Over 65 million years ago in what is now South Dakota, a Tyrannosaurus rex fell into a riverbed and died. In 1990, the skeleton was found, virtually complete, in what many call the most spectacular dinosaur fossil discovery ever. This is an account of the battles that ensued over rights to the find, involving dinosaur hunters, a federal prosecutor, and a Native American tribe, and pitting museums against corporate giants.

Vol. 1 has subtitle: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals and vol. 2: Small mammals, xenarthrans, and marine mammals.