The Ascent of Mammals

This is a tour de force, I loved it and it left me wanting more.

…masterfully executed… The Ascent of Mammals is a triumph of popular science writing.

An informative and highly readable account of how an extraordinary diversity of species came to be… the quality of the writing and deep level of research makes for a gripping read that is well worth your time.

Professor John Reilly is a retired physician, writer, traveller, and birder. His fascination with evolution and its mechanisms began during his medical studies, after attending a series of lectures on human evolution. This lifelong passion has taken him across the globe in search of mammals and birds with remarkable evolutionary stories to tell, leading him to observe nearly half of the world’s bird species. In the late 1970s, he led several pioneering wildlife tours to Svalbard in the Arctic, searching for polar bears and cetaceans. Subsequent encounters with iconic species, from the enigmatic platypus to the mountain gorilla and chimpanzee, have served as the inspiration for the chapters in this book.

After earning degrees in biochemistry and medicine, John spent 25 years as a consultant haematologist. Alongside his clinical, teaching, and lecturing duties, he led a molecular research programme investigating the genetic origins of leukaemia and related blood disorders. He also served as editor of the British Journal of Haematology and authored more than 200 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. His previous books include Greetings from Spitsbergen (2009) and The Ascent of Birds (2018). He is married with two sons and lives in Sheffield when not travelling.

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