Beasts Before Us
The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution
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Beasts Before Us
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Narrated by:
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Ruth Urquhart
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By:
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Elsa Panciroli
About this listen
For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years, scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story.
In Beasts Before Us, paleontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over 300 million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs.
Elsa crisscrosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilized skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers.
This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.
©2021 Elsa Panciroli (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Beasts Before Us
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wendell Poons
- 27-02-22
Recommended
Fascinating account of the 2 ages of mammals, and their significance in the age of dinosaurs. Occasional incongruous angry wokeisms seem inconsistent with the author's engaging and often witty style These are rare and suggest the possible intervention of a third party. Readers in future times will no doubt view these with the same kindly amusement with which we view the Rev.nd Buckland's extreme gastronomic project.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-02-23
Absolutely brilliant
This is an incredible audiobook and is perfect for anyone with an interest in “Where we came from”
It is read a very easy to listen to way but absolutely crammed with amazing facts to look up and research.
Without a doubt 5 stars Absolutely brilliant
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- @ZennyReadsAlot
- 13-05-23
Moar speed, less haste
Beasts Before Us by @gsciencelady. This is a very interesting book, which gave me a better understanding of mammals at large, including what I should feed the foxes 🦊 that come to my garden. The wide range of topics discussed in this tome were extensive and well researched.
The fact that mammals are named so because of the female as "milk producers" was a revelation 🍼. It was moderately moist in terms of its wetness to bring the reader along through the scientific prose and I did finish it.
However, the author tended to use a long string of words in sometimes a non-sensical manner - using 20 to describe something when 5 would suffice reminded me a lot of myself as I fairly frequently use this as a technique to annoy or to subvert the attention away from me.
So grateful you carried on reading this thread. Above all, there was the famous meteor impact that left only the avian species alive with some mammals left standing too. Panciroli's Pangeaic exploration has changed our understanding of the land before us. 📚3/5 ⭐️
Follow me on Twitter @zennyreadsalot
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tim B
- 25-10-21
Disappointing reading
This is terribly let down by the reading. The book is great, but Ruth Urquhart reads it as if it were a 19th century romance, with no engagement with the content. She inflects at the end of sentences as if she can’t quite believe what she has just said. I heard a podcast with the author who spoke fluently, and would likely have read it beautifully
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Alexander
- 02-04-22
Political diatribe
When focused on the actual evolution of mammals it's ok, far too often decides to lecture on "white rich men" and climate change
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