{"product_id":"9781529034233","title":"Rise and Reign of the Mammals","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Beautifully written . . . terrific'' – \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Nothing short of a thriller . . . fascinating'' – \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn engaging new history of mammals, from the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They – or, more precisely, we – originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver these immense stretches of geological time, mammals developed their trademark features: hair, keen senses of smell and hearing, big brains and sharp intelligence, fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism, a distinctive line-up of teeth, mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk, qualities that have underlain their success story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOut of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. But today’s 6,000 mammal species are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Rise and Reign of the Mammals\u003c\/i\u003e, palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears, iconic mammals such as the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard, and fascinating species that few of us are aware of. In this fascinating and ground-breaking book, he tells their – and our – story.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43173047566514,"sku":"9781529034233","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529034233.jpg?v=1786022471","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9781529034233","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}