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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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