Paul Chambers"s Bones of Contention recounts the story of the famous "bird-reptile" Archaeopteryx and the scientists who have spent the past 140 years arguing over it. Chambers deals particularly well with the human characters lurking behind Archaeopteryx"s enigmatic feathers, a contrast with Pat Shipman"s excellent 1998 book Taking Wing, which is scientifically more absorbing. The controversy surrounding the nature, origin and meaning of this animal began soon after the first specimen was discovered in 1861. Although not all of its reptilian characteristics were evident, eventually it became clear that this feathered "bird" had a long bony tail and tooth-lined jaws. Here was a chimera that seemed to support Darwin"s notion that one type of creature could evolve into another, a "missing link" between birds and their reptilian ancestors