The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
Synopsis
The Times Science Book of the Year.
A Sunday Times Bestseller.
'Thrilling . . . the best book on the subject written for the general reader' – The Sunday Times
66 million years ago the dinosaurs were wiped from the face of the earth. Today, Dr. Steve Brusatte, one of the leading scientists of a new generation of dinosaur hunters, is piecing together the complete story of how the dinosaurs ruled the earth for 150 million years.
The world of the dinosaurs has fascinated on book and screen for decades – from early science fiction classics like The Lost World, to Godzilla terrorizing the streets of Tokyo, and the monsters of Jurassic Park. But what if we got it wrong?
In The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, top dinosaur expert Brusatte tells the real story of how dinosaurs rose to dominate the planet. Using the fossil clues that have been gathered using state of the art technology, Brusatte follows these magnificent creatures from their beginnings in the Early Triassic period, through the Jurassic period to their final days in the Cretaceous and the legacy that they left behind.
Along the way, Brusatte introduces us to modern day dinosaur hunters and gives an insight into what it’s like to be a paleontologist. He reveals thrilling accounts of some of his personal discoveries, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs, monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex, and feathered raptor dinosaurs preserved in lava from China.
At a time when Homo sapiens has existed for less than 200,000 years and we are already talking about planetary extinction, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a timely reminder of what humans can learn from the magnificent creatures who ruled the earth before us.
'A gripping read in the best traditions of popular science' – The Observer
'This is science at first hand, meant for grown-ups' – Henry Gee, author of A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth
Details
Reviews
“An up-to-the-minute account of the long history and remarkable biology of the extraordinary animals that capture the imagination of every child.”Professor Richard Fortey
“Steve Brusatte is doing some of the most exciting research on dinosaurs today, and he brings that excitement to The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs.”Carl Zimmer, author of Evolution: Making Sense of Life
“The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a work of solid modern science, updating the fallacies and fancies of antiquated paleontology, revealing the quantum leaps in understanding of this modern science. But it is more than that. It is a personal quest full of enthusiasm and joy, getting beneath the dust to reveal the scales and the feathers of dinosaurs.”Steve Backshall, Naturalist and BBC TV Presenter, author of Deep Blue
“Steve Brusatte's The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a triumph. Written by one of our young leaders of the field, he brings new discoveries, a taste for a good yarn, and his infectious enthusiasm to some of the epic tales of paleontology. It is hard to read Brusatte and not love lost worlds.”Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish
