vivid worlds. Seen through his eyes, the mammals are every bit as engaging as the reptiles from whom they inherited the earth. ... When the first
Jurassic Park film was released in 1993, it inspired a host of budding school-aged paleontologists. Brusatte was one of them. Don't be surprised if in decades to come this lovely book leads to more of them choosing to focus on the mouse-sized mammal rather than the megalosaurus." -
The Times (UK)"For the big-picture perspective, it's hard to imagine a better place to start than Steve Brusatte's fun-yet-magisterial
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, detailing mammals' 325-million-year residency on earth. ... The author of a previous bestselling book on dinosaurs, American-born, Scotland-based Brusatte has emerged as something of a star in the paleontology world. It helps that he's young, charismatic, and has good writing chops: each of the book's sections begins by drawing us in with a cinematic 'clip.'" -
Globe and Mail (Toronto)"[Brusatte] is a nimble storyteller and he's chosen an engrossing story to tell. ... It's satisfying to sit back and admire the full tapestry as presented in
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals. Reading this book reminded me what I most enjoy about geology, paleontology and the evolution of life on Earth: This planet has got some epic stories." -
Science News"Outstanding. ... Employs lucid prose and generous illustrations to describe the explosion of mammal species that followed the disappearance of dinosaurs. A must for any list of the best popular science books of the year." -
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"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"The story of the evolutionary history of mammals is told with elan in this clear, engaging book. 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. Brusatte has a clear understanding of the book he is writing." -
New Scientist"Brusatte brings mammals out from the shadow of their more showy (dinosaur) predecessors in a beautifully written book that ranges from armadillos the size of cars to elephants the size of miniature poodles and makes the case for them as creature who as just as engaging as dinosaurs." -
Sunday Times (London)"Five stars. Take a journey through time to the origins of life as we know it with this riveting read. A real page-turner that proves science fact is more amazing than science fiction." -
The Sun (UK)"In this detailed, deeply researched and entertaining book the author summarises why and how mammals have managed to hold sway for so much of the last 65 million years. ... Brusatte's real achievement is to show us that, for all its sheer weight of numbers and impact, Homo sapiens is just a single point, among millions of species over 200 million years." -
The Spectator"One of my favorite authors, one of my favorite scientists." -
Ira Flatow, NPR's Science Friday"A tour de force, charging through 350 million years of mammalian history. ... Brusatte is a great storyteller whose infectious curiosity permeates the book. He brings to life the often strange variety of early mammals." -
The Explorers Journal"This is a very beautiful story-driven, well-written book. This is like a fun novel you're reading." -
Dax Shepherd, Armchair Expert"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"An epic sweep of hundreds of millions of years of mammalian evolution. ... Not sure how he does it, but Brusatte makes sections on how molar shapes evolved into can't-miss page-turners. You won't look at the animal world the same way again after this one." -
Adventure Journal"With the demise of dinosaurs almost 66 million years ago came the flourishing of our branch of the tree of life-- mammals. Steve Brusatte's
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, tells the epic story of how our mammalian cousins evolved to fly, walk, swim, and walk on two legs. His enthusiasm and deep knowledge infuse this lively journey of millions of years of evolution with infectious enthusiasm." -
Neil Shubin, bestselling author of Your Inner Fish and University of Chicago paleontologist"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, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Cambridge University biologist
