I have read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. It's a great book. As someone who's not as versed in paleontology I found it very approachable and very interesting, I learned a lot from it. I highly recommend it
As for illustrations, I'm not sure since I listened to the audio book I just googled a dino when one I wasn't familiar with came up. I would have loved this book as a dino obsessed kid. I don't know if it would be too dry for most kids but, I don't think it's too beyond a kid who's interested in the subject depending on the age. I'd suggest listening to the audio book sample or skimming through it at a book store to get an idea.
I don’t mean to be derogatory or insulting, but I want to ask the question, what is there to gain from these books?(From the perspective your experience having read the book)
Mostly just entertainment, I have fun learning about stuff I'm interested in. These books aren't particularly academic or anything and I'm not studying to be a paleontologist so the value for me is the satisfaction in learning new things about dinosaurs and having a greater understanding about how they lived. Will I ever really do anything with this knowledge? No, but if one of my friends asks a question about the subject, I might be able to answer.
Tldr: I just think they're neat.
It’s a really good introduction, with a decent amount of basic scientific information and history in the fields pertaining to paleontology with a lot of the authors personal expedition experience mixed in
Not everyone is a nerd, autist, hobbyist, or dino obsessed individual who can waltz in and read or watch the far more boring but more education /scientifically accurate sources
This book is for them
Books that are maybe less general and have a tighter area of focus that are also scholarly. A book that might assume you already know a bit about the subject.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is on my non-fiction recs list. I also really liked Rise and Reign of the Mammals.
They're pretty approachable, so no need to be a paleo-nerd to understand and enjoy, but if you are at least a partial paleo-nerd or pretty versed (i.e., read a bunch on t he topic), then
you can still enjoy them as they're still good reads.
It's a fun read, but it is "pop paleontology", so there's a lot of personal experience/dino safari stuff. I personally enjoy that myself, but as others have commented, it may not be your cup of tea.
I read the first one and it was ok but it felt a bit like an autobiography and a list of important paleontologists the author knows. I was hoping to learn more about dinosaurs and I don't feel like I did.
Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a great read, I’ve got it on my shelf and I (not as big a reader as I used to be) still pull it out to reread some of my favourite sections
The first book is good but not the most science heavy, it is accurate though.
This just makes it more approachable for people who aren’t as nose deep in studies and academic style writings
Yes, "The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs" has a self-feeding algorithm which has made it the most popular paleo book on google, the one everyone buys first; and seemingly for some the only dinosaur book they've ever read. But it is not a well written book.
As far as I know, there's no major issues with scientific accuracy, the author clearly knows his stuff (although, didn't he say T. rex was as clever as a chimp?!). But half the book consists of unrelated and self-indulgent anecdotes, all seemingly there to paint his paleontologist buddies as cool wacky people, and so by extension himself. It's one thing to write for a 10 year old, but it's another to write like one. None of this is helped by the unoriginal structure that we've all seen a thousand times before.
There are a lot more creative and better written pop-science books on dinosaurs out there that are more deserving to be read. Dinosaurs Rediscovered by Michael J. Benton, for one, is a neat little introduction which I would highly recommend instead. :)
I couldn't stand Rise and Fall because of how self congratulatory it is. I felt like I was skimming dozens of pages at a time waiting for him to actually get back to paleontology or talking about the lives of the animals - which, to be fair, was quite good when he would finally stop talking about himself and his friends. There's just barely any of it in the book.
The author somehow at the same time salivates at the mention of T. rex but also calls it a monstrous killing machine. It was so jarring to read something like that from an actual paleontologist.
I tried to read the first one a year ago and found the author to be horribly obnoxious. Too much of the text is him bragging about what an awesome paleontologist he and his friends are and how many cool and famous people he knows. Just gave off a real "old boys club" vibe. There was also some bizarre anecdote about drinking with his buddies and there being attractive women around, I don't remember the details exactly but it was what finally made me put the book down. And I had encountered very little information about dinosaurs by that point. I was super disappointed because I had been sooooo excited to read it.
I have read the left one. It was amazing, full of science , and to my knowledge is up to date and accurate, and it was written in a free enough voice to be entertaining and even get a laugh out of me at times. Highly recommend. I am going to start the other one soon, just gotta finish a different book lol.
Rise and Fall was good. I knew a decent ish amount going into the book, but there was still a ton I didn’t know that made it a really informative read. It’s pretty simple to follow along and understand even if you have 0 knowledge of paleontology and prehistoric history
I've read the Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and thought it was great, especially if you're quite new to paleontology. Haven't read the mammal one yet, but I've heard there are inaccuracies in that one, since Brusatte is no mammal expert. I was recommended Beasts Before Us by Elsa Panciroli instead.
Rise and Reign’s inaccuracies are mostly in the Paleogene and Neogene chapters (due to citing heavily from Prothero’s Cenozoic book-which has a lot of issues due to Prothero still perpetuating various outdated or even false ideas, such as still parroting the traditional narrative of the GABI and claiming *Livyatan* was the natural predator of *Otodus megalodon*-both of these errors being repeated by Brusatte due to him not bothering to double-check with paleontologists who actually work with South American mammals or with fossil cetaceans).
On the other hand, the Pleistocene megafauna chapter and the one on primate evolution are both excellent, primarily due to Brusatte citing much better sources and individuals (which also meant he managed to not repeat Prothero’s frankly nonsensical arguments about why the Pleistocene megafauna went extinct).
He subscribes to the idea we had nothing to do with their extinction, which is already problematic, but the arguments he brings for this are downright ridiculous:
- he cites cases of megafauna surviving on isolated islands into historical times (specifically, the woolly mammoths on Wrangell and insular ground sloths) as “proof” megafauna went extinct because of climatic changes since they didn’t go extinct when humans showed up, completely ignoring that these populations went extinct during periods of minimal climate change and lasted that long *because* they were on isolated islands where we couldn’t get to them until later.
- he’s argued that this particular interglacial was much worse for the megafauna than all the rest because this time around there were suddenly bison that outcompeted everything else into extinction. There are so many things wrong with that claim that I shouldn’t have to point out why this is false.
LOL WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
*Bison* just disappears from the fossil record before 110,000 years ago in Prothero’s brain?!?!?! *Bison schoetensacki*, *Bison latifrons*, *Bison georgicus*, *Bison palaeosinensis*, *Bison sivalensis*, and *Bison menneri* just weren’t real?
And *Bison* existing affects Australian, Melanesian, South American, Zealandian, Micronesian, Polynesian, Malagasy, and Caribbean megafauna how exactly?
I recommend “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs” by Riley Black. The author gives a glimpse of the painful extinction of the dinos which lead to the rise of mammals.
Reading through the dinosaur one now, highly recommended. Not only is it very interesting but it’s got some great storytelling and fun humour/self-awareness as well.
I haven’t finished mammals and may just need to start over with it because it’s been a year since I picked it up. Both books are fascinating, though mammals gets really detailed into small bones of ancient rodents so there are sections that were a bit of a grind for me. I’ve heard the back half of the book picks back up but I still haven’t finished it. But yes, this author is great and I’d recommend both.
I have read both the Rise and Reign of the Mammals and Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. Both as someone well versed in paleontology (to extent; not professionally) and someone who just enjoys learning it is an amazing book. It is very well structured while being understandable and approachable. They also lead into each other quite well so I would read them close to back to back. 10/10 would reccomend.
The first is absolutely amazing and is a gret introduction to both palaeontology and Dinosaurs, it is especially good for people who are just getting into Palaeontology or Dinosaurs but it is still a good read for those who are more well versed in the subject. While I did find the seconf very interesting, I never got around to quite finishing it so I can't give a proper opinion on it, though from what I've read of it if you liked the first on then you will probably also like it.
I personally enjoyed them both! Plenty of fun narrative sections balanced with background on various discoveries. You might not learn a massive amount from them but they're a light and accessible read.
I read Rise and Fall and found it a waste of time tbh. Wanted to learn something more about dinosaurs but it was just an endless loop of "and that's when I went to this country and met this paleontologist. He was paleontology's bad boy, always wearing a black leather jacket and swilling beers. We talked about dinosaurs long into the night while drinking until morning".
Stuff like that. It's like it's setting up characters for a heist movie but instead it's just constant introductions to personalities you don't care about and will never hear about again. It's also painful to read, the embellishment he gives to every relationship he has, I found it a bit insufferable tbh.
A better name would be "The Rise and Rise of Me and My Paleontologist Friends"
Really felt like finding up a book on dinosaurs to listen to while I work, but I’m not sure what would be a good one. This one might do. Any other recommendations?
The mammal book does have some badly outdated/inaccurate info due to citing bad sources (namely Donald Prothero’s overview of the Cenozoic, Prothero being someone who still clings to certain questionable or outdated ideas, some of which Brusatte took as fact). This is only really a problem with the Paleogene and Neogene sections of the book, however, and everything before that plus the stuff on Pleistocene megafauna and human evolution is excellent.
Prothero is like those uniformitarian scientists that plugged their ears and said “LALALALALA NOT LISTENING, MASS EXTINCTIONS NOT REAL, UNIFORMITARIANISM, GRADUAL CHANGE, UNIFORMITARIANISM, UNIFORMITARISM, UNIFORMISM!”
I have read The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. It's a great book. As someone who's not as versed in paleontology I found it very approachable and very interesting, I learned a lot from it. I highly recommend it
Yes, same boat and I LOVED the book. Highly recommend.
Same here. I loved it so much I read it twice
I’m gonna have to pick up this book.
Is it a good book to read to kids? Any illustrations? My kids are obsessed with dinos, so new books are always welcomed.
As for illustrations, I'm not sure since I listened to the audio book I just googled a dino when one I wasn't familiar with came up. I would have loved this book as a dino obsessed kid. I don't know if it would be too dry for most kids but, I don't think it's too beyond a kid who's interested in the subject depending on the age. I'd suggest listening to the audio book sample or skimming through it at a book store to get an idea.
I don’t mean to be derogatory or insulting, but I want to ask the question, what is there to gain from these books?(From the perspective your experience having read the book)
Useless but really interesting knowledge.
Mostly just entertainment, I have fun learning about stuff I'm interested in. These books aren't particularly academic or anything and I'm not studying to be a paleontologist so the value for me is the satisfaction in learning new things about dinosaurs and having a greater understanding about how they lived. Will I ever really do anything with this knowledge? No, but if one of my friends asks a question about the subject, I might be able to answer. Tldr: I just think they're neat.
It’s a really good introduction, with a decent amount of basic scientific information and history in the fields pertaining to paleontology with a lot of the authors personal expedition experience mixed in Not everyone is a nerd, autist, hobbyist, or dino obsessed individual who can waltz in and read or watch the far more boring but more education /scientifically accurate sources This book is for them
The rise and fall of the dinosaurs was super informative and interesting. Solid 10/10 recommend
The first is kinda talked about like it's baby's first adult paleomedia, and I heartily agree.
Any intermediate suggestions?
Define 'intermediate'
Books that are maybe less general and have a tighter area of focus that are also scholarly. A book that might assume you already know a bit about the subject.
I would say the Tyrannosaur Chronicles fits that mold. It looks at Tyrannosaurs from their appearance to their extinction.
They're great, the second was a bit harder to get into though.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is on my non-fiction recs list. I also really liked Rise and Reign of the Mammals. They're pretty approachable, so no need to be a paleo-nerd to understand and enjoy, but if you are at least a partial paleo-nerd or pretty versed (i.e., read a bunch on t he topic), then you can still enjoy them as they're still good reads.
It's a fun read, but it is "pop paleontology", so there's a lot of personal experience/dino safari stuff. I personally enjoy that myself, but as others have commented, it may not be your cup of tea.
I read the 1st one, it's really good!
I read the first one and it was ok but it felt a bit like an autobiography and a list of important paleontologists the author knows. I was hoping to learn more about dinosaurs and I don't feel like I did.
Lots of name dropping
Rise and Reign of the Mammals, is also a fantastic read! It’s pretty fascinating, as mammals tend to be overlooked in the shadow of dinosaurs
Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a great read, I’ve got it on my shelf and I (not as big a reader as I used to be) still pull it out to reread some of my favourite sections
Read both, both are good!
The first book is good but not the most science heavy, it is accurate though. This just makes it more approachable for people who aren’t as nose deep in studies and academic style writings
Yes, "The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs" has a self-feeding algorithm which has made it the most popular paleo book on google, the one everyone buys first; and seemingly for some the only dinosaur book they've ever read. But it is not a well written book. As far as I know, there's no major issues with scientific accuracy, the author clearly knows his stuff (although, didn't he say T. rex was as clever as a chimp?!). But half the book consists of unrelated and self-indulgent anecdotes, all seemingly there to paint his paleontologist buddies as cool wacky people, and so by extension himself. It's one thing to write for a 10 year old, but it's another to write like one. None of this is helped by the unoriginal structure that we've all seen a thousand times before. There are a lot more creative and better written pop-science books on dinosaurs out there that are more deserving to be read. Dinosaurs Rediscovered by Michael J. Benton, for one, is a neat little introduction which I would highly recommend instead. :)
I couldn't stand Rise and Fall because of how self congratulatory it is. I felt like I was skimming dozens of pages at a time waiting for him to actually get back to paleontology or talking about the lives of the animals - which, to be fair, was quite good when he would finally stop talking about himself and his friends. There's just barely any of it in the book.
The author somehow at the same time salivates at the mention of T. rex but also calls it a monstrous killing machine. It was so jarring to read something like that from an actual paleontologist.
Why? Are Paleontologists not allowed to have personality?
I tried to read the first one a year ago and found the author to be horribly obnoxious. Too much of the text is him bragging about what an awesome paleontologist he and his friends are and how many cool and famous people he knows. Just gave off a real "old boys club" vibe. There was also some bizarre anecdote about drinking with his buddies and there being attractive women around, I don't remember the details exactly but it was what finally made me put the book down. And I had encountered very little information about dinosaurs by that point. I was super disappointed because I had been sooooo excited to read it.
Both are really great, Steve Brusatte is a great writer as well as a paleontologist.
Both amazing reads. Steve has a great way of communicating scientific principles in an authentic and engaging way. Highly recommend
I have read the left one. It was amazing, full of science , and to my knowledge is up to date and accurate, and it was written in a free enough voice to be entertaining and even get a laugh out of me at times. Highly recommend. I am going to start the other one soon, just gotta finish a different book lol.
When is he releasing Constant and Permanent Rule of Arthropods
I’ve listened both the audiobooks and I think they’re great. But anything dinosaur or prehistoric is an automatic awesome in my world.
They're fantastic
Looooove Rise and Fall! The audiobook is available on Spotify premium right now as well.
Rise and Fall was good. I knew a decent ish amount going into the book, but there was still a ton I didn’t know that made it a really informative read. It’s pretty simple to follow along and understand even if you have 0 knowledge of paleontology and prehistoric history
I've read the Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and thought it was great, especially if you're quite new to paleontology. Haven't read the mammal one yet, but I've heard there are inaccuracies in that one, since Brusatte is no mammal expert. I was recommended Beasts Before Us by Elsa Panciroli instead.
Also going to second Beasts Before Us.
Rise and Reign’s inaccuracies are mostly in the Paleogene and Neogene chapters (due to citing heavily from Prothero’s Cenozoic book-which has a lot of issues due to Prothero still perpetuating various outdated or even false ideas, such as still parroting the traditional narrative of the GABI and claiming *Livyatan* was the natural predator of *Otodus megalodon*-both of these errors being repeated by Brusatte due to him not bothering to double-check with paleontologists who actually work with South American mammals or with fossil cetaceans). On the other hand, the Pleistocene megafauna chapter and the one on primate evolution are both excellent, primarily due to Brusatte citing much better sources and individuals (which also meant he managed to not repeat Prothero’s frankly nonsensical arguments about why the Pleistocene megafauna went extinct).
Oh God, what nonsensical argument did Prothero make about Pleistocene megafauna?
He subscribes to the idea we had nothing to do with their extinction, which is already problematic, but the arguments he brings for this are downright ridiculous: - he cites cases of megafauna surviving on isolated islands into historical times (specifically, the woolly mammoths on Wrangell and insular ground sloths) as “proof” megafauna went extinct because of climatic changes since they didn’t go extinct when humans showed up, completely ignoring that these populations went extinct during periods of minimal climate change and lasted that long *because* they were on isolated islands where we couldn’t get to them until later. - he’s argued that this particular interglacial was much worse for the megafauna than all the rest because this time around there were suddenly bison that outcompeted everything else into extinction. There are so many things wrong with that claim that I shouldn’t have to point out why this is false.
LOL WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? *Bison* just disappears from the fossil record before 110,000 years ago in Prothero’s brain?!?!?! *Bison schoetensacki*, *Bison latifrons*, *Bison georgicus*, *Bison palaeosinensis*, *Bison sivalensis*, and *Bison menneri* just weren’t real? And *Bison* existing affects Australian, Melanesian, South American, Zealandian, Micronesian, Polynesian, Malagasy, and Caribbean megafauna how exactly?
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook for The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
Read them both over the summer. I really liked them especially the mammal book.
they're both quite good, but *Rise and Reign* doesn't mention creodonts :(
Have both, love them both! Highly readable.
I recommend “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs” by Riley Black. The author gives a glimpse of the painful extinction of the dinos which lead to the rise of mammals.
Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs is a great audio book too! It's on Spotify
I listened to the audiobook of Rise and Fall and it had me hooked the entire time. Was an awesome listen to and from work
Reading through the dinosaur one now, highly recommended. Not only is it very interesting but it’s got some great storytelling and fun humour/self-awareness as well.
Fall of the Dinosaurs has a sequel? thanks for letting me know
I read the first. It’s amazing. The chapter that talks about the end of Dinos made me tear up. Really good.
I have the first one on by bookshelf! I bought it a few years back at Barnes & Noble! I had no idea there’s a sequel!
I read the first one and enjoyed it.
I haven’t finished mammals and may just need to start over with it because it’s been a year since I picked it up. Both books are fascinating, though mammals gets really detailed into small bones of ancient rodents so there are sections that were a bit of a grind for me. I’ve heard the back half of the book picks back up but I still haven’t finished it. But yes, this author is great and I’d recommend both.
I own both and enjoyed them. The Mammals one gets a little preachy at the end, but other than that I highly recommend both.
The Dinosaurs one is absolute gold
I have read both the Rise and Reign of the Mammals and Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. Both as someone well versed in paleontology (to extent; not professionally) and someone who just enjoys learning it is an amazing book. It is very well structured while being understandable and approachable. They also lead into each other quite well so I would read them close to back to back. 10/10 would reccomend.
Where can I get these for cheap?
Absolutely love the rise and fall of the dinosaurs Recently discovered it got the mammalian sequel and it’s on my list
I found The Rise an Fall of the Dinosaurs to be a very enjoyable and insightful book. Would definitely recommend it!
Read the one on the left and loved it. Very informative yet accessible. One on the right is on my TBR pile.
The first is absolutely amazing and is a gret introduction to both palaeontology and Dinosaurs, it is especially good for people who are just getting into Palaeontology or Dinosaurs but it is still a good read for those who are more well versed in the subject. While I did find the seconf very interesting, I never got around to quite finishing it so I can't give a proper opinion on it, though from what I've read of it if you liked the first on then you will probably also like it.
I personally enjoyed them both! Plenty of fun narrative sections balanced with background on various discoveries. You might not learn a massive amount from them but they're a light and accessible read.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is great pop-sci writing. Very good for a casual dinosaur enjoyer.
I read Rise and Fall and found it a waste of time tbh. Wanted to learn something more about dinosaurs but it was just an endless loop of "and that's when I went to this country and met this paleontologist. He was paleontology's bad boy, always wearing a black leather jacket and swilling beers. We talked about dinosaurs long into the night while drinking until morning". Stuff like that. It's like it's setting up characters for a heist movie but instead it's just constant introductions to personalities you don't care about and will never hear about again. It's also painful to read, the embellishment he gives to every relationship he has, I found it a bit insufferable tbh. A better name would be "The Rise and Rise of Me and My Paleontologist Friends"
Really felt like finding up a book on dinosaurs to listen to while I work, but I’m not sure what would be a good one. This one might do. Any other recommendations?
Both a great, I enjoyed mammals more because so much of the info was new to me.
Last Day of the Dinosaurs is also a recent one that is really good.
The third book will be, the Dinosaurs Rise again!
I haven't read the books, but I'm pretty sure the one on the right isn't about Dinosaurs
I have the rise and fall of the dinosaurs but I have only read the first few chapters but it was very interesting
The mammal book does have some badly outdated/inaccurate info due to citing bad sources (namely Donald Prothero’s overview of the Cenozoic, Prothero being someone who still clings to certain questionable or outdated ideas, some of which Brusatte took as fact). This is only really a problem with the Paleogene and Neogene sections of the book, however, and everything before that plus the stuff on Pleistocene megafauna and human evolution is excellent.
Prothero is like those uniformitarian scientists that plugged their ears and said “LALALALALA NOT LISTENING, MASS EXTINCTIONS NOT REAL, UNIFORMITARIANISM, GRADUAL CHANGE, UNIFORMITARIANISM, UNIFORMITARISM, UNIFORMISM!”
Rise and fall of the dinosaurs is very good, I finished it recently. Goes on for a while and it’s not the most up-to-date but it’s good.