Description

‘The Tomb of the Mili Mongga lives up to its magnificent billing’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

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A fossil expedition becomes a thrilling search for a mythical beast deep in the Indonesian forest – and a fascinating look at how fossils, folklore, and biodiversity converge.

A tale of exciting scientific discovery, The Tomb of the Mili Mongga tells the story of Samuel Turvey’s expeditions to the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia. While there, he discovers an entire recently extinct mammal fauna from the island’s fossil record, revealing how islands support some of the world’s most remarkable biodiversity, and why many of these unique endemic species are threatened with extinction or have already been lost.

But as the story unfolds, an unexpected narrative emerges – Sumba’s Indigenous communities tell of a mysterious wildman called the ‘mili mongga’, a giant yeti-like beast that supposedly lives in the island’s remote forests. What is behind the stories of the mili mongga? Is there a link between this enigmatic entity and the fossils that Sam is looking for? And what did he discover when he finally found the tomb of a mili mongga?

Combining evolution, anthropology, travel writing and cryptozoology, The Tomb of the Mili Mongga explores the relationship between biodiversity and culture, what reality means from different cultural perspectives, and how folklore, fossils and conservation can be linked together in surprising ways.

Publisher Review

A thoughtful and approachable scientific travelogue stuffed with mystery, humor, and ... monsters? You'll never think about fossils in the same way again! A must read. * Beth Shapiro * Turvey's gripping adventures are a quest to understand human consciousness and explore the differences between cultural truths and scientific facts. * Richard Fortey * Part travelogue and part science, Samuel Turvey's The Tomb of the Mili Mongga seeks out those elusive links between the present and the past, between fossils and folklore, and brings the reader along on an unexpected journey of discovery. * Steve Brusatte * Like a marvellous combination of H Rider Haggard and Gerald Durrell ... Turvey brings fascinatingly diverse scholarship to bear, from theories of species extinction to joyous readings in folklore and anthropology. * Daily Telegraph * Paints a vivid and insightful portrait of a land and its people. * New Scientist * The prose is evocative, and Turvey weaves the natural history and folklore into an invigorating treatise on the nature of belief and knowledge. Vivid and transportive, this is a winner. * Publishers Weekly * An excellent tale of the comic frustrations of looking for a new hominin on a far-flung Indonesian island * The Daily Telegraph *