new book

[Farlow@IPFW.EDU (Farlow,James)]

     I've just received a copy of what looks like a fascinating book:  
     Adrienne Mayor, 2000, _The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek 
     and Roman Times_, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-05863-6.
     Mayor discusses the way that various fossil vertebrates were 
     interpreted by Classical observers.  I loved the way she took a model 
     of a mammoth skeleton, twisted it around, and turned it into a human 
     giant, a la Polyphemus.  It looks like there's stuff about centaurs, 
     satyrs, griffins, and other odd beasts.  I think I will enjoy this 
     book as much as anything in a long time.
     
     Jim Farlow