Danger in the Desert: True Adventures of a Dinosaur Hunter

by Roger Cohen

In the movies, there’s Indiana Jones; but in the real world, there was Roy Chapman Andrews. Some say this fearless, larger-than-life adventurer—who, like Indiana, had a wide-brimmed hat, leather jacket, and six-shooter—may have been the inspiration for the big-screen hero.
From 1910 to 1930, Andrews led countless expeditions for the American Museum of Natural History, boldly facing such dangers as killer pythons, man-eating wild dogs, marauding bandits, blinding sandstorms, and imprisonment by corrupt officials. Even as China and Mongolia exploded in revolutionary chaos, he and his team of paleontologists intrepidly journeyed by car, camel, and horse through the uncharted Gobi desert where he discovered the largest deposits of dinosaur fossils ever seen. His group amazed the world with their discoveries—and scientists are still following in Andrews’s footsteps, digging in the rich sites he found.

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2008

Reviews

[Lawrence Lihosit · Rating 3 out of 5]

ROGER COHEN’S BOOK about adventurer Roy Chapman Andrews will make any boy smile. It includes tales of snakes, battles with bandits, towering sandstorms, and even managing camel caravans. You might enjoy it too since there is a little boy sleeping in many a grown man you’d call sensible.
The subject of this young adult biography is a man who organized scientific expeditions for the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Hired as a recent college graduate to sweep floors, Andrews learned quickly, and over the subsequent thirty-six years he was sent to remote parts of the world for various studies. He also wrote a series of his own books about these adventures.
Cohen’s book concentrates on Andrew’s first (1922) of many expeditions into the forbidding Gobi Desert during the waning days of China’s first experiment with a republican government under the elected president Sun Yat-Sen. China was anything but modern and the Gobi was considered one of the most inhospitable and inaccessible places on earth with temperatures fluctuating between summer highs of 145 degrees and winter lows of -40 degrees; it was a land of screeching blizzards and smothering sandstorms. Mounted bandits roamed. Poisonous snakes abounded.
Revolver on his hip, Andrews led the expedition that not only recovered countless dinosaur fossils, but also revolutionized scientific theory when his men uncovered dinosaur eggs. Until that moment, the scientific community had assumed that dinosaurs were mammals born alive.
One reason that the expedition was so successful was the ingenious use of the automobile. Andrew’s explained, “We’re going to do it the Mongolian way. We’ll hire a camel caravan to carry fuel for the cars and other supplies. The caravan will meet us at certain points along the route. We’ll be able to stay mobile and explore a huge amount of territory.”
Even so, the exploration was not easy. After getting lost, they discovered that their old Russian maps were inaccurate. They faced apocalyptic sandstorm, and as temperatures dropped they had to battle vipers. One night alone, they killed forty-seven snakes that had slithered into their warm tents.
Like Odysseus, Andrews displayed guile. While driving through a Mongolian mountain pass, armed and mounted bandit sharpshooters literally shot the steering wheel, forcing Andrew’s vehicle to the side of the road, stuck. Since Andrews and his sidekick had not had time to return fire, the bandits thought them unarmed and approached casually, talking. Andrews and his friend then shot two of the bandits, and the others fled. Later near the Chinese border, Andrews faced four mounted bandits. “Each wore a thin dust-covered dell and had a long musket slung across his back.” Andrews drew his ever-present pistol and gunned his car’s engine, heading straight toward them. The engine’s roar spooked the horses “throwing two to the ground. The other two men dropped their muskets . . ..”
The book also digresses to important moments in Andrew’s life; his childhood experiences in the wild, his introduction to the museum, and his early studies of whales. This is a fascinating story about a man who is generally believed to have inspired the cinematic Indiana Jones character. In an age of robotic astronauts, it is refreshing to read about an individual, cut off from his homeland, who adapts and succeeds much like a Peace Corps Volunteer. The author, Roger Cohen, served in Mongolia, traveled through the Gobi Desert, and met locals who still speak “of the richest sites of dinosaur bones in the world” and their discoverer, Roy Chapman Andrews

[Dustin]

Dustin Veal - Review
4/29/15

Danger in the Desert
300 pages
Nonfiction


After driving hours through the blazing desert Roy and his excavation crew were lost with the fear of never getting out of the desert alive. They’ve been looking for his buddy, Merin with their caravan, so he can carry out all the excavated dino bones. Then get out the the desert considering he and his excavation team are running out of gas. After they find an old Mongolian man in the desert and get directions, their hope of getting out desert is once again alive. while in the mitts of their luck their photographer, Charles stumbled upon the largest amount of unscathed bones they’ve seen all season.

Every other chapter is like a step through Roy’s life. If you ever wanted to look for dinosaurs in the desert you should read this book. I like this book because I connected to it a lot from the Mongolian man yelling at his guard dog to Charles accidentally stumbling upon something no one even noticed. I believe the author was trying to give people a good story and he more than succeeded. I also really connected with Roy’s personality & leadership Roy was shown to be a great Archaeologist with a great crew.

This book is very interesting . If you care about the study of Archaeology & Paleontology you would really like this book. My only problem with it is I wish there more pages to turn. The writer like any good writer leaves you wanting more. I found this book to be

[Jason Golomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is perfect for budding adventurers, dinosaur hunters and archaeologists. It follows the life and times of paleontologist and explorer Roy Chapman Andrews. During the early part of the 20th century, Andrews finds dinosaur bones in the Mongolian desert, explores the tropics for rare animal species, and becomes one of the earliest scientists to study (rather than hunt) whales.

The book is written at a fairly high elementary school level - maybe strong 3rd grade readers and up. I'm reading the story to my first grader and finding myself modifying some of the language so he can understand better(ex: hanging jungle lianas becomes hanging jungle vines).

In addition to exploration and discovery, "Danger" introduces anthropology and cultural awareness when Chapman spends some time in a Mongolian ger (tent) while finding himself lost in the Gobi desert. My son particularly enjoyed hearing what the Mongolian's ate and how they were able to quickly collapse their ger, move to a new location, and pop it back up.

One of the stories is a little raw (Chapman's best friend dies in a boating accident), but all of them will appeal to a boys' imagination.

I highly recommended "Danger in the Desert".

[Ginger Poulsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay, but could've been better. It's a biography written for kids, so the tone is more juvenile than I would like. I really would've liked more pictures of all the things the guy discovered. It all sounds fascinating, but there were very few photographs included in the book.

Oh, crap. Now I need to pick another book to read.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope to visit Mongolia and usually enjoy Young Adult books, but Im a little disappointed in this one. I feel it underestimates and patronizes the reader. But I'm so fascinated with the culture, I'd read anything about it.

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian loved the adventure exploration.