Dynasties: The Rise and Fall of Animal Families

by Stephen Moss, Mike Gunton, David Attenborough (Foreward)

Family isn't just important. It's everything.

From lions hunting as a pride to penguins huddling together to keep from freezing in the bitter Antarctic winter, many animals are dependent on complex social relationships for their survival. Powerful dynasties lay claim to vast swathes of territory, fighting off rivals and securing their hunting grounds for generations to come.

Dynasties offers an immersive insight into the shifting hierarchies of animal families. Each chapter follows a different dynasty, from the Marsh Lions of the Masai Mara to rival packs of painted wolves, from a tiger protecting her newborn cubs to a chimpanzee troop and the penguin colonies of the Antarctic. Alongside tender moments when bonds are strengthened through grooming and play, the book charts the rivalries that tip the balance of power, when family members turn against each other and younger animals grow strong enough to challenge for control.

With over 200 stunning photographs and insights from the crew of the BBC series, Dynasties reveals in astonishing detail the intricate social lives of our planet’s most fascinating animals.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Science, Photography, Environment, Wildlife

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Stephen Moss is a naturalist, broadcaster, television producer and author. In a distinguished career at the BBC Natural History Unit his credits included Springwatch, Birds Britannia and The Nature of Britain. His books include The Robin: A Biography, A Bird in the Bush, The Bumper Book of Nature, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Kingdom. He is also Senior Lecturer in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he lives with his family on the Somerset Levels, and is President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian.

Reviews

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book which accompanies the TV series – the writing itself, without the manufactured drama and deliberately heightened tension of the TV series, is a little flat – and also lacks the humour and colour (and, it has to be said, lack of correctness) which made David Attenborough’s “Zoo Quest” books a more entertaining nighttime read for my daughter and I.

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful! Gorgeous pictures and as I had watched the series it enriched the whole experience

[Saba · Rating 4 out of 5]

My top three thoughts on 'Dynasties':
1. Dynasties explores the detailed and complicated social lives of five fascinating animal families in the wild. The book gives riveting facts and interesting tidbits about the roles of the members and how they survive because of the intricate structures and complex relationships.
2. Stephen Moss's photography is stunning! There are over 200 photos that capture not just the animals in their natural and intimidating environment but also show a lot of the tender, heart-touching moments of bonding within the families. I'm not going to lie; I was super anxious when I saw some of the dangerous, behind the scenes situations the BBC staff were photographed in.
3. I'm a huge documentary enthusiast, and despite the book having some fantastic and mesmerizing photos, I still missed the charm of watching moving animals on reel. I guess the essence of a documentary film was sort of there because there's a foreword by Sir David Attenborough. I kept imagining him narrating the insights and information throughout the book. It's a little creepy that I can just read a passage and still hear him narrating it.

[Luke Gorham · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2. A nice coffee table book with predictably stunning photography, but only ever cursorily hits on the ethology, ethniobiology, anthrozoology, etc. This is an odd read, as it adopts the pandering, simplified narrative beats of DisneyNature documentaries. I choose that example because though this book is itself based on a TV show, translating its script to print (and thus stripping away the glorious photography which backgrounds the narration) only works to heighten its very unsophisticated storytelling quality. If you're an animal lover, this certainly won't bore you, and the implied subject matter is fascinating, but it's hard to praise such the largely depthless, lazy translation on display in this reverse-engineered TV-to-book money grab.

[Jon Ivar Steinkjer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with amazing pictures!
It i facinating to read about how different animals live.
This book follows the animals for up to 3 years at a time, showing in facinating details how they survive and interact in groups, how they hunt (and is huntes), the matriarks and parriarks of the different species.
Tigers, lions, penguins, chips and painted wolves

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives extra background detail to the programme
Loved it as though it was very factual, it was written in such a way that was very easy to read and absorb
Good balance of giving background context to the species, while mixing in with storylines from dynasties

[Matthew Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic wildlife book from the BBC books series. Accompanying the groundbreaking series this is a great book for wildlife enthusiasts and has gripping tales and stories making the reader really love the animals followed in the book.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking pictures and extremely interesting to read - I learnt a lot more that wasn't in the documentaries

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!! Goes into such detail on each speices. Brilliant for up and coming zoologists!

[Rudi Opperman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book on five different kind of animals and the trials and tribulations they go through out in the wilds. If you take an interest in animals then this book is for you.

[R.J. Southworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent companion to the TV series, giving a little more detail to the stories presented, combined with interesting background knowledge on the species and the challenges of filming them.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book, well worth investing in, with really amazing pictures to accompany the journeys of five majestic animals.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

564 - 2020

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it. Amazing storie of the lives of these magnificent creatures. A lot goes on in the world that we dont notice and its books like this I think we all need

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful companion to the documentary series

[Gina Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not normally something that I would read but it captured my attention and heart.

[Siobhan J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed watching the linked TV series, so when I came across it in a bookshop I thought that I'd give it a quick browse! ...And then ended up reading all of it in the bookshop. Oops.

This was good! Fun and informative, and the pictures were really beautiful. I still prefer the TV series, you can't beat a good Attenborough narration, but this was a very nice way to spend an hour or so.

[Ludwig]

I watched the TV series and it's so fascinating!!!