Fossil Hunter
by John B. Olson
Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2008, 355 pp., tradepaper.

The intelligent design controversy meets Iraqi unrest in Fossil Hunter. Paleontologist Katie James leads an expedition to search for an ancient whale fossil rumored to be in the Iraqi desert. When her archrival, Nick Murad, shows up leading his own expedition, the situation grows tense. However, a hominid find soon requires the two competitors to team up in a desperate battle for survival as they're caught between rival Sunni and Shiite factions.

Fossil Hunter is a fun read, although Dr. James' physical exploits are somewhat unrealistic. My biggest frustration was seeing how little respect young earth creationists received, being caricatured as ignorant fundamentalists. Author John Olson seems unaware of men like Kurt Wise, who got his doctorate from Harvard under Stephen Jay Gould. One could hardly accuse Dr. Wise of not being trained as a research scientist, yet he believes in a young earth. I would have enjoyed the book more if it had stayed with arguments related to intelligent design and evolution rather than unnecessarily attacking young earth creationists.

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