Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards (2005) is a graphic novel written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by the company Big Time Attic. It tells a slightly fictionalized account of the Bone Wars, a period of intense rivalry over the excavation of dinosaur fossils in the western United States. The novel is the first semi-fictional work written by Ottaviani; previously, he had taken no creative license with the characters he depicted, portraying them strictly according to historical sources. Bone Sharps follows two scientists, Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope (pictured), as they pursue their hotheaded and sometimes illegal acquisitions of fossils. Along the way, they encounter P. T. Barnum, Buffalo Bill, Alexander Graham Bell, Ulysses S. Grant, and other figures of the Gilded Age. Upon release, the novel was praised by critics for its historical content, although some reviewers were disappointed by the fictional elements.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_Sharps,_Cowboys,_and_Thunder_Lizards

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1812:

French invasion of Russia: As Napoleon's Grande Armée began its retreat, its rear guard was defeated at the Battle of Vyazma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vyazma

1948:

The Chicago Daily Tribune published the erroneous headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" in its early morning edition shortly after incumbent U.S. President Harry S. Truman officially upset the heavily favored Governor of New York Thomas Dewey in the presidential election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Defeats_Truman

1954:

The first film featuring the giant monster known as Godzilla was released (poster pictured) nationwide in Japan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla

1996:

Abdullah Çatlı, a leader of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves, was killed in a car crash near Susurluk, Balıkesir Province, Turkey, sparking a scandal which exposed the depth of the state's complicity in organized crime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susurluk_scandal

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

amigurumi: 1. (uncountable, knitting) The Japanese art of crocheting or knitting stuffed yarn toys, typically creatures having oversized heads. 2. (countable, knitting) Such a stuffed toy crocheted or knitted from yarn. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amigurumi

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Political ideological systems are based on conceptions of the natural life process. They may further or hinder the natural life process. They themselves, however, do not function at the roots of the social process. They may be democratic; in that case they further the natural human life process. They may be authoritarian and dictatorial; in that case they are its deadly enemy.   --Wilhelm Reich https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich