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. It wouldn't be a history of mammals without covering the most infamous mammal of them all: Homo Sapiens. Our ancestry is no less fascinating than those of the long extinct animals that have captivated our imaginations for decades. Lastly, Brusatte wraps up his book by considering the future of mammals. You can likely guess that major discussion points there. Imagine if they were not around any more and all we had were fossils. I mean, we would marvel at something like a bat,” he says. Guardian Stands out for its brilliant balance of scientific detail and lively, efficient storytelling

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the

Today, mammals, especially humans, dominate life on earth, both on land and in the oceans. We think of ourselves as the apex of all life. But it was not always so, and this book is a fascinating account of how mammals survived the great extinction that destroyed the dinosaurs and evolved to their current position of dominance. A worthy sequel to The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by the same author." Venki Ramakrishnan The effusive American even began as a T rex expert before branching out into studying mammal fossils. But there’s a simple reason why he’s so passionate about the latter. As he says in his new book: “Dinosaurs are awesome, but they are not us.” 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. This is a very beautiful story-driven, well-written book. This is like a fun novel you’re reading.” — Dax Shepherd, Armchair ExpertThe Mammalian Revolution: during the Cretaceous period, the supercontinent, Pangaea, begins to break apart into northern and southern hemispheres. Mammals could now be found everywhere in the northern continent, but were mainly rodent-like. A group of mammals called Multituberculates would evolve to feed on the new flowering plants now appearing. Another mammals ground, the Therian mammals, would come up specialized molar teeth to handle insects now showing up to pollinate flowers. The Therians would give rise to modern day marsupial and placental mammals. The Monotreme mammals (like the platypus) would develop in the southern continents. 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. 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. Yet the mammal family tree is bristling with jaw-dropping creatures, from Anisodon to the biggest creature that has ever lived – the blue whale.

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals review: how mammals found The Rise and Reign of the Mammals review: how mammals found

But Steve Brusatte of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World fame does not think so. As a matter of fact, he tells is that after all the dinosaur adventures he has had an about-face and now is very much into prehistoric mammal fossils. And he’s clearly very passionate about this. Forget the brontosaurus and the triceratops — below their feet a fascinating parallel world of mammals was just waiting for its chance. Terrific. ... In one engaging chapter after another, Brusatte takes readers through the long story of the little mammals that took over the world from those tyrannosaurs. It’s a fascinating story, and Brusatte fills it out with plenty of digressions about some of the people who dedicated their time to learning it." — Christian Science Monitor Vivid. … This is scientific storytelling at its most visceral, striding with the beasts through their Triassic dawn, Jurassic dominance and abrupt demise. Nature Lib These survivors garnered new adaptations: their lower jaw changed from having a collection of bones to just one, and a new type of joint emerged – long thought the hallmark of true mammals. The vestigial bones were repurposed, becoming tiny bones in the middle ear commonly known as the hammer and anvil – a radical development that super-charged hearing. At some point they started feeding milk to their young, and became truly warm-blooded.Following on from The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, paleontologist Steve Brusatte turns his attention to mammals. Contrary to popular belief, they did not emerge after the demise of the dinosaurs but coexisted alongside them and share a common ancestor. Brusatte, who reveals the fascinating story of mammalian evolution and the history of paleontological discoveries, is an impassioned guide and the result is a highly engaging work of popular science. The Glitter in the Green: In Search of Hummingbirds

The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from

The manner in which he tells the story, our story, is nothing short of prosaic prose transformed into poetry. ... Brusatte presents a myriad of facts about todays’ mammalian cohabitors of our planet that will whet your appetite and fire up your imagination.”— Times of Israel Mammals soon grew larger. And while some laid eggs, like platypuses today, others gave birth to live young – either nurturing them via a complex placenta in the womb, or in a pouch.Scintillating. ... Brusatte’s mastery of his field, formidable explanatory powers and engaging style have combined to produce a masterpiece of science writing for the lay reader. I would add that you’ll find Rise and Fall fascinating even if you don’t give a damn about dinosaurs—but first, show me someone who doesn’t give a damn about dinosaurs. Washington Post