Preface: curators of natural history and human culture -- Moving toward the life of a curator -- Beginning a curatorial career -- Staking out a field site in Wyoming -- Mexico and the hotel NSF -- Radioactive rayfins, the fish rodeo, and developing a global research program -- A dino named Sue -- Adventures of my curatorial colleagues from the field -- The spirit of K-P Schmidt and the hazards of herpetology -- Executive management -- Exhibition and the Hall of Gems -- Grave concerns -- Hunting--and conserving--lions -- Saving the planet's ecosystems -- Where do we go from here?.