The Rise and Reign of the Mammals

A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us

By: Steve Brusatte

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

'Steve Brusatte, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, brings mammals out from the shadow of their more showy predecessors . . . In this beautifully written . . . terrific book, he tells the extraordinary story of how mammals came to be and makes the case for them as creatures who are just as engaging as dinosaurs.' – The Sunday Times

The passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They – or, more precisely, we – originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years.

Over these immense stretches of geological time, mammals developed their trademark features: hair, keen senses of smell and hearing, big brains and sharp intelligence, fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism, a distinctive line-up of teeth, mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk, qualities that have underlain their success story.

Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. But today’s 6,000 mammal species are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions.

In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears, iconic mammals such as the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard, and fascinating species that few of us are aware of. In this fascinating and ground-breaking book, Steve Brusatte tells their – and our – story.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Steve Brusatte (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Critic reviews

The epic story of how our mammalian cousins evolved to fly, walk, swim, and walk on two legs . . . [Brusatte's] deep knowledge infuse[s] 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)

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 [Steve Brusatte's] The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs. (Venki Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Cambridge University biologist)

Deeply researched and entertaining . . . 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 more than 200 million years. (Mark Cocker,)

Gorgeous book . . . fantastic writing, brilliant science. (Alice Roberts, author of Ancestors)

Another Brilliant book

I was waiting for a new book from Steve since his "Dinosaur" book, and a soon as I heard his interview on Science Friday I bought this audiobook! Happiness! It is really a good book, and highly recommended! The way he shares his knowledge and excitement is addictive! Like his previous book this is a must buy!