Customer Reviews

The Beginning of the Age of Mammals

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This is it, the only book you need on the evolution of mammals during the early Cenozoic, and their amazing diversification after the extinction of the dinosaurs. The down side of this book is that it does not continue into the later part of the Cenozoic, but sticks to Dr. Rose's expertise of Paleocene and Eocene mammals. The photographs and illustrations are from various scientific articles and publications, but are nicely brought together, including a number of colored photographs and reconstructions in the center of the book. The biggest drawback, is the high price of the book. Dinosaur books are priced a lot less, and I don't understand why publishers don't do likewise with books about fossil mammals. Hopefully, a cheaper soft cover will become available or you can try and get your local library to purchase the book for you. I would not spend the $120, if I was not really into fossils.

Ken Rose's book is a truly magisterial contribution that should be on the bookshelf of every serious student of mammalian biology and evolution. Indeed, it provides a model for book-length treatments of the evolutionary history of other vertebrate groups. Rose provides a clearly written, richly illustrated overview of the early Cenozoic history of mammals, synthesizing a vast amount of technical literature on this fascinating subject and the results of his own research and thinking over more than three decades. An extensive bibliography provides an invaluable guide to the primary literature, which is widely scattered and published in many different languages.

A high quality book for paleo-hobbyists. Large number of quality illustrations and a lot of general information.