THE DINOSAUR ARTIST Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate Trophy

The first thing that greets listeners is a list of abbreviations. The fact that ICE and the MPP, a Mongolian political party, relate to fossil collecting is a sign that the true story of smuggler Eric Prokopi has many strands. Narrator Ellen Archer draws listeners in, laying out facts while building sympathy for Prokopi and curiosity about where his story is going. Prokopi eventually faces a moody ride to prison and is found guilty of smuggling a Mongolian T-Bataar fossil. Before author Paige Williams gets to that, though, listeners learn about the business of fossils and the tensions between for-profit fossil hunters and the paleontological community. Williams and Archer show a human where authorities saw only a "one-man black market." J.A.S. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2018]