"What a sensational book! Crisp, gripping, science writing at its very best. If you love birds, you will love this captivating story of how they came to be, how they went from one branch of spry dinosaurs to the astonishing array of winged wonders we have today." - Jennifer Ackerman, bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and What an Owl Knows
“Steve Brusatte has a rare gift for bringing the distant past vividly and fascinatingly to life."
- Bill Bryson
“Dinosaurs never went extinct—they're all around us. In The Story of Birds, paleontologist Steve Brusatte traces the remarkable150-million-year journey of how small, feathered dinosaurs transformed into the more than 10,000 species of birds alive today. From the evolution of flight to the asteroid strike that killed their giant cousins, from terror birds that ruled ancient continents to the startling intelligence of modern crows, Brusatte weaves cutting-edge science and vivid storytelling to give us breathtaking account of one of evolution's greatest survivors. You'll never look at the world outside your window the same way again.” - Neil Shubin, University of Chicago paleontologist, bestselling author of Your Inner Fish, and President of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)
“Steve Brusatte takes us on a thrilling tour into the amazing world of birds, from their origins as the living descendants of dinosaurs to their remarkable cognitive and navigational skills. A perfect addition to his hugely successful earlier books, The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs and The Rise and Reign of the Mammals.” - Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Cambridge University biologist
“An authoritative and endlessly illuminating journey through the evolution of birds--from their dinosaur roots in the Triassic to the hummingbird at your feeder. As one of the world's top paleontologists, as well as one of the finest science communicators working today, no one is better positioned to tell this epic and surprising story than Steve Brusatte. An instant classic. Anyone interested in the story of life on Earth needs this on their bookshelf." - Peter Brannen, author of The Ends of the World and The Story of Co2 is the Story of Everything
The palaeontologist and author of the thoroughly enjoyable The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs turns his attention to our feathery friends and their deep past. Even stranger than you imagined. - The Times, "Books to look out for in 2026"
"Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte turns to the evolutionary history of the birds, the 'dinosaurs among us.' Penguins the size of gorillas? Ducks weighing more than cows? I'm in." - New Scientist, "The Best of the Best: Four Top Picks for 2026"
“Brimming with surprises, The Story of Birds reveals evolution as a restless tinkerer and birds as its most radical experiment. Forged in mass extinction, they rebuilt themselves—reinventing flight, reengineering their metabolism, and demonstrating that evolution is not a destination but a restless process. The Story of Birds traces that transformation across deep time, revealing how catastrophe repeatedly fueled innovation. The birds around us become living records of a history far stranger, tougher, and more inventive than we assume. Clear, incisive, and quietly surprising, this book makes it impossible to see the natural world the same way ever again." - Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist and author of A Quantum Life
"Brusatte offers a lively, loving introduction to his topic that's as comprehensive as it is accessible." - NPR
“Trace[s] the evolution of modern-day birds, going all the way back to when they were dinosaurs.” - Nautilus
“Brusatte, a renowned paleontologist, leads readers through time in a series of vignettes—a predator hunt with an apocalyptic Cretaceous backdrop, a mating ritual between water birds, a monster preying on a marsupial just fifteen million years ago—and pairs them with fossil discoveries that detail their evolutionary past. Throughout, academic precision gives way to sheer delight over these animals, and their song and flight.”
- The New Yorker
“A delight. . . . The story Brusatte tells is unflaggingly fascinating, but most entertaining is his account of why avian dinosaurs survived the cataclysm when the rest did not. . . . This excellent book captures not just the extraordinary heritage of the birds, but the sheer wonder of their existence.” - The Sunday Times (UK)
"Charismatic. . . . The Story of Birds swoops through the incredible journey of avian-kind, revealing how small cousins of Velociraptors eventually gave rise to the panoply of birdlife around us today." - The Guardian
"An enjoyable tour of evolutionary science. . . (by) a talented and experienced guide…what a story." - Financial Times
"Brusatte expertly traces the story of how feathers, wings and egg-laying evolved, what happened when birds took flight and how they developed keen senses and diversified into the range of birds we know today." - Literary Review
"A brilliant take on the evolution of birds. . . . Steve Brusatte is three for three. His debut book for general audiences, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, was a big hit, and he followed it with The Rise and Reign of the Mammals. . .(and) now comes his third palaeontological tale. . .and, once again, he manages to combine a rigorous account of the science with a readable narrative. . . . An unqualified success from beginning to end." - New Scientist
"If you’ve ever wondered what it would have felt like to share a time and space with the formidable birds of the ancient world, you’re in luck. Paleontologist Brusatte brilliantly transports readers through more than 100 million years of Earth’s history, bringing to life the Jurassic and Cretaceous birds that first took flight, hunted prey, and wooed mates with behaviors both recognizable in birds today and fantastically strange to our modern eye." - Audubon magazine
