The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, yet I read it cover-to-cover in 24 hours! The most phenomenal quality of this book is that the author doesn't start from where we are now and look backwards - that is, he doesn't just focus on the familiar present-day mammal lineages. Rather, nearly all of the book is tracing mammals (and Mammaliaforms) from their most distant synapsid origins in the Carboniferous up through the present. The entire world recognizes what mammoths and saber-tooth cats are - we've LIVED with them. But what are those other weird-looking animals? The things that look like rhinos with weird antler-horns (Brontotheres). The things that look like camels but with trunks (Macrauchenia). Those rhino-elephant-giraffe mashups (Indricotheres). How about all the vaguely fuzzy stuff from the dinosaur days? These are the stars of this book. Chapter 1 - Mammal Ancestors - focuses on the split of synapsids and diapsids. We start with pelycosaurs during the Late Carboniferous, and then move into the Permian world of therapsids (such as dicynodonts, dinocephalians, and gorgonopsians). Chapter 2 - Making a Mammal - focuses on the end-Permian and the Triassic. We especially focus on the cynodonts and how they survived and diversified during the early Mesozoic. Chapter 3 - Mammals and Dinosaurs - focuses especially on mammal jaw and teeth evolution, and how mammalian mouthparts are so unique. This sets us up for the next chapter. Chapter 4 - The Mammalian Revolution - flips the script on Mesozoic mammals. Usually this is framed as dinosaurs ruled and kept mammals as small background figures. But the author makes the very convincing case that mammals flourished and diversified during the Cretaceous, but just at small sizes. There were seed-eaters, tree-gliders, fish-predators, a few baby-dino predators, insect-munchers, burrowers. This is when multituberlicates as well as therians emerge. This is also when mammals teeth became even more specialized to grind and shear at the same time. Just as dinosaurs were the reason there were no large mammals, mammals were the reason there were no small dinosaurs. Chapter 5 - Dinosaurs Die, Mammals Survive - is of course about the K-T extinction. I appreciate that the author correctly points out that nobody REALLY won. Every clade on earth was negatively impacted by the extinction event, and mammals almost went extinct as well - thankfully, they happened to survive. He highlights certain factors that gave them SOME mammals better hand of cards such as small size, diverse food base, widespread, fast growth and reproduction. We also explore some topics such as monotremes and placentas. Chapter 6 - Mammals Modernize - is about the flowering of more recognizable clades. This is especially about placental mammals. Afrotheria (which today are golden moles, tenrecs, hyraxes, elephants, hyraxes, aardvarks, manatees). Xenarthra (which today are sloths, armadillos, anteaters). Laurasiatherians (which today are carnivorans, bats, everything with a hoof plus whales, pangolins). And Euarchontoglires (which today are lagomporths, rodents, primates). The chapter mainly focuses on the Paleocene and very early Eocene, and aside from those placental clade also includes all sorts of cool oddities such as marsupials, South American ungulates, and brontotheres. Chapter 7 - Extreme Animals - is basically about the Eocene diversification. Bats, rhinos, elephants, horses, whales, etc. Very neat! Chapter 8 - Mammals and Climate Change - is about the transition from a hothouse Paleocene/Eocene world to a cooler, grassier Oligocene world. This also includes information about grass evolution as well as the hoofed ruminants, and various predators that also evolved to deal with the new climate. Chapter 9 - Ice Age Animals - is about the Ice Age climate, how the Ice Ages continue to cycle between glacial and non-glacial periods, and about the fauna of the Ice Age (especially saber-tooth cats and mammoths, which did NOT really live together) Chapter 10 - Human Animals - is about primates and human evolution. I appreciate that most of this book is about extinct mammals - as in, the focus is not on relating this to contemporary animals or to human beings. Rather, we are learning about these diverse animals as they were and for their own sake. I also appreciate the attention to phylogeny. The author explains how different groups diverged, he explains crown and stem groups, he explained some of the distinguishing features, and he often does compare and contrast. The writing is absolutely solid - I read 400 pages in a day! He has a unique voice that allows him to communicate scientific thinking and terminology in a way that is comprehensible, convincing, and simply fun to read. There is a phylogeny at the front, as well as a timeline and a few maps. I would have preferred more, but I didn't feel that this was lacking. The book is filled with illustrations and photos, and I think he included the perfect amount. The bibliography is fantastic because it is annotated - for each chapter, he spends pages and pages explaining what books and papers he used and how you as the reader may want to use it. (NOTE: Do not read Adrienne Mayor, who shows up twice. Her work is bunk). This is a fantastic book. I learned a lot, the writing is great, and you will enjoy this even if you aren't typically a science reader.

Great book to read to understand evolutionary history of Mammals !

This is a good book overall. When writing about the mammals he is excellent. Full of facts and well informed. But for a small percentage of the book, he talks about anthropological climate change. Here he gets downright silly. He makes statements that are completely debunked. He talks about rapid increases of temperature due to fossil fuel burning. He talks about rapid increase in ocean level. He never mentions the cycles that actually cause climate change. He gets pretty preachy at the last chapter and speculates wildly. This does detract from what is actually a very good book that I recommend. He should stay in his lane. Skip last chapter unless you want to laugh.

Great informative book on the Cenozoic era. Love the writing of the author. It’s easy to digest and well planned. Great price on Amazon and came without any damages. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in our planets history and how mammals rose after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Excellent book. Easy and engaging to read. It filled in the enormous gap in my education in which mammalian evolution was given short shift.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes non-fiction about dinosaurs and their associated eras and times can be dense and wordy and difficult to get through for people who are just dipping their toes into the topic or who are newer. Happily The Rise and Reign of the Mammals does not have that problem. This well thought out and structured book takes us from the era of the dinos, when mammals were just beginning to get under the big reptiles’ feet to their eventual rise and dominance of the known world. Rise and Reign begins primarily within the Pennsylvanian era with stem-mammals and moves to our more modern times. One of my favorite things about this book is that as we move from large period to large period Mr. Brusatte regales us with a short narrative about something might have or might happen in the future to set the scene for what we’re about to see or have explained in the next section. He doesn’t focus in on the creature themselves, instead looking at each one in relation to what made it different and unique that added to the overall growth of the mammalian line (or bush if you want a more accurate descriptor). There are plenty of wonderful illustrations, charts, photos, and figures to keep things clear. I ended up taking a plethora of notes on the figures and charts as well as the text as they really helped me visualize what I was reading. Mr. Brusatte also keeps it fairly personal. Often referring to friends he has in the field or digs he’s gone on to tie into the bones and their discoveries. This made it seem more grounded than simple facts and added to the approachability of the book. Overall, this was a fantastic addition to my collection of dino and dino-adjacent shelves and I’d highly recommend for any other lovers of the topic and era in question. It’s long, yes, but take it in chunks or one long holiday and you’ll enjoy the journey, I promise!

A well concised, well presented book about us and our history and our lineage. It is important to know where we come from.

This is an excellent book to read if one is interested in evolution of species. Brusatte's book "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" is also a must read. Brusatte makes the evolution of species very interesting! He is an excellent writer.

Ótima obra, conteúdo ideal para quem estuda Zoologia e necessita conhecer cada vez mais a respeito da classe Mammalia.

I’ve never been a fan of non-fiction—science books, in particular, often feel dry or inaccessible. But _The Rise and the Reign of the Mammals_ completely changed my mind. This book is a masterclass in storytelling, weaving through pivotal moments in evolutionary history with such clarity and momentum that I barely noticed the pages flipping. It doesn’t just explain the rise of mammals; it immerses you in the journey, making you feel like you’re walking alongside the scientists and explorers who uncovered these stories. What stood out was how the author brought to life the eccentric, relentless people behind the discoveries—those who chased clues in the most unexpected places. I was fascinated by how the book turned something as mundane as the evolution of chewing into a narrative about brain development, showing how even the smallest adaptations shaped the course of life. It’s the kind of book that makes you pause, thinking, *“Wait, that’s how that happened?”* The writing is never dull. Even the densest topics feel approachable, and the pacing keeps you hooked. I finished it feeling like I’d not only learned something profound but also been entertained. If you’ve ever avoided science books, this is the one to start with. It’s not just informative—it’s a revelation.

Very informative, and I really liked how the book weaved in stories of contemporary palaeontologists with the big-time narrative of mammal evolution. Excellent book.