ci\u003eT. bataar\u003c\/i\u003e, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the \u003ci\u003eT. bataar\u003c\/i\u003e went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Dinosaur Artist\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, \u003ci\u003eThe Dinosaur Artist\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates the history of fossil collectingamp;mdash;a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hachette Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47104812351728,"sku":"2940170110506","price":25.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170110506_p0.jpg?v=1763702494","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170110506","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}