The end of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to ascend, but our roots run back over 300 million years. Out of this long, rich and varied evolutionary history come the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. Today’s 6,000 mammal species are the survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions. This book weaves together the history and evolution of mammals with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries have pieced together our current knowledge.