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As I am new in the world of paleontology and fossil collecting and eager to learn as much as possible, I was wondering if those books here are any good to have as I found them all in a nice lot from a clearence. Thank you all in advance. 1. Stratigraphical Palaeontology by E. Neaverson, published in 1955 2. Invertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution by E.N.K. Clarkson, 1989 3. Principles of Paleontology by David Raup and Steven Stanley, 1971 4. Wonderful Life, The Burgess Shale and the Nature History by Stephen Jay Gould, 1990 5. Wonders of Fossils by William Matthews, 1970 6. The Amateur Geologist by Peter Cattermole, 1973 7. British Palaeozoic Fossils, 1983 8. The Elements of Palaeontology by Rhona Black, 1975 9. Scottish Journal of Geology, Volume 4 Part 4, 1968 10. British Fossils by Duncan Forbes, 1965 11. The Story of Fossils in Search of a Vanished Worlds 12. Amber The Natural Time Capsule by Andrew Ross 13. Some Tertiary Molluscs from Southern Florida by W. C. Mansfield, 1931, journal paper 14. Molluscs From The Aspen Shale of Southernwestern Wyoming by JOhn Reeside and A. Allen Weymouth, 1931, journal paper 15. In Prehistoric Seas by Carroll Lane Fenton and Mildred Adams Fenton, 1964 16. Fossils of the World, A Comprehensive, Practical Guide to Collecting and Studying Fossils by Y. Turek, J. Marek and J. Benes, published in 1988. 17. The Fossils of the Burgess Shale by Derek Briggs, Douglas Erwin and Frederick Collier, published in 1994. 18. Life's Dawn on Earth by J.W. Dawson, 1875 19.Our Common British Fossils and where to Find Them by John Ellor Taylor the original 1885 first edition

I was wondering if anyone can recommend reports/websites/guides etc, that explain in more detail how the fossil trade works, from excavation through to a dealer? This is assuming new pieces (not a prior sold piece, returning to market), they have not excavated it themselves and that it is legal- but especially when covering foreign sourced material. And how that might vary from country to country, say Morocco vs Germany. Likewise, this is most applicable to somewhat valuable pieces, worth of enough steps in the value chain! For example, how many links are there often in the chain, from the site where it is found, to a dealer's website or exhibition stand? Likewise, any info on how very roughly how pricing evolves (and this clearly varies!) would be interesting! I am a starting off studying (with a view to beginning collecting later!) and keen to understand how the trade eco-system works so to speak and the different potential steps! E.g. is there an on site local who finds the fossils, from whom it gets acquired by a wholesale type dealer in that country, who lacks the end customers (often overseas), but is respected by foreign dealers, with the latter then purchasing it from them- before it ends up on a website/show for sale! And maybe one step is skipped out by those especially knowledgeable or experienced dealers. I appreciate everything will depend, and there are no hard or fast rules, but just want to general "educate" myself about the industry! Thanks for all your help! AZ

What about with very little math training? I'm thinking about Charles Darwin who confessed that he knew very little of any sort of math. I suppose that if a person can prove themselves to be useful, then it doesn't really matter as far as accomplishing things goes in life. Right? Or has the human understanding of math and science changed enough that no one can really get by in any sort of real science without a thorough education in some sort of math? I've become a pretty strong "naturalist" over the past 8 or 9 years - been on a sort of science self education mission. I study science and nature simply because I love doing it, but I suppose I'm beginning to wonder if anything could ever come of it other than just the enjoyment of a hobby. However, try as I might, I just can't get much enjoyment out of sitting around working out Algebra problems. I don't do it often. I'm probably at a graduate level of knowledge in certain area of science, but maybe 9th or tenth grade level in any sort of math. Just curious of people's thoughts. Scott