Dinosaurs have fascinated human beings since the discovery of the very first fossils, and have featured in several major motion pictures. These gigantic creatures dominated the Earth for extensive geological eras, and became extinct between the Cretaceous and Paleocene epochs, about 65 million years ago. Today it is surreal to think of a planet dominated by such enormous animals, but millions and millions of years ago, the ideal conditions were created for dinosaurs to thrive.
Today palaeontologists from all over the world use new technologies to study dinosaur remains, to reconstruct the conditions in which they lived, and discover other fossils, which add new pieces to the puzzle as it gradually fills the gaps in the history of these prehistoric giants. Studying dinosaurs in the 21st century means always finding brand new information, and discussing it with colleagues from all over the world to share knowledge, propose new theories, and either refute or confirm them. Steve Brusatte, who managed to turn his childhood passion for dinosaurs into an academic career, tells us how they came to dominate the earth, and how they became extinct, but most of all, he tries to bring dinosaurs closer to us, to make them more real, so that we can begin to see them beyond the box office movies, as actual living creatures that used to inhabit the planet we now live on.