The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

A New History of a Lost World

By: Steve Brusatte

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

A sweeping and groundbreaking history of the age of dinosaurs, from one of our finest young scientists.

The dinosaurs. 66 million years ago, the Earth's most fearsome and spectacular creatures vanished. Today their extraordinary true story remains one of our planet's great mysteries.

In this stunning narrative spanning more than 200 million years, Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering 10 new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork - masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy. Captivating and revelatory, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a book for the ages.

Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers - themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period - into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs' peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth's history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a "sixth extinction".

Brusatte also recalls compelling stories from his globe-trotting expeditions during one of the most exciting eras in dinosaur research - which he calls "a new golden age of discovery" - and offers thrilling accounts of some of the remarkable findings he and his colleagues have made, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs; monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex; and paradigm-shifting feathered raptors from China.

An electrifying scientific history that unearths the dinosaurs' epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be a definitive and treasured account for decades to come.

©2018 Stephen Brusatte (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Patrick Lawlor's narration injects Brusatte's enthusiasm into the informative writing.... Listeners who love dinosaurs will thrill to the latest developments in their history." (AudioFile)

Surprising and I will tell you why

This book was surprising. I like dinossaurs, but from the begining of listening I thought it was going to be a really boring book, but it is not. This book is surprising and very interesting with so much facts about the ancients most amazing birds.

First the autor tells about the ancestors of dinossaurs that lived in a earth dominated by reptiles, and the book goes following the time line presenting facts in a very well organized way. I loved this book and the insights it provide about science, evolution, nature and of course birds.

Loved it!

I've loved dinosaurs for forever! 8 year old me wanted to be a paleontologist so bad! This book was amazing. It made me feel like I could get a taste of not only the palentogy life and its quirky scientists, but more importantly it gave me a good grasp on the evolution of life on earth and dinosaurs and their bird descendants.

For both casual and serious dinosaur fans

So much fascinating information from start to finish. I learned of dozens of dinosaurs which get no press unlike the biggies T-Rex & Stegosaurous. Enjoyed the light heartedness of the author's delivery of what could sometimes be dry content...and his passion for the creatures is amazing! Highly recommend.

Excellent review of dinosaur paleontology!

I very much appreciated this update of the unfolding dinosaur story and it’s implications for mankind.

Better than 5 stars!

Our knowledge of dinosaurs continues to "evolve" so even if you already know it all, I bet you'll learn something from this recently published book. The book goes pretty deep yet doesn't overwhelm a neophyte like myself. The narrator does a good job of projecting the author's obvious enthusiasm. One aspect I especially enjoy is the author's exploration of various "why" theories. Zero negatives.

Just get the book, you won't regret it. There isn't any risk anyway because of Audible's return policy.

Simply Fantastic

I am by no means a "science person," however, I loved this book. As the review title suggests, it was simply fantastic! I have suggested this to many friends at this point, and would recommend it to anyone with even the most passing of interests in dinosaurs.

If you like dinosaurs then this is for you.

The narrator is amazing. The writing is superb. I have loved dinosaurs since I was very little and now that I’m 50 I still love indulging in them. I learned so much and was kept rapt by the writing and delivery of this book. It was so good.

Superb Start to Finish

The story was well thought through and engaging. For a person who studies paleontology as a hobby, this was an exciting look into detailed species and the stories they told. As a researcher, it was wonderful to have the inclusion of methodologies, estimated population statistics, other statistics, and the math of how they came to these conclusions which upgrade this book from some person telling a story to something genuinely scientific in origin. Something already recommended to another and certainly something others should recommend.

Birds be Dinosaurs!

Great book very educational, and entertaining...some slow parts but kept my interest going, they live

A modern history of the dinosaurs

Steve Brusatte does a great job of weaving together a narrative about dinosaur evolution and modern practices in the discipline of paleontology. The book is a must read for anyone who was obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid, yet hasn't really kept up with the science -- beyond the occasional news article -- since then.