Ebook The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs A New History of Their Lost World Steve Brusatte 9780062490438 Books
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The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs A New History of Their Lost World Steve Brusatte 9780062490438 Books Reviews
- Actually, I'm giving this book 4 1/2 stars. One thing I learned from this book is that paleontologists are party animals. Steve Brusatte, one of the top young dinosaur hunters in the world, has written a marvelous book that is part autobiography, part natural history, and part fossil hunting how-to. During the autobiographical parts, he gives us some humorous descriptions of how fossil hunters relax after a day in the rubble. Spoiler alert Alcohol is consumed. Another thing I liked about this book is the further you read, the better the book gets. When I was about halfway through it, I wished he would tell readers a story of dinosaur encounters told by the fossils in a certain place—and darned if he didn’t do exactly that! And of course, like in plays and works of fiction, this book has a climax the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid that ended the Cretaceous Era and the Age of Dinosaurs. But it also has a denouement, a tying together of all loose ends the dinosaurs are still with us in the form of birds. My only criticism of the book is that in the early parts there are mentions of dozens and dozens of dinosaur species that do not have illustrations, so the book drags a little, but Brusatte picks up the pace and the story becomes fascinating. This is the best dinosaur book I’ve ever read; it’s even better than Walter Alvarez’s T. rex and the Crater of Doom (1997).
- I browsed the reviews before I bought the book and was very amused by the one-star reviewers who groused about Dr. Brusatte's writing style. Apparently they think dinosaur books should be fusty tomes written in the finest Dense Academicby human dinosaurs and they were irked not to find that stuff in this book. Well, no. And that's the best thing about The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs.
Dr. Brusatte clearly loves what he's doing. And he has fun doing it. And he wants to share the joy with the world. He has a bright, engaging style and he can tell a story like nobody's business. Just wait till you get to the tale of the breakup of Pangaea, or the day the asteroid hit. You won't find a better, more vivid account anywhere.
I originally checked the book out of the library but it was soon clear I'd have to buy my own copy. If you care anything at all about dinosaurs, get this book. Encourage Steve Brusatte to write more! - I am a professor of geology who occasionally teaches about dinosaurs, and this book is a great resource for anyone interested in dinosaurs but intimidated by the complexities of paleontology and geology. The book is detail-packed without being overwhelming for the non-obsessive dinosaur enthusiast, and Brusatte's narrative style really guides the reader through the landscapes of the Mesozoic while providing personal details that help the reader buy into the excitement of the science. This book is a valuable addition to the growing canon of enjoyable scientific non-fiction.
- Dr. Brusatte has written a wonderful book, easy to read and very informative. It's the story of the origin and demise of the most intriguing class of animals the world has ever seen. He tells of how at the end of the Permian Period around 250 million years ago, the beginning of the Triassic, the small, nearly insignificant dinosauromorphs began to evolve into what we now call dinosaurs. They were to rule the animal world for the next 150 million years. Dr. Brusatte includes descriptions of paleo sites he visited in Europe, China, South America, Africa and North America, meeting with local Paleontologists, discovering clues to the growth and diversity of the dinosaurs. A number of sections reveal details of the most famous dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods plus those that evolved into today's birds. And finally, the sudden death of all the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago - except their evolved offspring... birds.
If you thought you knew all about dinosaurs, you will learn much more in his book. - I can only give this 3 stars. It is readable, almost too chatty. It goes through the dinosaur era, but too much of the book is dedicated to thumbnail sketches of other paleontologists -- all of whom see to be Brusatte's best friends now. It gets tiresome. I liked the descriptions of how they find the bones and dig them up. I also like the descriptions of how the various species changed over the years, and differed once the super-continent Pangea broke up into separate land masses. But too many times there were descriptions of dinosaurs without any illustrations, or any photos of the fossils. I would have liked a lot more of those. Brusatte can glide right through important stuff. He tells us that the Yucutan asteroid crater was found, but not how it was found. So the book was okay as far as it went, but it could have been a lot better.
- I have both the audiobook The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs A New History of a Lost World and hardcover The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs A New History of a Lost World editions. The hardcover edition is perfect to flip though with my small children, looking at the illustrations, charts, and tables, and reading excerpts here and there. The audiobook is perfect for my commute - I can just imagine the fantastic prehistoric animals and landscapes Brusatte paints with his writing. I am enjoying this book thoroughly. I especially appreciate how Brusatte dispenses with "Dinosaur Exceptionalism", instead taking a clear-eyed look at just how little dinosaurs initially differed from other prehistoric animals, then traces their rise and diversification over the ensuing millions of years. Brusatte carries the reader along with easy-to-follow narrative, interspersing accessible analogies and anecdotes to distill and enliven complex material. This book does a great job of placing the minute blip of human existence into the context of the vast swaths of time dominated by species of animals other than our own. I highly recommend this wonderful new book!
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