Impossible Monsters

An account of the discovery of deep time that is as thrilling as it is sweeping, populated by a brilliantly drawn cast of characters, and vivid with a Mesozoic bestiary

TOM HOLLAND

This book confirms what I've suspected for a while, that Michael Taylor is the most talented young historian around. This book dazzles in its originality and there is something you want to commit to memory on every page. A triumph

SATHNAM SANGERA, author of Empireworld

A sweeping account of the discovery of dinosaurs and the horrifying depths of time, and their impact on god-fearing Victorians. Taylor marches us with panache from Bishop Ussher's impossibly young world to today's incomprehensibly old planet. We feel the awe and fright across society as the vast reptilian empires are brought to light

ADRIAN DESMOND, author of Darwin's Sacred Cause

In this stunning work of popular history, historian Michael Taylor shows how the discovery of dinosaurs triggered a domino effect that shook the foundations of western culture. A most engrossing book of surprises and revelations

STEVE BRUSATTE, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

A truly marvellous book: superb research and a sparkling narrative dramatize an epic battle of ideas and an intellectual thriller. Michael Taylor succeeds in reanimating those famous dinosaur wars of the 19th century with real brilliance, and makes them as fresh and furious as ever. Exuberant, stylish and brilliantly sustained throughout

RICHARD HOLMES, author of The Age of Wonder

Tremendously entertaining. Michael Taylor brings to splendid life the scandal and skulduggery that ensued as Victorian society came to terms with the existence of the shockingly unbiblical dinosaurs

CATHERINE FLETCHER, author of The Beauty and the Terror

Brilliant, entertaining, noteworthy

BEN MILLER, actor and comedian

Eloquent and authoritative, we're shown how the discoveries of ancient reptiles shook the very foundations of conservative nineteenth-century Britain

PAUL BARRETT, Natural History Museum

An extraordinary and important tale of a seismic moment in intellectual history. Epic in scale yet intimate in detail, Taylor’s Impossible Monsters is a masterclass in combining peerless erudition with superb storytelling

MATTHEW PARKER, author of One Fine Day

Amazing ... Taylor paints the complex picture of the fundamental tension between religion and geology through the nineteenth century with verve and humour ... An important story that still affects us today

MICHAEL BENTON, author of The Dinosaurs Rediscovered

An astonishing book about an extraordinary subject. Michael Taylor tells the story of the collision of science and religion in an age of change with authority, wit and verve. A delight

PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Earth Transformed

Excellent . . . Everything that popular scholarly history should be . . . written with clarity, zest, and wit

Piers Brendon, Literary Review

Impossible Monsters captivatingly outlines how the unearthing of strange bones toppled traditional understanding of the origins of the world . . . rather miraculous

Roger Lewis, Telegraph ****

Eminently readable and well-researched . . . He writes well, knows his subject and has a fine eye for detail

Spectator

Well-paced . . . fascinating . . . And it has a charming leitmotif, namely, the periodic discovery of yet another dinosaur, each seemingly larger and more monstrous than the last . . . Taylor movingly tells us of the agony inflicted by scientific discovery on the "honest doubters"

A N Wilson, The Times

Marvellous . . . Impossible Monsters is a work of remarkable range. Taylor . . . belongs to that rare class of writers who can effortlessly encompass both scientific arcana and intellectual currents. It is also to his credit that he every so often takes us away from the high tables to show us what ordinary people made of these huge strides in thinking

Pratinav Anil, Guardian

Such an attractive book . . . a sympathetic, charming, beautifully written guide through a pivotal part of history

John van Whye, BBC History Magazine

In writing Impossible Monsters, the task of Michael Taylor . . . was to tell a much-told tale better than it had been told before. He has succeeded splendidly . . . Mr Taylor also conveys a sense of just how risky it was to believe in and promulgate the new ideas tied to the rocks and tropical forests where people hunted for specimens

Economist

Skilfully blends an impressive array of sources into a highly readable, almost novelistic narrative. In particular, it features many women who played crucial roles but are too often invisible . . . Including gripping tales as well as serious commentary, Impossible Monsters chips out a fascinating slice through the strata of Victorian society

History Today

The emotional impact on the Victorians . . . was profound . . . Taylor recounts not just the interventions of palaeontologists and geologists but also those stricken by events as their faith evaporated . . . he marshals his cast expertly and shows lucidly why it mattered so much

New Statesman

Taylor’s . . . lively prose make[s] for an extremely enjoyable excursion into a world where impossible monsters emerged from beneath the ground and forced us to rethink all our beliefs about the origins of our planet

Times Literary Supplement

The tale of how evolution became a dominant paradigm is rousing . . . Taylor’s book breathes new life into its dons and explorers. The writing is crisp, the handling of the scholarship graceful and precise

The Critic

This splendid history of discovery tells a much-told tale better than it has been told before

The Economist

This splendid history of discovery tells a much-told tale better than it has been told before

Economist, *Summer Reads of 2024*

Michael Taylor has produced a greatly informative, meticulously researched, and exciting read, tracing the relationship between Christianity and the explosive effects of scientific theory

Church Times

Elegantly written, compellingly readable

Wall Street Journal

One of the most interesting stories in the world . . . brilliant . . . told with brio and humour, but not without a sense of the pathos of Doubt . . . I relished every word

A. N. Wilson, Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year