Extinction and Radiation

J. David Archibald is a professor of biology and curator of mammals at San Diego State University and coeditor of The Rise of Placental Mammals: Origins and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• Preface1. The Late Cretaceous Nonavian Dinosaur Record2. In the Shadow of Nonavian Dinosaurs3. In Search of Our Most Ancient Eutherian Ancestors4. Patterns of Extinction at the K/ T Boundary5. Causes of Extinction at the K/ T Boundary6. After the Impact: Modern Mammals, When and WhenceEpilogueNotesReferencesIndex

Highly recommended. Choice A learned essay, written clearly and attractively for students and the public. -- Michael J. Benton Cambridge Archaeological Journal What makes Archibald's book a highly recommendable example of the scientific process is that the author carefully lays out all the paleontological evidence available to him and uses that evidence to evaluate the many possible explanations of the extinction, discussing the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of each explanation in the process. Reports of the National Center for Science Education This is a learned essay, written clearly and attractively for students and the public. -- Michael J. Benton Geological Magazine An excellent compendium of the current state of paleontological knowledge about the contemporaneous histories of these two groups. -- Mark A. McPeek Quarterly Review of Biology A highly recommendable example of the scientific process is that the author carefully lays out all the paleontological evidence available to him and uses that evidence to evaluate the many possible explanations of the extinction. -- P David Polly Reports of the National Center for Science Education The book itself is a handsome quarto volume illustrated by good drawings and graphs. It will be most useful to paleontologists, evolutionary biologists and biogeographers. It will stand as a good example of what can be accomplished in academia. Priscum, Newsletter of the Paleontological Society Books like Extinction and Radiation enable interested members of the general public to share in the excitement of the arugment. -- Nicholas Gould International Zoo News This volume is logically organized, easily readable, and a noteworthy synthesis of the current state of our knowledge of the disappearance of nonavian dinosaurs and mammalian radiation. It is a useful reference from an acknowledged authority in the field and valuable for students, teachers, scientists, and all people interested in the evolution and fate of our planet and its biodiversity. Journal of Mammalogy