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Shortest History
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs: The 230-Million-Year Story of Their Time on Earth
A highlight-reel history of the dinosaurs, told like never before—bringing their world to vivid life in a paleontological detective story
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs tells the 230-million-year epic of these staggeringly fascinating prehistoric creatures, covering their small beginnings, spectacular golden periods, and stunning evolutionary success—before an unthinkable asteroid event brought everything to a screeching halt. But this history digs deeper, using numerous recent fossil discoveries and fresh understandings of genetics and evolution to show how we’ve gleaned so much about a long-lost world from mere fragments of fossil. Marshaling the evidence, award-winning author Riley Black reveals the startling relationships that dinosaurs shared with one another, the land they lived on, and other animal species. By conjuring a more complete picture of Earth in the age of the dinosaurs, she shows us how these massive monsters owe their rise to luck as much as to their cunning—and the many surprising ways they left an indelible mark on their dramatically changing world.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs tells the 230-million-year epic of these staggeringly fascinating prehistoric creatures, covering their small beginnings, spectacular golden periods, and stunning evolutionary success—before an unthinkable asteroid event brought everything to a screeching halt. But this history digs deeper, using numerous recent fossil discoveries and fresh understandings of genetics and evolution to show how we’ve gleaned so much about a long-lost world from mere fragments of fossil. Marshaling the evidence, award-winning author Riley Black reveals the startling relationships that dinosaurs shared with one another, the land they lived on, and other animal species. By conjuring a more complete picture of Earth in the age of the dinosaurs, she shows us how these massive monsters owe their rise to luck as much as to their cunning—and the many surprising ways they left an indelible mark on their dramatically changing world.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2025
29 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Riley Black
16 books227 followersRiley Black has been heralded as “one of our premier gifted young science writers” and is the critically-acclaimed author of Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, Written in Stone, and When Dinosaurs Ruled. An online columnist for Scientific American, Riley has become a widely-recognized expert on paleontology and has appeared on programs such as Science Friday, HuffingtonPost Live, and All Things Considered. Riley has also written on nerdy pop culture.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 27, 2025
Like most kids, I went through a dinosaur phase, though perhaps somewhat less obsessively than some. I always have trouble picking favourites, so I can’t tell you I had a favourite dinosaur. What fascinated me, like so many I suspect, was their extinction. The idea that entire species can disappear—wow. The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs is Riley Black’s attempt to chronicle how these incredible animals evolved, how they lived for hundreds of millions of years, and then of course what happened at the end of the Cretaceous. While I was enamoured of Black’s earlier
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs
, this one, I am sad to say, felt like more of a slog. I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Though you would expect a history book to be chronological, Black actually chooses a more interesting method of organization. It’s loosely chronological but in a kind of parallel way, for there’s the chronology of the dinosaurs themselves and then the chronology of paleontology as a science. In some ways, the latter is more fascinating to me than the former! Black attempts to explore both of these chronologies, teaching us a little about the origins of her field while also exploring the earliest days of the dinosaurs. Where appropriate, she skips ahead or back through one or both of those timelines—but she makes sure we never get lost.
The best thing about this book is just how new it is! Most of us adults, I suspect, have an understanding of the dinosaurs mired in the blurry knowledge from our childhood, or perhaps from Jurassic Park. Although paleontologists were speculating about dinosaurs with feathers as early as the nineties (when I grew up), that didn’t filter into public consciousness for another ten years. I am aware of this development, but it isn’t a part of me. The same goes for the idea that birds are extant dinosaurs. (OK, OK, it’s more complicated than that, but I’m not the science writer here, just a humble book reviewer!)
Beyond confirming and explaining these new-yet-well-known facts, Black takes us through discoveries that are super fresh. We’re talking stuff from the 2020s, papers that have barely escaped preprint. We’ve learned a lot more about dinosaur youth, for example, by looking at what we have found in terms of eggs and fossilized babies. It was really fascinating to learn about possible social structures among different species of dinosaurs too. In this respect, The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs is worth your time, and it is why I would still recommend it despite my own disappointment.
So let’s talk about that for a moment … why did this book let me down? Honestly, I just thought it digressed a little too much into the technical and scientific for the type of popular science book I was hoping to read. This is not a book for someone who failed—or even someone who took but didn’t like—high school science. Black throws around vocabulary and ideas that require a certain level of grounding in biology. And look, I have that grounding, but sometimes I just want someone to explain things to me like I’m five, OK?
I realize “this book is too smart” is a weird criticism especially in this age of disinformation. Nevertheless, I can’t deny the overwhelming feeling I had as I sat on my deck reading it was—in my best Monty Python imitation—“Get on with it!” I’m as surprised as you are given how captivated I was by Black’s previous book, yet here we are.
Anyway, I don’t want to be overly harsh. I think a lot of people are going to like this book much more than I did, and I want that to happen. The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs brims with a bounty of information and ideas that I think are significant and fascinating. Before you dive in, however, just be prepared to work that brain a little harder.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews.
Though you would expect a history book to be chronological, Black actually chooses a more interesting method of organization. It’s loosely chronological but in a kind of parallel way, for there’s the chronology of the dinosaurs themselves and then the chronology of paleontology as a science. In some ways, the latter is more fascinating to me than the former! Black attempts to explore both of these chronologies, teaching us a little about the origins of her field while also exploring the earliest days of the dinosaurs. Where appropriate, she skips ahead or back through one or both of those timelines—but she makes sure we never get lost.
The best thing about this book is just how new it is! Most of us adults, I suspect, have an understanding of the dinosaurs mired in the blurry knowledge from our childhood, or perhaps from Jurassic Park. Although paleontologists were speculating about dinosaurs with feathers as early as the nineties (when I grew up), that didn’t filter into public consciousness for another ten years. I am aware of this development, but it isn’t a part of me. The same goes for the idea that birds are extant dinosaurs. (OK, OK, it’s more complicated than that, but I’m not the science writer here, just a humble book reviewer!)
Beyond confirming and explaining these new-yet-well-known facts, Black takes us through discoveries that are super fresh. We’re talking stuff from the 2020s, papers that have barely escaped preprint. We’ve learned a lot more about dinosaur youth, for example, by looking at what we have found in terms of eggs and fossilized babies. It was really fascinating to learn about possible social structures among different species of dinosaurs too. In this respect, The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs is worth your time, and it is why I would still recommend it despite my own disappointment.
So let’s talk about that for a moment … why did this book let me down? Honestly, I just thought it digressed a little too much into the technical and scientific for the type of popular science book I was hoping to read. This is not a book for someone who failed—or even someone who took but didn’t like—high school science. Black throws around vocabulary and ideas that require a certain level of grounding in biology. And look, I have that grounding, but sometimes I just want someone to explain things to me like I’m five, OK?
I realize “this book is too smart” is a weird criticism especially in this age of disinformation. Nevertheless, I can’t deny the overwhelming feeling I had as I sat on my deck reading it was—in my best Monty Python imitation—“Get on with it!” I’m as surprised as you are given how captivated I was by Black’s previous book, yet here we are.
Anyway, I don’t want to be overly harsh. I think a lot of people are going to like this book much more than I did, and I want that to happen. The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs brims with a bounty of information and ideas that I think are significant and fascinating. Before you dive in, however, just be prepared to work that brain a little harder.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews.
September 30, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and The Experiment for the ARC.
Picked this up to feed my inner child and get in touch with my old dinosaur phase. So, so much has been discovered since I was a kid. We know that most dinosaurs probably had small, fine feathers, even the t-rex. We can tell what color some dinos were based on the imprint left with the fossil. This went through our old beliefs on dinosaurs, what we currently know, and what is still up for debate; all well researched and written in an accessible manner. I enjoyed Riley Black's book on the evolution of plant life, and I'm glad to see another solid book from her.
Picked this up to feed my inner child and get in touch with my old dinosaur phase. So, so much has been discovered since I was a kid. We know that most dinosaurs probably had small, fine feathers, even the t-rex. We can tell what color some dinos were based on the imprint left with the fossil. This went through our old beliefs on dinosaurs, what we currently know, and what is still up for debate; all well researched and written in an accessible manner. I enjoyed Riley Black's book on the evolution of plant life, and I'm glad to see another solid book from her.
October 11, 2025
Once you get through the first chapter, this great book takes off. Each chapter focuses in on a specific topic and covers changes in understanding through time. I highly recommend searching up pictures of the dinosaurs as you read along, it helped bring the book to life for me by having a visual reference.
August 22, 2025
I really loved this book for the writing style as well as the content. I thought that maybe it would be more repetition from other books on dinosaurs I have read, but I learned something new about nutrition, selective feeding, size and ecological niches and I loved it!
It is not as much of a story as for example “the last days of the dinosaurs”, but it has a lot of cool facts and new ways to think about things which I really appreciate.
It is not as much of a story as for example “the last days of the dinosaurs”, but it has a lot of cool facts and new ways to think about things which I really appreciate.
October 31, 2025
good. not great. sometimes the author drops Dinosaur names without illustration (which is impossible to do for every single one, maybe?) and then it is hard to know what Dino they are talking about.
July 25, 2025
i’m trying to read more nonfiction and this one was very interesting! it was concise enough to not feel like i was doing homework or studying and instead just reading about history for fun
November 2, 2025
I saw The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs on the new book shelf at the library, and decided to check it out. It has a 2025 copyright, so The Shortest History of Dinosaurs presumably contains all the latest knowledge of these prehistoric monsters. At 202 pages, it is a quick read. When I got to the final page, I saw an advertisement for other books in the series, ie: The Shortest History of China, The Shortest History of Sex, The Shortest History of Europe - I may have to check out some of those other books for a good summary of those topics. Of course, since every book is written by a different expert, they may not be as good as Riley Black's The Shortest History of Dinosaurs, but I won't know unless I read them.
There are twelve chapters in the book, covering various topics. I learned some dinosaur facts that were new to me. For example, the dinosaur strategy was to lay many eggs and hope that a few of the young would survive and grow to enormous-sized adulthood. Being huge was a protection from the carnivorous dinosaurs, which preyed on the juvenile dinosaurs (most of the dinosaur fossils we have are of adult dinosaurs because the young were eaten). A newly hatched dinosaur might be the size of chicken, and it would have to grow quickly to survive. Dinosaurs might gain 1000 pounds in a year.
Mammals existed during the entirety of the reign of the dinosaurs, but because of their lower birth rate, they could not compete with the dinosaurs. This meant the mammals filled the ecological niche of small creatures which the dinosaurs did not occupy - rodents and burrowing animals. Although there has a been an ancient mammal fossil discovered that is relatively big, almost all prehistoric mammals were smaller than a badger. This meant that when the asteroid struck 66 million years ago, the small mammals survived the devastating destruction in their burrows while the bigger dinosaurs perished from a lack of food.
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs provides details of the asteroid strike that I had not read previously. The explosion kicked up so much particulates into the atmosphere that it became super-heated, rising to 500 degrees F around the planet. This resulted in spontaneous combustion of the forests; there were raging wildfires all around the planet. Smoke and ash blocked out the sun, resulting in a years-long lack of photosynthesizing plants to eat. 75% of species on land and in the seas perished.
The horns and spikes on the herbivores like triceratops and stegosaurus might not have been used as defense against the meat eaters, but they were instead used in mating rituals and displays of dominance, much like the antlers on elk are used to battle rivals for mates rather than fending off panthers or wolves. Skulls of triceratops have been found with what look to be healed gashes caused by horns of other triceratops.
I see that Riley Black has authored other books on dinosaurs, so maybe I should track down other publications that she has written. This one was pretty good
There are twelve chapters in the book, covering various topics. I learned some dinosaur facts that were new to me. For example, the dinosaur strategy was to lay many eggs and hope that a few of the young would survive and grow to enormous-sized adulthood. Being huge was a protection from the carnivorous dinosaurs, which preyed on the juvenile dinosaurs (most of the dinosaur fossils we have are of adult dinosaurs because the young were eaten). A newly hatched dinosaur might be the size of chicken, and it would have to grow quickly to survive. Dinosaurs might gain 1000 pounds in a year.
Mammals existed during the entirety of the reign of the dinosaurs, but because of their lower birth rate, they could not compete with the dinosaurs. This meant the mammals filled the ecological niche of small creatures which the dinosaurs did not occupy - rodents and burrowing animals. Although there has a been an ancient mammal fossil discovered that is relatively big, almost all prehistoric mammals were smaller than a badger. This meant that when the asteroid struck 66 million years ago, the small mammals survived the devastating destruction in their burrows while the bigger dinosaurs perished from a lack of food.
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs provides details of the asteroid strike that I had not read previously. The explosion kicked up so much particulates into the atmosphere that it became super-heated, rising to 500 degrees F around the planet. This resulted in spontaneous combustion of the forests; there were raging wildfires all around the planet. Smoke and ash blocked out the sun, resulting in a years-long lack of photosynthesizing plants to eat. 75% of species on land and in the seas perished.
The horns and spikes on the herbivores like triceratops and stegosaurus might not have been used as defense against the meat eaters, but they were instead used in mating rituals and displays of dominance, much like the antlers on elk are used to battle rivals for mates rather than fending off panthers or wolves. Skulls of triceratops have been found with what look to be healed gashes caused by horns of other triceratops.
I see that Riley Black has authored other books on dinosaurs, so maybe I should track down other publications that she has written. This one was pretty good
April 27, 2025
I was never a dinosaur fan-closest I got was the over-the-top enthusiasm that my son showed when he was 5 and I bought him dino bedding. But this book absolutely changed my mind-I now even know how to tell a saurischian from an ornithischian (hint its the position of their pubic bones.) Black has written many books on these creatures from millions of years ago, but this is her first stab at "Dinosaurs 101," and it is full of information that you never would have thought about. For example, herbivores ate small animals, and carnivores chomped on vegetation (and often, each other.) The reason birds might have lasted through the asteroid that wiped most of the life from our planet, was because some developed beaks and could eat nuts and seeds that were still on the ground. The horns and protuberances on some of the dinosaurs weren't just armor but probably served to help find mates. Dinosaurs were so prevalent because they hatched from eggs, so some of them had a chance to survive before becoming dino snacks. Baby dinosaurs were often small and cute until age 10, when they started to grow to a size that assured them of not becoming T. Rex's next meal. And the probability of bones becoming fossils, itself, is very low, due to the conditions under which they form. There is so much more in this book to chew on, and many references to other sources that can help further your knowledge.
So I ask, why should little kids have all the fun of discovering dinosaurs-I look forward to making the trip to the Natural History Museum and standing in awe at all of this disappeared life-read Black's book and come with me!
So I ask, why should little kids have all the fun of discovering dinosaurs-I look forward to making the trip to the Natural History Museum and standing in awe at all of this disappeared life-read Black's book and come with me!
May 3, 2025
I did not think I was going to love this book as much as I did! Growing up, I was never really a huge fan of dinosaurs like other people were and I didn’t really know much about them at all. I was interested in learning more about dinosaurs and how they lived millions of years ago and I am so glad I got the chance to read this book by Riley Black. I love how this book was written; it was so easy to understand and the author did a great job thoroughly explaining dinosaurs and what we know about them so far, which isn’t very much compared to how much there is still left to learn. The book is very succinct and I did not find the text to be bogged down with technical terms. I learned so much about dinosaurs including how some of them became fossils when they died and how researchers were able to learn more about their social behaviors, along with the different types of dinosaurs there were. I really appreciate how accessible the author made the research literature about dinosaurs to us readers. I think this is an amazing book for those of us who want to learn more about dinosaurs but do not know where to start.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
August 8, 2025
In the first page, we have “A chickadee or pigeon is a thread po an recent revelation. “ 1
And then there are many things.
“Nevertheless, the simple recognition that Earth and life on it were far older than anyone….” 6
“Despite these errors and misinterpretations….” 9
“Even tough Europe’s new geologists and paleontologists knew there were fossil around the world….” 10
“The race to find America’s dinosaurs….” 12
“Some paleontologists …….” 14
“Late Creatacceous when mountain rangers were bringing of years to the surface.” 188
“As paleotogistslearn more, they’re realized that the fossilization process….” 189
Once a while, the book gives us something about the book.
But I didn’t get what this book is doing.
It’s something but I didn’t get it.
And then there are many things.
“Nevertheless, the simple recognition that Earth and life on it were far older than anyone….” 6
“Despite these errors and misinterpretations….” 9
“Even tough Europe’s new geologists and paleontologists knew there were fossil around the world….” 10
“The race to find America’s dinosaurs….” 12
“Some paleontologists …….” 14
“Late Creatacceous when mountain rangers were bringing of years to the surface.” 188
“As paleotogistslearn more, they’re realized that the fossilization process….” 189
Once a while, the book gives us something about the book.
But I didn’t get what this book is doing.
It’s something but I didn’t get it.
July 14, 2025
This is a great introduction or recap for dinosaurs. Black covers the early evolution of dinos, their diversification in the Jurassic, and eventual extinction after the Cretaceous. She also does well to include info on how the practice of paleontology has evolved over the past couple of centuries.
Obviously, there is limited detail. But the book is still great. It gets the main points across and so is a great intro or recap for anybody interested in dinos. Even as someone who has read a fair number of dinosaur books in the past decade, I enjoyed the book. There were several times in the book where I would learn more information about a particular dinosaur species, or even a particular fossil specimen, because this book includes a lot of very recent research.
Overall a great read.
Obviously, there is limited detail. But the book is still great. It gets the main points across and so is a great intro or recap for anybody interested in dinos. Even as someone who has read a fair number of dinosaur books in the past decade, I enjoyed the book. There were several times in the book where I would learn more information about a particular dinosaur species, or even a particular fossil specimen, because this book includes a lot of very recent research.
Overall a great read.
May 23, 2025
This book presents a brief history of dinosaurs, spanning 230 million years, from their humble beginnings to their global dominance and eventual extinction. It details key evolutionary developments and explores the diverse environments they inhabited.
I suspect that the less the reader knows about dinosaurs, the more they’ll enjoy the book. Easy to read and understand, it’s rich with interesting and sometimes surprising information. While I’ve read a fair number of books on dinosaurs, I learned a few things. I like that the book is up-to-date with the latest research.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
I suspect that the less the reader knows about dinosaurs, the more they’ll enjoy the book. Easy to read and understand, it’s rich with interesting and sometimes surprising information. While I’ve read a fair number of books on dinosaurs, I learned a few things. I like that the book is up-to-date with the latest research.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
July 24, 2025
As an adult that's still obsessed with dinosaurs this book was a warm hug. Black covers the broad history of dinosaurs very well for it being such a short book. I learned many new facts, and got good overviews of things I did know. Now I feel like a very clever girl.
October 31, 2025
It's a great time to be a dinosaur fan! I didn't realise how much new knowledge has been accumulated in just the last few years, so this is a great potted-summary of what we (currently) know about dinosaurs.
July 15, 2025
Excellent read
August 6, 2025
Very interesting read with lots of additional reading suggestions if you wanted to further delve into dinosaurs and their natural history.
Read
August 25, 2025Great book! super easy to read but also super informative. I feel like a dino expert!
October 29, 2025
An easy and logical primer into all things dino. A good selection of interesting topics. Nicely done without too many difficult words.
June 10, 2025
As an avid historical science fan, I’ve read many books detailing the formation of Earth from its earliest years to the extinction of the dinosaurs. A number of those books were written by Riley Black, and each one contributed significantly to my knowledge and understanding of mammals and dinosaurs. When I came across another Riley Black book, I knew I needed to read it. Perhaps my favorite part of this book is that it seemed to perfectly summarize many of the topics and work from her previous books, while also still introducing new and exciting materials. The subjects are organized well, and the materials have been presented almost conversationally, allowing readers with various levels of dinosaur knowledge to enjoy this book. It is one I would recommend to my friends and family as a great introduction to the topic and history of dinosaurs.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Riley Black for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Riley Black for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews