"Dinosaur Mania was at it's peak, the Civil War was still fresh in peoples' minds and Tammany Hall corruption was ruling New York.
This is a great effort by an up-and-coming author. The pace of Jurassic Park with the real life backdrop of Andrew Carnegie's "Bone Wars" and a great 'Indiana Jones' hero make this book a winner! If you enjoy adventure, science and history this is the book for you. Watch out "National Treasure"!" Amazon.com

"Here's a clever idea for a new dino book for young adult readers! Taking place in 1871 against a backdrop of the golden age of paleontology and the beginnings of human fascination with dinosaurs, this "fictional" story begins with the violent destruction of a Paleozoic museum in New York City and the unique competition that results. In response to an eccentric millionaire's contest to assemble the world's greatest collection of dinosaur bones, fascinating characters take off on individual quests, full of action and intrigue, in search of fossils. Loosely based on real historical events, the epilogue offers a true account of the real life people and events that inspired the story and their important contributions to the science of paleontology. It turns out to be a non-stop historical action adventure set amongst the fascinating time when dinosaur mania first took hold in America. Sort of Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Jurassic Park!" Prehistoric Times Magazine

Synopsis:

A prehistoric museum is destroyed by corrupt city officials.  This leads an eccentric millionaire to sponsor a contest to help him assemble the world’s greatest collection of dinosaur bones.  Adventure and deceit follows the competition to win the contest in THE BONE RACE: A QUEST FOR DINOSAUR FOSSILS, a fun science adventure novel set in 1871.  THE BONE RACE takes place during the early days of American paleontology, and begins with the violent destruction of the Paleozoic Museum, which is under construction in New York City’s Central Park.  The museum is destroyed by the notorious Boss Tweed’s political machine, and sets the stage for the unique contest.  Non-stop action and intrigue follows the individual quests of the main characters as they go off in search of the fossilized remains of dinosaurs.  Some of the characters in the novel include a wealthy industrialist who sponsors the contest, an evil ex-confederate officer, a gregarious circus owner, an intelligent woman paleontologist from England, two fiercely competitive university professors, a Chinese underworld boss, and an amateur bone digger who uses a Civil War observation balloon to aid his excavations.