The First Fossil Hunters (2000, reissued with new Introduction 2011)

• Greek and Roman discoveries of the huge fossils of woolly rhinoceros and other extinct megafauna remains were interpreted as relics of mythic giants, larger-than-life heroes, and monsters in classical times.

• In Central Asia, exquisitely preserved Protoceratops dinosaur skeletons, discovered by ancient Scythian nomads searching for gold, influenced the ancient image and folklore about the fabulous gold-guarding griffin.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs (2003, revised edition with new Introduction 2009)

• The ancient Greek myth of Hercules dipping his arrows in the poisonous venom of the Lernaean Hydra reveals the deep antiquity of the concept of weaponizing toxic natural forces.

• Unintended consequences and ethical dilemmas have surrounded the use of biochemical weapons since antiquity

Fossil Legends of the First Americans (2005)

• Inca and Aztec ideas about mammoth, giant sloth, and other large fossils

• Traditions from numerous Native American cultures, including Iroquois, Lenape, Sioux, Blackfeet, Pawnee, Navajo, Apache, Zuni, Crow, Cheyenne, and many others, about a wide range of fossils, from stone shells and petrified wood to the skeletons of giant bears, mammoths, dinosaurs, and marine and flying reptiles.

The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy (2009)

• The historic massacre of 150,000 Roman and Italian residents of Anatolia and [the] Aegean islands

• Mithradates' experiments in potions and poisons and his universal antidote

• The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times (Princeton University Press 2000) ... ISBN 0-691-08977-9
• Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World (Overlook 2003) ... ISBN 1-58567-348-X
• Fossil Legends of the First Americans (Princeton University Press 2005) — ISBN 0-691-11345-9
• The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy (Princeton University Press 2009) ... [ISBN 978-0-691-12683-8]