William E. Nothdurft - The lost dinosaurs of Egypt

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Every so often, a writer of nonfiction has the good fortune to come across an individual possessed of a great story waiting to be told. In writing this book, I had that good fortune five times over. I am deeply grateful to the five young scientists who established the Bahariya Dinosaur Project: Josh Smith, Matt Lamanna, Jennifer Smith, Ken Lacovara, and Jason Poole. Brilliant, devoted, determined, and absolutely delightful companions and collaborators, I offer them my deepest thanks for their time, their insights, and their abiding good humor and friendship. Thanks, too, go to University of Pennsylvania professors Dr. Robert Giegengack and Dr. Peter Dodson, whose wisdom and experience so enrich the project and this book.

I extend special thanks as well to Hans-Dieter Sues, vice president of collections and research at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, whose knowledge of early European paleontologists in general and Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach in particular were especially valuable. In this regard I also am indebted to Stromers surviving relatives, his granddaughter Rotraut Baumbauer and daughter-in-law Natalie Fryde.

Much of what is known about Stromers activities in Egypt is contained in his own expedition journals. Written in a now-archaic form of German script called Stterlin, the journals would have been useless had it not been for the knowledge, skill, patience, and keen eyesight of my translator, Gisela Meckstroth. Were it not for her, this would have been a very thin story indeed. Translation thanks are also due to Christine Stotz and Sven Sachs. For detailed historical information on the bombing of Munich, I am indebted to British Royal Air Force historian John Larder and to Rob Glover and William Williams of the RAF Lincoln and District Aircrew Association. For background information on Egyptian history I extend my appreciation to Cassandra Vivian and, for her always-rich private library, Joellyn Murphy.

For sharing their photo files and interview transcripts, and for bearing with me in the early days of researching this book, I thank Jim Milio and Melissa Jo Peltier of MPH Entertainment. For her support of the Bahariya Dinosaur Project and this book, I am deeply grateful to Ann Druyan of Cosmos Studios.

I owe the opportunity to write this book entirely to my agent and dear friend, Richard Abate of International Creative Management. I owe the joy I experienced in creating this book entirely to my editor at Random House, the talented and irrepressible Katie Hall. No writer was ever backed by a better or more enthusiastic team.

Finally, for her firm encouragement, abiding patience and steadfast friendship through an exceptionally difficult year, I express my deepest appreciation and affection to Kate Pflaumer.

Josh Smith, Matt Lamanna, Jennifer Smith, Ken Lacovara, and Jason Poole extend special thanks to the Egyptian members of the Bahariya Dinosaur Project, their field partners and friends Yousry Attia, Medhat Said Abdelghani, and Yassir Abdelrazik. They also thank Dr. Robert Giegengack and Dr. Peter Dodson, as well as Khyrate Soleiman and Ahmed Swedan of the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority for their help in making the Bahariya Dinosaur Project such a success. Thanks, too, are extended to field partners Jean Caton, Jean Lacovara, Kirk Johnson, Steve Kurth, Mandy Lyon, Doug Nichols, Allison Tumarkin, and Patti Kane-Vanni, as well as the staff of the El Beshmo Lodge in Bawiti. Thanks, too, are due to Dusti Lewars, Sherry Michael, Fred Mullison, Lisa Sachs, and all other preparators at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences who worked on Paralititan, as well as Ted Daeschler. And for their financial, moral, or professional support, they thank Jim Milio, Melissa Jo Peltier and Mark Hufnail of MPH Entertainment, Ann Druyan and Kent Gibson of Cosmos Studios, the late Emilie de Hellebranth, the Delaware Valley Paleontological Society, Barbara Grandstaff, Carrie Schweitzer, Bob Walters, Tess Kissenger, Bruce Mohn, Rainbow Studios, Hans-Dieter Sues, Helmut Mayr, Tom Holtz, Jerry Harris, You Hailu, Rud Sadleir, Rubn Martinez, Eric Buffetaut, Marc Weichmann, Oliver Rauhut, and the Interlibrary Loan staff at the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition, Josh Smith offers his personal thanks to his father and mother Raymond and Carol Smith, and to Luther, Tracey, Mike, Andrew, and, especially, Jen. Matt Lamanna thanks his father and mother, Carl Lamanna and Deborah Cooper, as well as Jon and other family and friends. Jennifer Smith thanks her mother and father, Noreen and Vincent Smith, along with Chris Williams and Josh. Ken Lacovara thanks his father, Bob Lacovara, and wife Jean, as well as Drexel University Dean Selcuk Guceri and University of Pennsylvania professors Dr. Hermann Pfefferkorn and Dr. Edward L. Doheny. Jason Poole adds his thanks to his wife, Dusti, and daughter, Arielle. Not incidentally, Jason thanks his eighth grade biology teacher, Mrs. Rubin, for teaching him the scientific method and for opening his eyes to the world around himan expression of appreciation for early teachers echoed by his other four American colleagues in the Bahariya Dinosaur Project.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

WILLIAM E. NOTHDURFT

Will Nothdurft is the author, co-author, or ghostwriter of nearly a dozen books of nonfiction, including the international award-winning expedition chronicle Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine, which was published in several languages. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

JOSHUA B. SMITH

Josh Smith holds a B.Sc. in environmental geology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1994) and an M.Sc. in geology from the University of Pennsylvania (1997). He is scheduled to receive a Ph.D. in paleontology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. Josh has studied geology and paleontology in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Canadian High Arctic, Alberta, China, Argentina, and Egypt. He is the author or co-author of thirteen scientific publications and has directed the Bahariya Dinosaur Project since its inception in 1999. Josh currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his wife, Jen.

MATTHEW C. LAMANNA

Matt Lamanna received a B.Sc. from Hobart College in 1997 and an M.Sc. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999, and expects to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. He has discovered and excavated dinosaurs in Wyoming, Montana, Argentina, and Egypt. He lives in Philadelphia.

KEN LACOVARA

Ken Lacovara holds a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Delaware (1998), a masters degree from the University of Maryland, and a bachelors degree from Rowan University. He has studied modern and ancient coastal systems around the world and is particularly interested in the coastal habitats of dinosaurs. A former professional drummer, Ken can still be seen on occasion playing in Philadelphia jazz clubs. He lives outside Philadelphia with his wife, Jean, and is an associate professor at Drexel University.

JASON C. POOLE

Jason Poole (aka Chewie) is a fossil preparator, bone illustrator, field technician, and teacher at the Academy of Natural Sciences, where he focuses primarily on the Mesozoic world. Jason manages a staff of many volunteer and part-time preparators who support the work of the Bahariya Dinosaur Project and other projects in Montana, South America, and Pennsylvania. Jason resides in Philadelphias East Oak Lane, where he grew up, and works in a museum that was an awe-inspiring influence in his young life. He spends his free time with a sketchbook and his family.

JENNIFER R. SMITH

Jen Smith received a B.A. from Harvard College (1996), and an M.Sc. (1998) and Ph.D. (2001) from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research involves the evolving relationship between people and their environment in the archaeological record. She firmly believes the geologists adage, Whoever sees the most rocks, wins, and is trying very hard to win. She currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband, Josh.