Vertebrate evolution from origins to dinosaurs and beyond / Эволюция позвоночных от истоков до динозавров и после

I’ve already written several books about fossils and paleontology, including a college textbook in paleontology for upper-level undergraduates (Bringing Fossils to Life, 2nd ed., 2013, Columbia University Press) and a popular book about fossil collecting (Fantastic Fossils, 2020, Columbia University Press), but I’ve never found a book that gives a good general introduction to vertebrate history for the general reader and fossil enthusiast with high-quality color illustrations, so this book is intended to fll that need. Most of the books on this topic for the general reader are picture books with minimal information content. Given the rapid increase in knowledge about fossil vertebrates, and the many changes in old notions about vertebrates and how they lived, all such books are already grossly out of date. Thus, I wrote this book to reach the general reader and especially the fossil enthusiasts and collectors out there, who may have some knowledge about science, but not necessarily a college-level background in geology or paleontology. There is a real need to go beyond the pretty picture books, and present the latest information about extinct vertebrates at a level that the general reader can follow, but also enough information for college students in paleontology to learn about the topic as well. <...>