The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-03 03:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Steve Brusatte
- ISBN：0062951513
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Summary
A sweeping and revelatory new history of mammals， illuminating the lost story of the extraordinary family tree that led to us
Though humans claim to rule the Earth， we are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years， through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals。 Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers， woolly mammoths， armadillos the size of a car， cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly， clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex， and even other types of humans， like Neanderthals。 Indeed humankind and many of the beloved fellow mammals we share the planet with today--lions， whales， dogs--represent only the few survivors of a sprawling and astonishing family tree that has been pruned by time and mass extinctions。 How did we get here？
In his acclaimed bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， American paleontologist Steve Brusatte enchanted readers with his definitive his - tory of the dinosaurs。 Now， picking up the narrative in the ashes of the extinction event that doomed T-rex and its kind， Brusatte explores the remarkable story of the family of animals that inherited the Earth--mammals-- and brilliantly reveals that their story is every bit as fascinating and complex as that of the dinosaurs。
Beginning with the earliest days of our lineage some 325 million years ago， Brusatte charts how mammals survived the asteroid that claimed the dinosaurs and made the world their own， becoming the astonishingly diverse range of animals that dominate today's Earth。 Brusatte also brings alive the lost worlds mammals inhabited through time， from ice ages to volcanic catastrophes。 Entwined in this story is the detective work he and other scientists have done to piece together our understanding using fossil clues and cutting-edge technology。
A sterling example of scientific storytelling by one of our finest young researchers， The Rise and Reign of the Mammals illustrates how this incredible history laid the foundation for today's world， for us， and our future。
Though humans claim to rule the Earth， we are the inheritors of a dynasty that has reigned over the planet for nearly 66 million years， through fiery cataclysm and ice ages: the mammals。 Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers， woolly mammoths， armadillos the size of a car， cave bears three times the weight of a grizzly， clever scurriers that outlasted Tyrannosaurus rex， and even other types of humans， like Neanderthals。 Indeed humankind and many of the beloved fellow mammals we share the planet with today--lions， whales， dogs--represent only the few survivors of a sprawling and astonishing family tree that has been pruned by time and mass extinctions。 How did we get here？
In his acclaimed bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， American paleontologist Steve Brusatte enchanted readers with his definitive his - tory of the dinosaurs。 Now， picking up the narrative in the ashes of the extinction event that doomed T-rex and its kind， Brusatte explores the remarkable story of the family of animals that inherited the Earth--mammals-- and brilliantly reveals that their story is every bit as fascinating and complex as that of the dinosaurs。
Beginning with the earliest days of our lineage some 325 million years ago， Brusatte charts how mammals survived the asteroid that claimed the dinosaurs and made the world their own， becoming the astonishingly diverse range of animals that dominate today's Earth。 Brusatte also brings alive the lost worlds mammals inhabited through time， from ice ages to volcanic catastrophes。 Entwined in this story is the detective work he and other scientists have done to piece together our understanding using fossil clues and cutting-edge technology。
A sterling example of scientific storytelling by one of our finest young researchers， The Rise and Reign of the Mammals illustrates how this incredible history laid the foundation for today's world， for us， and our future。
Reviews
Cat Gatto
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Another great overview by Steve Brusatte （if you have not yet read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， I highly recommend that you do）。 In this book， Brusatte covers the evolution of mammals from Carboniferous period mammal ancestors up through present-day species。 One of my favorite aspects of the book are the fictional vignettes Brusatte includes at the beginning of many of the chapters。 These short stories （which are based on fossil evidence） really enrich the reading experience and illustrat Another great overview by Steve Brusatte （if you have not yet read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， I highly recommend that you do）。 In this book， Brusatte covers the evolution of mammals from Carboniferous period mammal ancestors up through present-day species。 One of my favorite aspects of the book are the fictional vignettes Brusatte includes at the beginning of many of the chapters。 These short stories （which are based on fossil evidence） really enrich the reading experience and illustrate what these animals would have been like while alive。 I also enjoyed the passages where he talked about his own experiences as a paleontologist。 Like The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， which I sped through in a few days， this book is highly readable。I think the only negative for me was that at some points during the book I felt like I wanted more。 However， as the book covers over 300 million years of history， I can see why not every detail could be included。 I’ll just have to pick up some of the titles mentioned in the extensive notes section of the book！（Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advanced reader copy。） 。。。more
Dayton
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Overall quite fascinating， even if a couple sections in the middle get a little bogged down in detail。 What a joy to be a mammal！
Lizzie Stewart
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** Thanks to NetGalley， Steve Brusatte， and Mariner Books for this ARC **I absolutely ADORED Steve Brusatte's last book， The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World， which came out in 2018。 I read it in November of 2019 and was absolutely captivated。 When I saw that Brusatte had a new book releasing in June of 2022， I couldn't wait to get my hands on it。 This was really， really good！ I enjoyed it slightly less than The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， maybe because it felt a ** Thanks to NetGalley， Steve Brusatte， and Mariner Books for this ARC **I absolutely ADORED Steve Brusatte's last book， The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World， which came out in 2018。 I read it in November of 2019 and was absolutely captivated。 When I saw that Brusatte had a new book releasing in June of 2022， I couldn't wait to get my hands on it。 This was really， really good！ I enjoyed it slightly less than The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， maybe because it felt a little bit more meandering at points。 I learned so much from this book， though， and was captivated by stories of Thomas Jefferson making The Louisiana Purchase in part to look for living mastodons。 It is so humbling to read the story of mammals in just over 500 pages and to realize what a small part of global history we are and how unfairly large our impact has been。 At one point Brusatte comments that we are to the megafauna what the asteroid was to dinosaurs。 We have wreaked havoc on our animal cousins and we are rapidly approaching centuries where we will have to live in habitats that we did not evolve for as a result of our actions。 I am grateful not to be living in 3000 and cannot imagine what our world will be like in another thousand years。 It is so difficult for us to process harm caused on the magnitude of thousands of years， but it is crucial that we identify that we are changing our world in ways that will be irreversible in the short-term。 What kind of planet do we want to leave for the last vestige of our Homo genus？ How long will we survive the effects of our actions？ Will any of the remaining megafauna survive us？ What other animals will be an afterthought in the extinction event of our time - mastodons， tigers， bison。 Will the hundreds of years separating their demise feel meaningful to the paleontologists of the future， if there are any？I am very grateful to have had the chance to read this and highly recommend it。 。。。more
Nicole Barbaro
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After reading Brusatte’s excellent first book， The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book， The Rise and Reign of the Mammals。 As expected， the book is fantastic！ Brusatte is truly one of the greatest science writers I’ve had the privilege of reading。 Great detail， organized delivery， and fun to read。 I blew through this in 3 days and may or may not have put off other important things to do so because I couldn’t put it down。 Grateful for receiving an advanced copy。 P After reading Brusatte’s excellent first book， The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book， The Rise and Reign of the Mammals。 As expected， the book is fantastic！ Brusatte is truly one of the greatest science writers I’ve had the privilege of reading。 Great detail， organized delivery， and fun to read。 I blew through this in 3 days and may or may not have put off other important things to do so because I couldn’t put it down。 Grateful for receiving an advanced copy。 Pre-order a copy to get it next month when it’s out！ （June 7 in the US） 。。。more
Xavier Bonilla
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