The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us
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- Create Date：2022-07-24 09:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Steve Brusatte
- ISBN：1529034213
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Summary
The passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant。 But mammals have a much deeper history。 They – or， more precisely， we – originated around the same time as the dinosaurs， over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back， some 325 million years。
Over these immense stretches of geological time， mammals developed their trademark features: hair， keen senses of smell and hearing， big brains and sharp intelligence， fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism， a distinctive line-up of teeth （canines， incisors， premolars， molars）， mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk， qualities that have underlain their success story。
Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today， including our own species and our closest cousins。 But today’s 6，000 mammal species - the egg-laying monotremes including the platypus， marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas that raise their tiny babies in pouches， and placentals like us， who give birth to well-developed young – are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree， which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions。
In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals， palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries underlie our knowledge， both of iconic mammals like the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard， and of fascinating species that few of us are aware of。
For what we see today is but a very limited range of the mammals that have existed; in this fascinating and ground-breaking book， Steve Brusatte tells their – and our – story。
Over these immense stretches of geological time， mammals developed their trademark features: hair， keen senses of smell and hearing， big brains and sharp intelligence， fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism， a distinctive line-up of teeth （canines， incisors， premolars， molars）， mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk， qualities that have underlain their success story。
Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today， including our own species and our closest cousins。 But today’s 6，000 mammal species - the egg-laying monotremes including the platypus， marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas that raise their tiny babies in pouches， and placentals like us， who give birth to well-developed young – are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree， which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions。
In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals， palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries underlie our knowledge， both of iconic mammals like the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard， and of fascinating species that few of us are aware of。
For what we see today is but a very limited range of the mammals that have existed; in this fascinating and ground-breaking book， Steve Brusatte tells their – and our – story。
Reviews
David
，
excellent history of earth its plants and animals from the beginning to now。
Justin Pitt
，
Absolutely brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable。
Dustin
，
Brusatte made the transition from dinosaurs to mammals in his professional life and he’s succeeded in peaking my interest in mammals as well。 It really is remarkable to consider the breadth of mammalian evolution and this book lays it all out in a fun and enjoyable read。
Jeff Bursey
，
A thorough and well-written guide to much change over many millions of years。 Personable and detailed， explanatory without getting lost in details， with good notes at the back that expand a bit on the contents of each chapter and provide Brusatte's sources。 There are also drawings and photos。 Recommended for those interested in natural history。 A thorough and well-written guide to much change over many millions of years。 Personable and detailed， explanatory without getting lost in details， with good notes at the back that expand a bit on the contents of each chapter and provide Brusatte's sources。 There are also drawings and photos。 Recommended for those interested in natural history。 。。。more
Arthur Berkell
，
The "thing" I loved best was "Thingodont"。 It was amazing how Brusatte could write a page-turner replete with unpronounceable names - and with a sense of humor， no less。 The "thing" I loved best was "Thingodont"。 It was amazing how Brusatte could write a page-turner replete with unpronounceable names - and with a sense of humor， no less。 。。。more
Ian
，
A follow-up to the author’s highly successful book on the rise and fall of the dinosaurs。 This one is perhaps a smidgeon less enjoyable， but that’s a mere quibble。 Like the earlier book it combines being enlightening with being entertaining。Dr。 Brusatte starts his book in the Permian Era with what used to be called the “mammal-like reptiles”， although he explains that term is no longer used as the animals concerned were not actually reptiles （although they certainly look like reptiles）。 “Stem ma A follow-up to the author’s highly successful book on the rise and fall of the dinosaurs。 This one is perhaps a smidgeon less enjoyable， but that’s a mere quibble。 Like the earlier book it combines being enlightening with being entertaining。Dr。 Brusatte starts his book in the Permian Era with what used to be called the “mammal-like reptiles”， although he explains that term is no longer used as the animals concerned were not actually reptiles （although they certainly look like reptiles）。 “Stem mammals” is the phrase now favoured。 Probably the spectacular looking predator Dimetrodon is the most famous of these animals， although its direct line did not survive， so sadly none of us can claim a Dimetrodon as one of our ancestors。The book continues with the fairly well-known story of how mammals evolved during the Age of Dinosaurs， mostly occupying the ecological niche of small and often burrowing animals， many of them insectivores and mainly active at night， with dinosaurs taking up all the daytime slots。 It was precisely this sort of lifestyle of course， that allowed （a few） mammals to survive the asteroid strike and to proliferate once the world had recovered， and with dinosaurs out of the way。 One thing I would say about this book is that there is a great deal about teeth！ The author spends a lot of time discussing how the teeth of different types of mammal evolved differently to allow them to maximise different resources。 I didn’t always find this the most exciting subject， although I recognise its significance。On the whole I am less familiar with prehistoric mammals than I am with dinosaurs。 Although the book includes plenty of photos of skeletal remains， I kept breaking off to look on the web for artistic reconstructions of what the animals might have looked like。 Of course once we get to the Ice Age the animals tend to be more familiar。 I probably enjoyed that chapter the best， along with the author’s explanations as to why these huge climatic shifts happened。If you’ve read the author’s earlier book on dinosaurs， this one is written in similar style， and should be a safe bet for anyone who enjoyed the previous book。 。。。more
Paul
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Another excellent book by this engaging writer。
Jonny
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This could easily have been too ambitious - covering the complete history of mammals in a way that is s accessible and in 400 pages。 It’s really good though - you’re constantly drawn into a totally different world， and it really makes you reflect on how fragile where we have got to is。 There is something particularly humbling about the previous mass extinction events all clearly being beyond human control - I don’t think I had ever *really* realised that at some point in the not very distant fut This could easily have been too ambitious - covering the complete history of mammals in a way that is s accessible and in 400 pages。 It’s really good though - you’re constantly drawn into a totally different world， and it really makes you reflect on how fragile where we have got to is。 There is something particularly humbling about the previous mass extinction events all clearly being beyond human control - I don’t think I had ever *really* realised that at some point in the not very distant future， there won’t be a human civilisation left based on all the evidence we have。 The only reason it’s not 5 stars is that some bits of it （for example about what exactly palaeontologists can take from different types of teeth） just went over my head。 It’s really interesting though （I had no idea just how much you can learn from the size， texture and state of erosion of different teeth）。 。。。more
Lillian
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The author is clearly knowledgeable and passionate。 The writing is warm and inviting however， the scope of the book is far more broad than the previous one on dinosaurs and will likely appeal most to individuals interested in paleontology or those already in the field。
Heidi Chanel ✨
，
I love paleontology， and I love reading about the Ice Age。 The last few chapters of the book were my favourite because of that。 This book was great as always， I read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs in 2019 and very much enjoyed。 While I'd say these books are very accessible to the general population， there's still a lot of jargon that goes over my head or that I get mixed up。 It's perfectly okay and doesn't make the book a bad one， it just lowered my enjoyment of the experience a little which I love paleontology， and I love reading about the Ice Age。 The last few chapters of the book were my favourite because of that。 This book was great as always， I read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs in 2019 and very much enjoyed。 While I'd say these books are very accessible to the general population， there's still a lot of jargon that goes over my head or that I get mixed up。 It's perfectly okay and doesn't make the book a bad one， it just lowered my enjoyment of the experience a little which is why this is 4 stars。 。。。more
Clif Hostetler
，
I can remember learning in grade school science that dinosaurs ruled the earth for a while until they disappeared; then the mammals took over。 Years later that perception was reinforced while visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where I noticed a small model of a fur ball on the floor next to a display of a gigantic dinosaur skeleton。 As I recall there was a label next to the fur ball indicating that it represented the typical mammal during the time of the dinosaurs。 There's some t I can remember learning in grade school science that dinosaurs ruled the earth for a while until they disappeared; then the mammals took over。 Years later that perception was reinforced while visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where I noticed a small model of a fur ball on the floor next to a display of a gigantic dinosaur skeleton。 As I recall there was a label next to the fur ball indicating that it represented the typical mammal during the time of the dinosaurs。 There's some truth to my past perceptions， but The Rise and Reign of Mammals makes clear that their relationship was a bit more nuanced and complicated。 Both dinosaurs and mammals had their origin back in the Triassic period， about 225 million years ago， when their common ancestor was an Amniote whose subsequent descendants split into two branches—synapsid （mammals） and diapsid （dinosaurs）。 These two branches of descendants coexisted and evolved into a variety of species， some of which managed to survive the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and continue to thrive in their own niches through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods。 The Jurassic and Cretaceous are the eras during which dinosaurs dominated the realm of large life forms while mammals were masters of the world of small creatures。 During this period no mammal got bigger than a badger， but they were very diverse and thrived in their own world of hiding in the shadows， underground， and under bushes。 Meanwhile， the smallest known dinosaur was about the size of a pigeon with most of them being much larger。 Then about 66 million years ago a large asteroid crashed into earth。 The multi-year ecological disaster that followed is known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event and resulted in the end of three-quarters of plant and animal species on Earth。 Any animal that couldn’t find shelter and be able to eat dead flesh and vegetation for the next couple years didn't survive。 Large size under these circumstances was disadvantageous。 Dinosaurs didn't have a chance。 A good share of mammal species didn’t survive either， but luckily for us some did survive and in subsequent years were free to evolve into larger life forms free of competition with the dinosaurs。 About half the this book covers the time period preceding the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction with the balance of the book describing mammal life afterward。 Only one chapter is devoted to primates and humans。 The number of mammal species continued to expand and diversify through the Paleogene era。 South America， Australia， and Madagascar experienced some unique species because of their isolation。 About three million years ago the drifting continent of South America made connection with North America which resulted in the extinction of many of the South American mammals because of new predators moving in from the northern continent。 The really widespread extinction of megafauna occurred in the last 100，000 years （much of it in the last 10，000 years） when humans spread throughout the world。 One of the weirdest extinct species worth mentioning is the Chalicothere which is so unlike anything alive today that it required DNA analysis to figure out its ancestry。 This creature， as well as many other extinct mammals， lived recently enough to allow the acquisition of DNA samples。The following are some miscellaneous facts I learned from this book that were new to me。 1。 During the early evolution of mammals some of the bones that started out as being part of the jaw became much smaller and migrated to the side of the skull and became part of the inner ear。 Consequently mammals are able to hear better than birds and reptiles。 Interestingly， these same bones do a similar migration during the course of the human gestation in the womb。 2。 Grasses were not a common fauna during the time of the dinosaurs。 If you see a picture of dinosaurs walking across an open grassy area， the artist made a mistake。 Vegetation back then consisted of trees， plants and ferns。 Grassland， savannas， and prairies became widespread about 20 million years ago due to a dryer cooler climate。 3。 Actually， it was the retreating jungle and the expanding savannas that played a role in the evolution of humans。 The human progenitor was probably a little animal that crawled out on tree limbs and learned to reach out and grasp fruit to eat。 The survival advantages of having stereo vision prompted the eyes to move from the side to the front of the face。 Likewise the advantage of being able to see fruit in color encouraged color vision （not common in other mammals）。 Retreat of jungles and expansion of savannas encouraged venturing out into the open in an upright position to see over the top of tall grass。 The well developed arms and hands enabled the gathering of food。 Their skills of hunting and gathering enabled increased food intake which in turn permitted the development of larger brains which in turn led to improved survival skills。Want to look at the book's pictures？This book contains lots of pictures and illustrations which are also available at THIS LINK。 At the link you can download a PDF file with 97 pages of illustrations and pictures and 62 pages of chapter notes。 So if you don't have time to read the book it's possible to just look at the pictures。 。。。more
Michael Marshall
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I reviewed this book for New Scientist: “Plenty of writers have tackled mammalian biology， but The Rise and Reign of the Mammals stands out for its brilliant balance of scientific detail and lively， efficient storytelling。”Full review: https://www。newscientist。com/article/。。。 I reviewed this book for New Scientist: “Plenty of writers have tackled mammalian biology， but The Rise and Reign of the Mammals stands out for its brilliant balance of scientific detail and lively， efficient storytelling。”Full review: https://www。newscientist。com/article/。。。 。。。more
Bob Hussey
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Excellent。 A fun， informative read。 Now I have to get his book about the dinosaurs！
Lisa
，
Meticulously researched， well-written for the casually scientific among us， and yes， fun， the brilliant author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs scores again with his history of mammals。 Though my primary interest is dinosaurs， I found this book even more enjoyable than that one。 It moved quicker， was easier to read， and had a more inclusive cast of （human） characters。 It read like a quest story （as paleontology always is！）， not a textbook。 Try it！
William R Stoyer
，
Dr。 Brusatte is one of the best palentological authors I've ever read。 The history of mammals is not a topic I've ever spent much time reading about。 But I didn't hesitate to buy this based on his Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， and I am not disappointed。 I learned a lot， and will go back to this book again。 Highly recommended。 Dr。 Brusatte is one of the best palentological authors I've ever read。 The history of mammals is not a topic I've ever spent much time reading about。 But I didn't hesitate to buy this based on his Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs， and I am not disappointed。 I learned a lot， and will go back to this book again。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Rod Milligan
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Fantastic book， telling the story of mammal evolution， from before the time of dinosaurs to the present day。 The section on the Afrotheria （golden moles， elephant shrews， tenrecs， aardvarks， hyraxes， elephants， sea cows）， including the revelation that there was once a 1。3 ton hyrax， was a particular highlight。 The description of whale evolution was another。 Yet another was the section on human evolution。 Importantly， the author always explains how we know what we know and， as an added bonus， des Fantastic book， telling the story of mammal evolution， from before the time of dinosaurs to the present day。 The section on the Afrotheria （golden moles， elephant shrews， tenrecs， aardvarks， hyraxes， elephants， sea cows）， including the revelation that there was once a 1。3 ton hyrax， was a particular highlight。 The description of whale evolution was another。 Yet another was the section on human evolution。 Importantly， the author always explains how we know what we know and， as an added bonus， describes some of the key people involved in these discoveries。 。。。more
Pamela
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It was so good。 I really loved that book。 I learned so much。 The author is really good at making me understand hard and complex concepts。 He makes it so easy to get and comprehend。
Tyler Talley
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Brusatte solidifies his place as one of the all-time great pop science writers。 His first book on dinosaurs is one of my favorite nonfiction books ever and his follow-up on the rise of mammals now joins that canon。 One of the year’s best。
Monica
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I thought this was an excellent book tracking the history of mammals and mammal evolution。 It is of course a macro history: it covers several hundred million years， so there is a limit to the detail。 But Brusatte does a great job at covering the high points and really focusing on what mattered: what made mammals mammals， how they mammal families differentiated from one another， etc。Brusatte also did a good job at including good examples: while it was a macro study， he included enough interesting I thought this was an excellent book tracking the history of mammals and mammal evolution。 It is of course a macro history: it covers several hundred million years， so there is a limit to the detail。 But Brusatte does a great job at covering the high points and really focusing on what mattered: what made mammals mammals， how they mammal families differentiated from one another， etc。Brusatte also did a good job at including good examples: while it was a macro study， he included enough interesting individual species to really help keep up the pace and attention of the reader。Some portions of the book seem skewed to northern hemisphere species and occurrences， especially the last couple non-human chapters。 This may be partially due to Brusatte's personal research experiences， but it is clearly also partially tied to fossil availability。 He notes multiple instances where southern fossils are harder to find and where older fossil gathering expeditions focused on northern locations instead of southern ones。 Given the historical constraints， and his efforts to include southern info， he does a good job covering those areas despite the skew。A great companion read to Brusatte's "Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs。" 。。。more
Tutankhamun18
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Great book about the emergence of mammals， how they evolved their mammalian physiology such as the ability to suck， producing milk to feed their young and skull adaptations， their spread around the globe and how we come to see only three types today: placentals， marsupials and monotremes。 Written in an engrossing and informative manner that is very readable and also provides an imaginative insight into these species， context for the scientists who disovered them and their place within the evolut Great book about the emergence of mammals， how they evolved their mammalian physiology such as the ability to suck， producing milk to feed their young and skull adaptations， their spread around the globe and how we come to see only three types today: placentals， marsupials and monotremes。 Written in an engrossing and informative manner that is very readable and also provides an imaginative insight into these species， context for the scientists who disovered them and their place within the evolution of mammals as a whole。Read this also for specific information of the evolution of humans as mammals， the evolution of the platypus and the evolution of whales。 Highly enjoyable work from Brussatte once again！ 。。。more
Megan
，
*I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。*Brusatte's The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World was one of my favorite books the year I read it， so I was very excited to pick up this new book and it did not disappoint。 The sheer enthusiasm for paleontology that I found so enjoyable about The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was once again present and I loved that he continued to talk about the great work of his predecessors and his colleagues。The bo *I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。*Brusatte's The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World was one of my favorite books the year I read it， so I was very excited to pick up this new book and it did not disappoint。 The sheer enthusiasm for paleontology that I found so enjoyable about The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs was once again present and I loved that he continued to talk about the great work of his predecessors and his colleagues。The book starts with mammal's ancestors before going into some of the traits of mammals and the specifics of how they work and why they evolved。 Some of this gets a little bogged down， but I definitely know more about mammalian jaws/teeth than I ever thought I would know。 He then talks about how mammals coexisted with dinosaurs， how they survived when dinosaurs didn't and how mammals became the dominant class whether that be the megafauna of the Ice Age or homo sapiens today。 I think if you had issues with the writing style in The Rise and Fall， you won't enjoy this book。 However， if you read The Rise and Fall because you were also a dinosaur obsessed child and were less interested in this book because it's not about dinosaurs， you should give it a shot anyway and I don't think you'll be disappointed。 。。。more
Steve
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3。5 stars。 I read this because I really enjoyed the author’s previous book on the dinosaurs。 This book is a similar treatment of the mammals and， while both entertaining and informative， it’s not as good as his earlier book。 Lots of discussions of teeth， including details about structure and function that get a bit dry after a while。 The second half of the book picks up， and his sections on megafauna and how they were distributed， and （mostly） disappeared ， is excellent reading。 Worth a read， es 3。5 stars。 I read this because I really enjoyed the author’s previous book on the dinosaurs。 This book is a similar treatment of the mammals and， while both entertaining and informative， it’s not as good as his earlier book。 Lots of discussions of teeth， including details about structure and function that get a bit dry after a while。 The second half of the book picks up， and his sections on megafauna and how they were distributed， and （mostly） disappeared ， is excellent reading。 Worth a read， especially if you liked his previous book。 。。。more
Keely
，
This was one of my most anticipated reads and I loved it。 It was so interesting， I was engrossed all the way through the book， even though the topic is not one of my special interests。 It's easy to follow and is explained well， so you are very easily able to follow the science。 Another excellent book that I really enjoyed reading。 This was one of my most anticipated reads and I loved it。 It was so interesting， I was engrossed all the way through the book， even though the topic is not one of my special interests。 It's easy to follow and is explained well， so you are very easily able to follow the science。 Another excellent book that I really enjoyed reading。 。。。more
Barron
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Best book I've read this year， as far as I'm concerned。 Best book I've read this year， as far as I'm concerned。 。。。more
Foggygirl
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Read the authors first book about dinosaurs and this second instalment about mammals is just as educational and entertaining。
Sue Chant
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The first section is a bit too detailed for my layperson's brain - I now know way more about proto-mammal dentition than I ever wanted too - but then it settles down to become a very intersting exploration of the evolution of mammals。 The many hand-drawn illustrations are beautiful， and it makes a pleasing change from the focus on dinosaurs that popular paleontolgy books usually have。 Enjoyable and informative。 The first section is a bit too detailed for my layperson's brain - I now know way more about proto-mammal dentition than I ever wanted too - but then it settles down to become a very intersting exploration of the evolution of mammals。 The many hand-drawn illustrations are beautiful， and it makes a pleasing change from the focus on dinosaurs that popular paleontolgy books usually have。 Enjoyable and informative。 。。。more
Lauriann
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Another insightful work by Steve Brusatte。 I didn’t think I would find mammals as endearing as dinosaurs， but Brusatte convinced me。 The science in his book is accessible and I enjoy the history of the field that he incorporates into the larger narrative of mammalian history。 The most laudable achievement of this book is the way it highlights other scientists， promoting their work and commending their achievements。 Brusatte’s humility makes his prose engaging。
Adrian
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2。8 starsAt the beginning of this audiobook， the author mentions this website to see the supplemental content that's supposed to be included with the audio （but mine was not）:https://www。harpercollins。com/pages/theriseandreignofthemammalsI guess I like nerdy books on geology， paleontology， dinosaurs， and the like （and this is definitely "the like"）。 It's kind of fun how I read the author's earlier book on dinosaurs， and he has since 'progressed' to mammals， so I guess I will just progress with h 2。8 starsAt the beginning of this audiobook， the author mentions this website to see the supplemental content that's supposed to be included with the audio （but mine was not）:https://www。harpercollins。com/pages/theriseandreignofthemammalsI guess I like nerdy books on geology， paleontology， dinosaurs， and the like （and this is definitely "the like"）。 It's kind of fun how I read the author's earlier book on dinosaurs， and he has since 'progressed' to mammals， so I guess I will just progress with him。 He said that if we were living in the next 'age' of animals on this planet and mammals were as extinct as the dinosaurs， then we would be as interested in mammal bones as we are interested in dinosaur bones。The dimetrodon is a cool animal and I get the author's qualm with people listing it among the dinosaurs when it is not a dinosaur （it's a non-mammalian synapsid）。 This book kind of somewhat reads like an encyclopedia so it isn't the most exciting。 I am mostly enjoying it but it's a bit long with a great bit of details。 Mammalian biology is interesting， and this book completely describes that in full。 It's 'fun' to explore mammals that happened in the Paleozoic era as well as the Mesozoic era since we don't hear much about those （the ones who lived before the dinosaurs and the ones who lived during the time of the dinosaurs）。 It's also interesting to learn about the people who helped discover these and how some of these people went to prison for various reasons （communist China， WWII German in London， etc。）。 It definitely helps to look through the accompanied PDF after each chapter （or even during） to see some visuals of what the author is talking about。 But the details are too strong in this one。 It makes for a long read。 I actually like the 'human' parts of this story where the author talks about different people's journeys in their discoveries。 Learning about platypi is very interesting。 The feud between 1800s paleontologists Cope and Marsh is always fun。 Since I recently finished The Last Days of the Dinosaurs （Riley Black， 2022）， there are some minor differences that I find interesting。 Riley Black constantly mentions the Paleogene that follows directly after the Cretaceous， but Steve Brusatte says Paleocene。 These are both correct， in a sense， but interesting how different scholars of the same discipline use different terms。 Also， Riley Black says the asteroid was seven miles wide。 Steve Brusatte says the asteroid， or comet， was six miles wide。 It's kind of crazy that the Unabomber had one of the prominent Montana paleontologists on his list （but then he got caught and went to prison）。 I enjoyed learning about Thomas Jefferson and his attempt to discover large land mammals in North America （he helped with the giant sloth， and it has the scientific name Megalonyx jeffersoni in honor of him）。 Enslaved people of the 1700s in the US helped discover many bones， even though their owners did not fully admit to this。 The blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on this planet， past or present。Audiobook narrator Patrick Lawlor rating: 3。5 starsThe narrator is pretty good。 It is a non-fiction， encyclopedic book， but he reads with lots of enthusiasm which makes the book just a tad bit more exciting。 I would like to hear the author narrate this book himself。 。。。more
Arda
，
The rise and reign of the mammals is laden with gorgeous illustrations and its prose is flowing。 It focuses on the unique traits that make（made） mammals what they are， the ecological niches these animals filled and interesting stories about the extraordinary people that devoted their lives to finding the remnants of our ancestors。 To people like me that try to avoid books longer than 300 pages: Despite goodreads listing it as 530 pages， the book is 350 pages long。 However it is equipped with a The rise and reign of the mammals is laden with gorgeous illustrations and its prose is flowing。 It focuses on the unique traits that make（made） mammals what they are， the ecological niches these animals filled and interesting stories about the extraordinary people that devoted their lives to finding the remnants of our ancestors。 To people like me that try to avoid books longer than 300 pages: Despite goodreads listing it as 530 pages， the book is 350 pages long。 However it is equipped with a carefully crafted 100 pages long further reading suggestions list that is a gift by the author to all that seek to improve their knowledge about paleontology。 One of the best things about this book is its tone。 The author has somehow written an inspiring feel-good book about the strengthening of the mandible and details of cusped molars。 It reignited my interest in reading more about paleontology。 Even though I am not qualified to make a definite assessment， I think the author has given great importance to the credibility of this work。 Sometimes popular science books skew the truth in order to make it more presentable and accessible to the general reader。 I felt the author was deliberately avoiding making generalized claims and even explaining the difference in terminology used in popular science books / scholarly articles。 As a note， Professor Brusatte if you by chance read this review I would like to thank you for the interview/presentation you have done about your previous book with bogazici university science club 4-5 months prior。 I wouldn’t have discovered your work otherwise。 Your storytelling and teaching ability is as strong in prose as in presentation。 。。。more
Paul
，