Rise and Reign of Mammals

The Rise and Reign of Mammals , by bestselling author Steve Brusatte, is the story of the extraordinary journey that mammals—including us—have taken to survive, adapt, and conquer land, air, and sea.

Humans are heirs to a dynasty that has reigned on the planet for nearly 66 million years, survivors of fiery cataclysms and ice ages: the mammals. Our lineage includes saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, armadillos the size of cars, bears three times heavier than a grizzly bear, intelligent rodents that outlived Tyrannosaurus rex , and other types of humans, such as Neanderthals. In fact, humanity and many of the lovable mammals with whom we share the planet today—lions, whales, dogs—represent only a fraction of the survivors of a vast and astonishing family tree that has been pruned by time and mass extinctions. But the burning question is: how exactly did we get here?

In his acclaimed bestseller * The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs *—called "the definitive biography of dinosaurs" by Scientific American —American paleontologist Steve Brusatte captivated readers with his research. Now, revisiting the extinction event that doomed T. rex and its ilk, the author explores the remarkable history of mammals and brilliantly reveals their fascinating and complex trajectory.

From the earliest days of our lineage, some 325 million years ago, Brusatte shows how mammals survived the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs and conquered the world, evolving into the surprisingly diverse array of animals that dominate Earth today. The story of the lost worlds mammals have inhabited over time comes to life through the detective work the paleontologist and other scientists, using fossil clues and cutting-edge technology, performed to reconstruct the evolution of our ancestors.

An excellent work of popular science, The Rise and Reign of Mammals illustrates how this incredible story formed the foundation for today's world, for us, and for our future.

“ The Rise and Reign of Mammals is nothing less than a thriller that reveals the fortunes, evolutionary twists and near-apocalyptic catastrophes that led to today's mammals, including us.” – The Guardian

"An excellent narrative. Brusatte writes with precision and panache, conjuring a vivid world from tiny fossils. Through his story, mammals become as interesting as the reptiles from whom they inherited the earth." – The Times (UK)