The last dinosaur book : the life and times of a cultural icon

Resource Information

The work The last dinosaur book : the life and times of a cultural icon represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The last dinosaur book : the life and times of a cultural icon

Title remainder

the life and times of a cultural icon

Statement of responsibility

W.J.T. Mitchell

Creator

• Mitchell, W. J. T., (William John Thomas), 1942-

Subject

• Dinosaurs -- Social aspects -- United States
• History
• Dinosaur paraphernalia -- United States
• Signs and symbols -- United States -- History -- 20th century
• Popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century

Genre

• History

Language

eng

Summary

"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."--BOOK JACKET

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

306/.0973

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

E169.04

LC item number

.M58 1998

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography