The Shortest History

18 books in series
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The Shortest History of Dinosaurs Publisher's Summary

Despite their cultural influence, the grand narrative of the dinosaur story is rarely told. Most of us have heard of Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus, but these two dinosaurs lived more than eighty million years apart—a greater span of time than the entire post-T. rex history of the planet. Furthermore, we often know even less about the environments these animals lived in.

The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs tells the full story, a 230-million-year epic of small beginnings, spectacular golden periods, and eventual global domination—before an unthinkable asteroid event brought everything to a screeching halt. We learn that, for millions of years in the Triassic, dinosaurs were dog-sized—but slowly developing evolutionary traits like feathers and warm-bloodedness. In the Jurassic Period, these traits—and others like laying eggs and growing specialized air sacs—led to an era of rapid growth in dinosaur population and physical size. As Pangea continued to break apart, during the Cretaceous Period, dinosaurs traversed the globe, adapting to air and water—before a six-mile-wide asteroid hit Central America.

Using fossil discoveries and fresh understandings of genetics and evolution, author Riley Black reveals the startling relationships dinosaurs shared with each other, the land they lived on, other animal species, and the earth.

©2025 Riley Black (P)2025 Tantor Media
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Product list

  • Book 1

    The Shortest History of Dinosaurs cover art

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  • Book 2

    The Shortest History of China cover art
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  • Book 3

    The Shortest History of Europe cover art

    • The Shortest History of Europe

    • Written by: John Hirst
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  • Book 4

    The Shortest History of England cover art

    • The Shortest History of England

    • Written by: James Hawes
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  • Book 5

    The Shortest History of War cover art
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  • Book 6

    The Shortest History of Democracy cover art

    • The Shortest History of Democracy

    • Written by: John Keane
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  • Book 7

    The Shortest History of the Soviet Union cover art
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  • Book 8

    The Shortest History of Greece cover art
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  • Book 9

    The Shortest History of the World cover art

    • The Shortest History of the World

    • Written by: David Baker
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  • Book 10

    The Shortest History of The Crown cover art
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  • Book 11

    The Shortest History of Economics cover art

    • The Shortest History of Economics

    • Written by: Andrew Leigh
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  • Book 12

    The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic―A Retelling for Our Times

    • The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic―A Retelling for Our Times

    • Written by: Ross King
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  • Book 13

    The Shortest History of Japan: From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse―The Global Drama of an Ancient Island Nation c

    • The Shortest History of Japan: From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse―The Global Drama of an Ancient Island Nation

    • Written by: Lesley Downer
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  • Book 14

    The Shortest History of Music cover art

    • The Shortest History of Music

    • Written by: Andrew Ford
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  • Book 15

    The Shortest History of Ancient Rome cover art

    • The Shortest History of Ancient Rome

    • Written by: Ross King
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  • Book 16

    The Shortest History of France cover art

    • The Shortest History of France

    • Written by: Colin Jones
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  • Book 17

    The Shortest History of AI cover art

    • The Shortest History of AI

    • Written by: Toby Walsh
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  • Book 18

    The Shortest History of Germany cover art

    • The Shortest History of Germany

    • Written by: James Hawes
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