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)

what a great book!

loved this book. the author's writing style is informal, fun, and energetic and the narrator translates it like a pro.

the book is a nice blend of personal annecdote and intro to paleontology. should satisfy those who love layman's history and science plus the adventure book crowd.

The best dinosaur book I've read.

Steve knows his stuff, he goes into deep detail about who these creatures were and how they lived their lives. I especially enjoyed the section concerning the extinction of the dinosaurs. He goes into great detail speculating on the meteor impact and the immediate effects on the dinosaurs. He then writes about the days, decades centuries and millennia after the extinction.

Excellent

Very interesting and informative. I know I will listen to this book several times. Thanks.

wowzers

Bruatte tells am amazing story. it all flowed so we. I learned so much, and enjoyed the entire read.

steve does an excellent job at reading through the novel with a gentle flow and excitement

Great book

I really enjoyed listening to this book . It was full of descriptions of the earth and animals that once lived here. It was also full of stories of a young person interested in dinosaurs and that interest turned into a career . Very well done .

bringing dinosaurs alive

exceptionally well done. maintained my interest from start to finish. sad to reach the end.

For Dinosaur Fans

This is fairly light reading or listening. The author doesn’t kill you with scientific jargon you can’t follow. It’s popular science but at least you’re getting it from a genuine expert. He is very generous with fellow paleontologist who have done important work in the field.

Good, but a bit misleading

If the book had the title, "Famous People in Paleontology Who I Know and Their Place in Paleontological History" I would've given this a 5. Very interesting, but definitely strayed from the purported theme.

Some chapters felt like they talked more about the style and food choices of scientists more than dinosaurs (hyperbole, but.... yeah)

Most enjoyable book.

Clear and concise, I love the author's command of his words, and the excellent narration which shows it off perfectly. So happy to find a book which was written recently!

good overview of history of dinosaurs

quite a bit of detail of their physiology that allowed them to exist I had never heard before