Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-470) and index.

Introduction: our mammalian family -- Mammal ancestors -- Making a mammal -- Mammals and dinosaurs -- The mammalian revolution -- Dinosaurs die, mammals survive -- Mammals modernize -- Extreme mammals -- Mammals and changing climates -- Ice age mammals -- Human mammals -- Epilogue: future mammals.

"Beginning with the earliest days of our lineage some 325 million years ago, Brusatte charts how mammals survived the asteroid that claimed the dinosaurs and made the world their own, becoming the astonishingly diverse range of animals that dominate today's Earth. Brusatte also brings alive the lost worlds mammals inhabited through time, from ice ages to volcanic catastrophes. Entwined in this story is the detective work he and other scientists have done to piece together our understanding using fossil clues and cutting-edge technology." -- inside front and back jacket flaps.

"Renowned paleontologist and New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs Steve Brusatte charts the extraordinary story of the dinosaurs' successor: mammals, which emerged from the shadows to rule the Earth"--

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