Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
For animals that have been dead millions of years, dinosaurs are extraordinarily pervasive in our everyday lives. Appearing in ads, books, movies, museums, television, toy stores, and novels, they continually fascinate both adults and children. How did they move from natural extinction to pop culture resurrection? What is the source of their powerful appeal? Until now, no one has addressed this question in a comprehensive way. In this exploration of the animal's place in our lives, W. J. T.
Mitchell shows why we are so attached to the myth and the reality of the "terrible lizards.".
Drawing a distinction between Dinosauria, a scientific grouping of extinct land animals, and dinosaurs, the cultural icons, Mitchell traces the family tree of the latter. What he discovers is a creature of striking flexibility, linked to dragons and mammoths, skyscrapers and steam engines, cowboys and Indians.
In the vast territory between the cunning predators of Jurassic Park and the mawkishly sweet Barney, from political leviathans to corporate icons, from paleontology to Barnum and Bailey, Mitchell finds a cultural symbol whose plurality of meaning and often contradictory nature is emblematic of modern society itself.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Dinosaur paraphernalia, Dinosaurs, History, Popular culture, Signs and symbols, Social aspects, Social aspects of Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs in artPlaces
United StatesTimes
20th centuryShowing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
The last dinosaur book: the life and times of a cultural icon
1998, University of Chicago Press
in English
0226532046 9780226532042
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-306) and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?July 14, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
August 27, 2020 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
February 13, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove fake subjects |
January 26, 2012 | Edited by EdwardBot | add books to in library lending |
December 9, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |