Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is, hands down, the best nonfiction I’ve read in two years. The author’s voice is authoritative (and points to more sources) but it’s the narrative that really gives this it’s power. You see and smell and hear the changes of a world effected by a killer asteroid. Also, this is really two books in one. It draws on the latest science to bring the dinosaurs alive in their glory, but it is also a story of how Earth - and we - came to be in the wake of the loss of these creatures. Fun and educational - highly recommended!

“Beginnings need endings, a lesson that we can either hold carefully or that we can deny until it finds us.”

Sixty-something million years ago the world irrevocably changed. One day enormous colossal herbivores and carnivores a.k.a. T. rex and Co. rule the world, shaping itself their needs and creating an ecosystem in which the world of the Cretaceous era thrives. The next day that world is mostly gone, the fascinating prehistoric monsters dead and the world eventually becoming the place for mammals, with only tiny feathered dinosaurs — yes, think about that next time a pigeon poops on you, and a hummingbird is an ex-dino just like a chihuahua is an ex-wolf — living on, while their mighty cousins whose skeletons are breathtaking and majestic and command our imagination remained trapped forever behind the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary.

“In a matter of hours, everything before us will be wiped away. Lush verdure will be replaced with fire. Sunny skies will grow dark with soot. Carpets of vegetation will be reduced to ash. Contorted carcasses, dappled with cracked skin, will soon dot the razed landscape.”

The story of how we got there is often in the minds of many summarized as such: “Often, this is about as far as the discussion goes: an immense rock smacked into the planet and myriad species were summarily snuffed out. Simple as that.” Riley Black decided to give us the details - the infrared pulse, the infernal fires, the impact winter, the acid rain, and how it may have affected different dinosaur species and why.

“This time, the great rock is going to hit. It’s not going to get bumped off course by another asteroid. It’s not going to burrow into Mars and crack the Red Planet’s dry surface. It’s not going to slam into the orbiting moon, as many other rocks have, making lunar seas and craters. Out of millions of potentially deadly rocks, this is the one. This is the accident that will exact an awful toll on Earth’s species, but without malice or vengeance. It’s both end and beginning, a period that will punctuate the Earth and create a stark dividing line between the seemingly endless Age of Reptiles and the fiery dawn of the Age of Mammals.”
————
“The battle for life on the first day of the Paleocene is won and lost by little more than biological threads. Only those organisms that are able to find shelter—below the ground, beneath the water—have any chance. All others, from the largest Edmontosaurus to the smallest insect, perish. There is no behavior that can save them. Evolution prepared them for the world of tomorrow, and perhaps the day after, but not for this.”

Black focuses not just on the catastrophe but on the interplay between the species since the ecosystems are all about the links between the organisms. She does it in an almost nature documentary style, bringing the point of view of one creature, then another and so on (and explaining her reasons for making certain choices in the chapter notes in the end, that are almost a long as the book itself). Dinosaurs in the before and during the asteroid strike, the survivors - birds, turtles, crocodiles - shortly after, and early mammals in the hundreds of thousands to a millennium after. The end of one era and the beginning of another.

“The mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous isn’t just the conclusion of the dinosaurs’ story, but a critical turning point in our own. We wouldn’t exist without the obliterating smack of cosmic rock that plowed itself into the ancient Yucatán. Both stories are present in that moment. The rise and the fall are inextricable.”

Life is tenacious, and extinction for some allows another to take the niche freed because, as we see, sometimes pure luck and happenstance equip some to deal with the end of the world as they know it just a bit better than the less lucky ones. We ultimately are the benefactors of that one stray asteroid. T. rex and buddies were less lucky, those majestic doomed monsters.

So it goes.

“This is not a monument to loss. This is an ode to resilience that can only be seen in the wake of catastrophe.”

I liked it. I liked the clear palpable love and enthusiasm Riley Black has for that period of history that ended so abruptly and brutally. I liked how well she captures those imaginary points of view of different creatures. I even liked the very long chapter notes where she explains things that were too much to put in the main narrative. It’s very accessible and interesting and clearly a work of love.

“No species is an island. No species is a discrete and complete package by itself. A species is an expression of the interaction between organisms in its environment. […] Any organism is a node that is bound to and reliant on the others around it, whether there is any direct interaction between them or not. The actions of even one organism affect others, which affect others still, entire unseen webs of possibility that pulsate through each vital moment—the thread of life itself.”

This book provides a unique perspective on the K-Pg extinction. It offers a sort of "day in the life" experience of individual animals before and after the impact event—what the world looked like in the late Cretaceous, the horrors of the devastation, and how life recovered. It's a well-researched story of loss and hope, of how the worst day in the history of life on earth eventually led to the world as we know it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Last Days of the Dinosaurs is a look at the great extinction event that led to the eventual rise of mammals. The dinosaurs ruled the earth until the asteroid struck and caused a worldwide catastrophe. This book tells the story from their perspective. It’s an entertaining way to learn about dinosaurs.

I really never did much reading about dinosaurs before, so it was very interesting to me to see what transpired 66 million years ago. The book shows dinosaurs of various species just going about their day, doing things they did every day, when suddenly, a huge impact changed the planet forever. The story begins on the day of the impact. We watch several animals doing their normal routine. Once the impact happens, the story switches to showing how various species reacted. Some of them had to go to great lengths to survive until conditions improved. Then, we check in again at various intervals until a million years after the impact. It’s a great way to tell the story and allows the author to introduce us to many species along the way.

The last part of the book tells how the species were chosen and what their stories are. Some of the archaeologic finds are explained. The author tells us why some species have more depth to their background stories, etc. (i.e. there was more or better fossil evidence for some species.)

All in all, a very entertaining look at dinosaurs and what caused their extinction, told in a storytelling format, as if you were sitting around a campfire listening to someone talk. It is not overly heavy on scientific terms, so it is a book accessible to all audiences.

3.5 stars
This is a science book but it doesn’t read like a textbook! There is a ton of information but I feel like it was given in a manageable way. Following different animals as they experience the effects of the impact was a really interesting take.

I was most interested in the dinosaurs. Once they were gone and the focus was on plants and small small creatures, my reading speed slowed. I wish there were more visuals (reading from ARC). More maps and even drawn up images of the animals mentioned would have helped me out.

I really liked the conclusion- relating everything back to how it effects us as humans brought a personal touch.
*Jurassic Park references for the win!*

⭐️ I have a background in Geology and spent time writing a paper on the evolution of the Tyranosaurous family. Material was still understandable.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this digital ARC.

Riley Black is quite possibly the most influential name amongst queer aspiring paleontologists, so I was extremely excited to read this book. As a paleontology student, I absolutely love studying mass extinctions, so my expectations couldn't have been higher. I was super impressed by the whole book. I thought the idea of writing from the animals' perspective could've easily gone wrong, but she struck exactly the right tone. The pacing was great (although I expect that that others will care more about the dinosaurs themselves and less about what came after), and after reading the appendix, I think she struck the perfect balance between established facts and a little bit of guessing. Also, I loved how readable the appendix was. The conclusion focused more on the author's personal story, which I thought didn't work as well - I'd rather she write a whole memoir, and it didn't fit well into this book.

Another catastrophic climate event you’re probably more aware of is the fallout from the asteroid that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. In the upcoming The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World (April 26, St. Martin’s), paleontologist Riley Black examines those final moments and the ensuing aftermath after the next centuries.

The asteroid itself of course wasn’t the climate change event (my husband’s favorite T-shirt is one that reads “Dinosaurs didn’t have a space agency”), but the ensuing changes from the massive impact created climate changes that were incompatible with the dinosaurs’ way of life, whether for reasons of temperature, air quality, or the continued existence and quantity needed of their food sources.

Black takes a narrative approach to this topic, in a way that reminded me of Rachel Carson in The Sea Around Us, looking at the events of these days from the perspectives of different dinosaurs, including T-Rex and ankylosaurus. They center this view on the changing world from within Hell Creek, Montana, 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Black paints a vivid picture of exactly how the world looked, felt, and smelled, and sounded at that exact moment, then builds on these elements as they changed, first on the most minute level from the moments when the asteroid hit and gradually expanding further along the timeline.

In an addendum, Black reviews what was speculation on their part and what’s definitively known. They also look at some of the shifts in scientists’ theories around the event that caused the dinosaurs’ extinction and created an opening for the subsequent rise of mammals.

I had some difficulty staying engaged throughout but I think that was personal — the writing is clear and geared towards being understood by a general readership. And I did learn a lot, although without a lot of foundation here I’m not sure how much would be new to other readers. Any new scholarship around this period feels worth reading to me though, since as Black points out several times, events are still disputed among experts and new fossils and information frequently come to light that change our understanding of how things played out and the behaviors of the dinosaurs.

The Last Days of the Dinosaurs is a fascinating look at the last great extinction when a massive meteor killed the dinosaurs and most other life on Earth. Black’s writing moves into a fictional look at the animals going about their daily lives just before, during and after asteroid impact. His graphic depiction of the impact on animals as they mostly lost their struggle to survive during this world shattering events moves this book from being informative to story that connects the reader to these creatures.

This book is about an extinction level event that destroyed the dinosaurs. I thought the book started out really good and interesting. After about more than half way through it becomes boring. The author talked about being transgender. I’m not sure what that had to do with the dinosaur extinction. It seemed a rather unnecessary inclusion. For the most part I enjoyed the book. I think maybe the author could have included a picture of the dinosaurs she was talking about. It would have added to what was happening.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

There are two kinds of people in the world – people who love dinosaurs and people who don’t. Being in the former camp, I was eager to read this book told from the dinosaur’s point of view about their reign and eventual extinction from earth. While some have described this book as childish, I found it to be an enjoyable romp through the Cretaceous Period. Dinosaurs for the layperson, not the scientist.

I really wanted to love this. Like many millennials, I grew up fascinated by creatures of the past- but especially dinosaurs. I was expecting a deep dive into new (relative to when I was a child) discoveries and theories about the last days of the dinosaurs, but instead I was given a so-so storytelling from the animals' perspective, which came off as childish to me. This book is better suited for someone with no prior knowledge.

The title is misleading and should be "The Last DAY of the Dinosaurs, and much of the time after" as the book delves far deeper into what happened after the extinction event than before it. The author's method of describing the world through the dinosaur's eyes was interesting, but the unnecessary inclusion of foul language was unnecessary. I probably sound like a Karen but it just seemed like it was pandering to a younger audience (of which I am a member). Otherwise, an interesting read.

Wow, this is really good! Not a dry, overly complex trudge, but instead a vivid and compelling account about the cataclysmic end of the dinosaurs and the aftermath and the drastic changes that ensued. This is like reading a page-turning novel.

I cannot say enough for how wonderful this book is!! Riley is an amazing writer and has a knack for capturing a non-fiction book in an adventure novel net. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book and relive all the dino goodness that this piece brought!!! I must for non-fic readers!!

I requested this book last week and coincidentally enough, I saw the author on NOVA shortly thereafter. He was accompanying a group of paleontologists in the field as the hiked Denali looking for dinosaur tracks. It was good to see that he just wasn't a stay-at-home writer but was out in the field getting his hands dirty.

The book itself is a decent read but the author did take a risk with the style and format. I was OK with it but I will admit to skimming as fast as I could since I'm more of a dry facts kind of reader. I think the storytelling format would be very engaging for younger readers, like middle school and junior high. We need more of those interested in the sciences.

My one complaint is the number of times the author referred to dinosaurs as reptiles. He certainly knows better - doesn't he?

When I saw the topic of this book, I thought it would be fascinating–and it was. Usually the story of the dinosaurs and the impact that erased them from the Earth ends that one fateful day. But this book explores what happened after. I liked how the chapters are certain periods of time after the event.

It’s a compelling read. The author makes you feel like you’re right there with the dinosaurs and the animals and plants that come after. She does a great job of bringing them to life. If your idea of a non-fiction book is dry and boring, this isn’t it.

In the end, it’s a story about the resilience of life. It wasn’t just non-avian dinosaurs that were doomed that day. All life on our planet was pushed to the brink. But it paved the way for the rise of mammals, and us.

There’s a significant appendix in the back if you want a deep dive into the nitty gritty. I enjoyed this book immensely, enough to seek out more of her writing. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy.

I enjoyed many aspects of this book. The topic is fascinating and the chronological structure is interesting. Some of the wording is very clever and there is some humor in the book. The best aspect of the book is discussing topics from the animal’s point of view, sort of like an animal diary. However I found the attempts at literary writing interfered with the rhythm of my reading. I also found the conclusions and personal ruminations far too long. I did not find that I had developed a relationship with the writer, as I have in many other non-fiction books, and hence the personal thoughts at the end did not resonate with me. Overall though, this is a book well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy.

This book escapes the trap of an overly dry nonfiction book and keeps you engaged in the fascinating science of this phenomenon without being condescending or too advanced for non-experts. If you’re interested in the topic of the extinction of the dinosaurs at all, you’ll definitely learn a lot and enjoy this well-written book full of new information and explanations!