The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

The book contains a good deal of accurate, up-to-date information about dinosaur paleontology. Unfortunately, there are issues with the writing that prevent this book from being as excellent as it could have been. The tone is relatively informal for a science book, and as someone with a basic level of knowledge of paleontology from an intense childhood interest in the field, I found some of the introductory material borderline patronizing.

The principal issue plaguing the book is that Brusatte is trying to write, at the same time, a summary of dinosaur paleontology and a memoir of his experiences in the field. I had to force myself to slog through passages in which Brusatte describes his specific fossil-hunting expeditions or biographizes a paleontologist he knows. Those readers searching for insight into the current state of paleontology academia may find such passages interesting, but even then, these passages are limited to Brusatte's own experience and perception; as other reviewers have noted, a great deal of emphasis is placed on male contributors to the field.

If the book were organized in such a way that readers could easily skip Brusatte's anecdotes without missing any of the paleontological conclusions therein derived, I would be more willing to forgive him, but the portions in question are nested within the paleontological information of each chapter.

Paleontology is one of the fastest-advancing fields of science. If you're not up-to-date on recent discoveries concerning dinosaurs, this book might be worth reading to glean some new information. I definitely picked up at least a few new pieces of knowledge. However, if you're looking for the definitive dinosaur book for adults, then you and I will have to keep looking together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a little hard for me to keep straight all the different kinds of dinosaurs and other animals that are mentioned throughout, but that's a minor complaint. There's actually a handy chart in the front matter that names most of the big (pun intended) players, so I could have checked if I'd really needed to know. Being somewhat aware of the dino story, there weren't a lot of surprises here, but I loved the detail about the transitions between periods and what the world was like across the hundreds of millions of years we're talking about. I also enjoyed the personal and personable style of the author and the way he names many of the other scientists whose work moved the needle forward in terms of our understanding. Also, as another small town Illinois boy, I enjoyed hearing some of the author's “origin story” from his days as a high school dino hound. Even though there's nothing particularly controversial here, I'm looking forward to discussing this with my book club next week.

An excellent read! Probably one of if not THE best book on dinosaurs I have ever read. It's written in such a way that anyone could pick it up and read it. You don't need to be obsessed with dinosaurs like I am to understand it. It flows beautifully from the time before the dinosaurs, through their rise to the top, their reign as the dominant creatures on the planet, to their rather violent demise. Absolutely love this! It was a library borrow, but I'll definitely be adding it to my own personal library in the future!

Quite a good popular science book about Dinosaurs. Stephen Brusatte is a rising star in the world of paleontology. He is a good writer and obviously loves his work.
This book gives a good overview of what we know now about Dinosaurs. Our view of these great beasts has changed considerably since I studied Geology many years ago. They weren't the slow, dumb, lumbering critters we once thought. (And, did you know that some Dinosaurs are still with us? No, really!)
4.5 stars rounded up.

3.5 Stars

(Why do I only ever feel like writing reviews for books I give mixed ratings for)

The natural history, historiography, and behavioral ecology parts hooked me. Evocative, vibrant, and engaging. The memoir parts just...didn't do it for me. It's obvious Brusatte is passionate but I am just....not very interested in who he met at which conference, and how he came to work at which dig site. And because these different types of narrative are well integrated, it was hard to skim to the parts I was super interested in. Worth it for descriptions of T. rex hunts and High Key 20th Century Naturalist Drama(tm).

... The information Brusatte provides appears to be solid, given the extent of his bibliography, which is in a chapter called ???Notes on Sources???. Incidentally, those notes are written in the same tone as the rest of the book, and so is just as much a pleasure to read. The section is a little disorganised, seeing as the lists of sources are given in paragraph form as opposed to a more traditional format for bibliographies, but the informality is likely to be more interesting for non-academics, as opposed to a more traditional, academic-style bibliography.

Brusatte is also careful to note where what he is stating is his opinion as opposed to a proven fact, especially when he talks about certain debates currently underway in palaeontology and which he claims will eventually be resolved by the younger generation of palaeontologists coming into the field. This is especially prominent in the Notes on Sources section of the book ??? where, at the very end, he drops the name of a PhD student he and his colleague Tom Williamson are co-mentoring: Sarah Shelley who is working on understanding the rise of mammals after the extinction of the dinosaurs. I am not sure how many readers will read this far into the book, but it is heartening to see an established palaeontologist name-drop a mentee???s name in his book, in the hopes of helping her further along in her career.

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Gn

I don't think I've read a book about dinosaurs since I was 11 or 12. So glad I made an exception for this one! Brusatte recounts not only the rise and fall of the dinosaurs but also the exciting world of the paleontologists, geologists, statisticians, and fossil hunters whose work is dramatically expanding our knowledge of these kings of beasts. Brilliantly written, each story and anecdote is filled with the excitement Brusatte so clearly finds in his work. Highly recommend!