New from the author of the acclaimed bestseller The Rise and Fall of
the Dinosaurs ("A masterpiece of science writing." --Washington Post)
and "one of the stars of modern paleontology" (National Geographic), a
sweeping and revelatory history of mammals, illuminating the lost story
of the extraordinary family tree that led to us.
National Bestseller - Top 10 Nonfiction of 2022: Kirkus
- Best Science Books of 2022: The Times UK
We humans 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--hailed
as "the ultimate dinosaur biography" by Scientific American--American
paleontologist Steve Brusatte enchanted readers with his definitive
history 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.
