A Paleontological Life: The Personal Memoirs of Curt Teichert

A Paleontological Life: The Personal Memoirs of Curt Teichert

Curt Teichert (1905 - 1996) — paleontologist, stratigrapher, editor, mentor, scholar — was a major influence on 20th century Earth science through his research, professional service, and teaching. In these previously unpublished Memoirs, spanning more than 60 years, he relates dramatic accounts of his long and fascinating career, from Arctic fieldwork in the early 1930s, escaping Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, working in the American West and Australian outback, cooperating with Iranian, Pakistani, and Afghan colleagues in the days before terrorism, and the founding of international paleontological societies and the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Born in East Prussia, Teichert worked and lived in all corners of the Earth. In addition to becoming a world authority on fossil cephalopods, he published on topics from Gondwanan geology to fossil reefs, and described more than 280 new species, from plants to crinoids to ichthyosaurs. Through his own words, and those of others, his story is one of exploration, dedication, and love of A Paleontological Life.

“Science is man-made ... you cannot fully understand current scientific concepts and theories until you know something of their history and of the men who developed them.” — Curt Teichert