Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World' is the source and origin of all modern dinosaur books and films - an adventure story with everything. Dangerous crises abound, in several exotic locations, with a host of strange and terrifying beasts and the occasional damsel in distress thrown in for good measure. But behind all the derring-do, Conan Doyle is gently satirising the idea of Science as a pure discipline, unsullied by thoughts of personal gain; and ridiculing the close-minded, hide-bound intellectuals who possess the qualifications, but not the courage, to search diligently for the truth.