The dinosaurs. Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth’s most fearsome creatures vanished. Today they remain one of our planet’s great mysteries. Now The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs reveals their extraordinary, 200-million-year-long story as never before.

by Damla

“They evolved in concert with an ever changing world, one subject to monstrous volcanic eruptions and asteroid impacts, and one in which the continents were moving around, sea levels were constantly fluctuating, and temperatures were capriciously rising and falling. They became supremely well adapted to their environments, but in the end, most of them went extinct when they couldn’t cope with a sudden crisis. No doubt there is a lesson there for us.”

Most children I know have all been obsessed with dinosaurs at one point. I know I was when I was little, too. Except when I say that I was, I mean that I still am. Hooray for the inner child who remains curious and amazed over nature’s awesomeness, even after decades.

If you are fascinated by these incredible creatures with whom we shared the planet hundreds of millions of years apart, I think you just might enjoy this book as much as I did.

I found that the book itself had a very good pace, mixing the terrifying environment of the Triassic and Jurassic Earth hosting the roaming dinosaurs and co. with the paleontologists in our modern world, who have dedicated much of their lives to study them. It is not just about how the dinosaurs came to be (although there is more than plenty that explains all there is to know about that part also), but also how we found out what we know about them in the last century or so. Everything is explained very clearly, simply, without getting too scientific or technical. Instead, we have an almost story-like history with all the enthusiasm and fun that the topic can provide.

Reading about huge reptiles, building sized herbivores, and death-machine carnivores alongside the possible giant sea monsters, all existing 150 million years ago as a feat of evolution, really makes modern human history seem like a tiny speck of dust in the history of the world. As it is. And if that’s not enough, just imagine coming face to face with one of these terrifying creatures. (Also, imagine being eaten by a Carnotaurus. The absolute insult of being eaten by a razor-toothed killing machine with arms the size of a grape.)

In short, dinosaurs are still extremely cool. Spread the word.