The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is by Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist, and discusses the dinosaur’s world and the time leading up to it.
While dinosaurs themselves are a main topic in the book, Brusatte also creates a clear image of their environment, including the weather. Two other topics are the mass extinctions that both helped and destroyed the dinosaurs, and the creatures who lived alongside them. The Permian Period, which was followed by the Triassic, is a smaller theme but very important in the world’s history.
One surprise was that volcanoes used to just be cracks in the ground constantly spewing out lava and not the mountains that erupt every few years or so we typically think of. A major surprise was to learn that some extinctions helped the dinosaurs. The mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period allowed dinosauromorphs, dinosaurs and their closest relatives, to start their lives and extraordinary evolution. At the end of the Triassic, another mass extinction allowed the dinosaurs to take the throne and evolve even further by weakening and taking out rival species. However, what I learned about the Tyrannosaurus Rex was most surprising. This creature only evolved towards the end of the dinosaurs and purely lived in North America after the species moved from Asia. Also, Tyrannosaurus Rex relied on camouflage in order to ambush prey due to not being very fast.
In this book, Brusatte gives information about dinosaurs, and also tells the reader about his and other palaeontologists’ careers. He talks about these careers or creates a story from a dinosaur’s perspective at the start of each chapter. My favourite is in The King of the Dinosaurs: Brusatte describes a Triceratops watching a T-Rex ambush a herd of Edmontosaurus. These features make The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs the best non-fiction I have ever read and I look forward to reading another book by the same author: The Rise and Reign of the Mammals.
I would recommend this book to 12-year-olds or older as they will appreciate this book more and have an easier time reading dinosaur names like Sinotyrannus. If you’re interested in dinosaurs and their world, this book is for you!