Free Essays on Napoleon Bonparte

NAPOLEON BONPARTE The most famous Frenchman in history - Napoleon Bonaparte wasn’t born a Frenchman. Napoleon was born at Ajaccio, Corsica on 15 August 1769. Napoleon’s parents Carlo Buonaparte and Litizia Ramalono Buonaparte were both of Corsican - Italian blood. When France ceded with Corsica Napoleons father entered the French aristocracy as a count. Napoleon was educated first at Brienne and then at the à ¨cole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleon graduated in 1785, age 16 and enlisted in the artillery as a second lieutenant. Napoleon became a lieutenant colonel in 1791 in the Corsican National Guard. Corsica declared its independence in 1793 and Bonaparte, a French patriot, fled to France with his family. In 1796 Napoleon was made commander of the army of Italy. In quick succession Napoleon achieved victories all over Europe. When Napoleon returned to France he was triumphant. He was only 28 years old and had become the greatest French general of all time. Bonaparte decided to leave his army in Italy and set his sights higher - Napoleon wanted to save France. Napoleon joined a conspiracy against the government and on November 10 he and his colleagues seized power and established their own government - The Consulate. Napoleon reformed all government, education and legislation, which proved he was a magnificent statesman and administrator. Napoleon proved a patriotic loyal Frenchman who wanted to improve life for his fellow French people. Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French in 1804 - he was now a great Frenchmen and heroic General and destined to become the greatest leader France had ever had. Napoleon introduced ‘The Continental System’ which forbade all European nations trading with France’s enemy Britain. In 1810 the Russians proclaimed they wouldn’t abide by this system and France retaliated by invaded Russia but ended up retreating to Paris. Europe now believed that France could be beaten... Free Essays on Napoleon Bonparte Free Essays on Napoleon Bonparte NAPOLEON BONPARTE The most famous Frenchman in history - Napoleon Bonaparte wasn’t born a Frenchman. Napoleon was born at Ajaccio, Corsica on 15 August 1769. Napoleon’s parents Carlo Buonaparte and Litizia Ramalono Buonaparte were both of Corsican - Italian blood. When France ceded with Corsica Napoleons father entered the French aristocracy as a count. Napoleon was educated first at Brienne and then at the à ¨cole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleon graduated in 1785, age 16 and enlisted in the artillery as a second lieutenant. Napoleon became a lieutenant colonel in 1791 in the Corsican National Guard. Corsica declared its independence in 1793 and Bonaparte, a French patriot, fled to France with his family. In 1796 Napoleon was made commander of the army of Italy. In quick succession Napoleon achieved victories all over Europe. When Napoleon returned to France he was triumphant. He was only 28 years old and had become the greatest French general of all time. Bonaparte decided to leave his army in Italy and set his sights higher - Napoleon wanted to save France. Napoleon joined a conspiracy against the government and on November 10 he and his colleagues seized power and established their own government - The Consulate. Napoleon reformed all government, education and legislation, which proved he was a magnificent statesman and administrator. Napoleon proved a patriotic loyal Frenchman who wanted to improve life for his fellow French people. Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French in 1804 - he was now a great Frenchmen and heroic General and destined to become the greatest leader France had ever had. Napoleon introduced ‘The Continental System’ which forbade all European nations trading with France’s enemy Britain. In 1810 the Russians proclaimed they wouldn’t abide by this system and France retaliated by invaded Russia but ended up retreating to Paris. Europe now believed that France could be beaten...

How To Attack Paired Passages in SAT Reading

How To Attack Paired Passages in SAT Reading SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Answering questions on multiple passages is a little different from answering questions on just one passage. Some of the same advice is still applicable, but there are strategies specific to multipassage questions as well. I’ll go over the different topics you might see covered in paired passages on the SAT as well as giving strategies for paired passage questions. feature image credit: Happy Furry Friday by Alan L, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. SAT Reading: A Quick Recap We have a detailed breakdown of SAT Reading in another article, but just in case you've forgotten: Reading is the first section of the SAT and consists of 52 questions on six passages to be answered in 65 minutes. The passages used on the SAT are always on varying subject areas and come in three varieties: single passages, passages with charts or tables that you also have to analyze, and paired passages or "comparing passages," which I will be discussing in this article. If you want more information about how to grapple with any or all of these passage varieties, read this article. Passage-based questions come in these seven basic flavors: Big Picture: Find the main point of a passage or paragraph, or from what perspective is this information being given. Little Picture/Detail: Find a specific detail in the text, with or without location information. Inference: Based on the information provided in the passage, infer information. Vocabulary in Context: Find how a word is used in the specified place (or choose a word that best encapsulates a description from the passage). Function: Explain how a phrase, sentence, or paragraph functions in a larger context (paragraph or passage). Author Technique: What is the tone or style of a passage (often asked to compare and contrast different authors’ techniques)? Find the Evidence: Which of these lines from the passage best supports your answer? Paired Passages On The SAT Out of the six passages on SAT Reading, two of them will be "paired" passages. These passages are usually 40-50 lines each and are followed by 10-12 questions. The first four to seven of these questions will be about the passages individually, while the last three to six questions will ask about both passages. Paired passages on SAT Reading often include introductory material with information about the genre, publication date, and sometimes even the general situation/topic of the text. Here's an example from a practice SAT: Questions 32-42 are based on the following passages.These passages are adapted from the Lincoln†Douglas debates. Passage 1 is from a statement by Stephen Douglas. Passage 2 is from a statement by Abraham Lincoln. Douglas and Lincoln engaged in a series of debates while competing for a US Senate seat in 1858. The introductory material above tells you about the type of passage (Passage 1 is from a statement by Douglas, Passage 2 is from a statement by Lincoln) and when the source of each passage was originally published/written (as well as when the Lincoln-Douglas Debates occurred). Like these Lincoln-Douglas passages, paired passages most frequently fall into the "U.S. Founding Documents and the Great Global Conversation" genre of SAT Reading passages. These passages are usually written pre-1900s and concern "issues and concerns central to informed citizenship" like the meaning of democracy, slavery, women's rights, civil rights and civil disobedience, and so on. The next most frequently covered subject area is science, with passages on topics such as extraterrestrial mining, organic farming, and the effect of the internet on the brain. Keep in mind, however, that while most paired passages in the past have been either science or Great Global Conversation passages, that doesn't mean that you might not come across a literary or social-science focused set of paired passages in the future. As far as the SAT is concerned, any topic could work as a set of paired passages. what lurks within by Sandy Schultz, used under CC BY 2.0. You never know what topics you'll find lurking in paired passages. Plan of Attack: All Paired Passages There is no one surefire strategy that will let you power through questions on paired passages, because part of it depends on how you approach the passage. Below, we've gathered our top three strategies for mastering paired passages; try out each to see which best works for you. Strategy 1: Start By Answering Questions on Individual Passages No matter how you approach the passage (thorough read first, questions first, or skimming and then questions), for paired passages, I highly, highly recommend answering the questions about each individual passage first before moving on to the multi-passage questions. Even if you're planning on guessing on questions that ask about multiple passages, it’s still worth it to take time to answer questions on individual passages. Each passage that appears as part of a set of paired passages is shorter and less complicated than the standalone long passages (since you're expected to compare passage to passage, not just focus in on one passage). Because of this, it's often easier to answer the individual passage questions- there are fewer words to read overall, and it's easier to find details. In addition, sometimes the questions the SAT asks about each individual passages will give you information that might be helpful when it comes to questions about both passages For instance, take a look at this question about an individual passage (of a set of paired passages): As used in line 32, "observed" most nearly means A) followed.B) scrutinized.C) contemplated.D) noticed. Now, here’s a question in the same section that asks about both passages: Based on the passages, Lincoln would most likely describe the behavior that Thoreau recommends in lines 64-66 ("if it...law") as A) an excusable reaction to an intolerable situation.B) a rejection of the country's proper form of remedy.C) an honorable response to an unjust law.D) a misapplication of a core principle of the Constitution. Lines 64-66 read "if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law." If you’ve answered the first question, which involves going back the sentence that contains line 32 ("But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed"), then you know that A) cannot be correct and that B) is likely correct. This doesn't necessarily give you the correct answer right away (you still have to eliminate answer choices C) and D) ), but it will save you time. A final point to keep in mind about answering questions about individual passages is that for paired passages, the two passages will agree on some things and disagree on others. Answering questions on the individual passages can help you suss out what the passages may agree or disagree on before you get to questions on both passages that ask you to do exactly that. Strategy 2: Find The Hardest Paired Passage Questions For You...And Drill Them This strategy is not unique to paired passage questions on the SAT- figuring out your weakness in any area and then focusing your time on practicing what is difficult for you will help you improve. For paired passages on SAT Reading, however, figuring out your higher level weaknesses is more difficult because it is not always clear which skill (or even combination of skills) is being tested by the question. To help out with your SAT Reading paired passage triage, I've compiled a list of the most common ways each question type might appear in the context of paired passages. Note: The questions below are all questions that ask you about multiple passages. While occasionally vocab-in-context questions will be asked after a series of longer paired passages, these questions are always in reference to either Passage 1 or Passage 2, not both; therefore, they are omitted below. Function Questions In non-paired passages, function questions ask what a phrase, sentence, or paragraph is accomplishing within the context of the whole passage. When they appear on paired passages, function questions often show up on individual passages but appear relatively infrequently with regards to both passages. Here are two ways I've seen function questions asked about multiple passages: â€Å"In lines 61-65, the author of Passage 2 refers to a statement made in Passage 1 in order to" "In the context of each passage as a whole, the question in lines 25-27 of Passage 1 and lines 67-69 of Passage 2 primarily function to help each speaker" Big Picture, Detail, and Inference Questions While these questions test different skills, they will often be asked in the same way. Here are a few examples (modified from actual SAT practice tests): "The main purpose of each passage is to" "Both authors would most likely agree that the changes in cats' status that they describe would be" "Based on the passages, both authors would agree with which of the following claims?" "Webber would most likely have reacted to lines 65-68 ("The musical...terrible") of Passage 2 with" OMG! by Andrea Schaffer, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Alas, SAT answer choices are not in cat facial expression form. While the first of these questions is clearly a main point question, it’s a little more hazy with others. The second question could be any of the three types, depending on the context. If "the change in cats' status" was the main point of the passages, it would be a main point question. If "the change in cats' statuses" was just mentioned in passing as part of a larger picture, it would be a detail question. If the answer choices for that question asked you to take what was in the text and go a step beyond, the question would be an inference question. Here are some more clearly-worded examples of each type of question: Big Picture Questions "Which choice identifies a central tension between the two passages?" "Based on the passages, one commonality in the stances Lincoln and Thoreau take towards house cats is that" "Both passages discuss the issue of household cats in relationship to" Inference Questions "How would Eliot most likely respond to Webber's statement in lines 30-34, Passage 1 ("As the...yowl")?" "Stevens would most likely have reacted to lines 65-68 ("Now...cat") of Passage 2 with" Detail Questions "On which of the following points would the authors of both passages most likely agree?" "Based on the passages, both authors would agree with which of the following claims?" Find the Evidence questions These questions show up in paired passages in much the same way as they do on single passages. Here are a couple of examples: "Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?"[previous question: "How would Eliot most likely respond to Webber's statement in lines 30-34, Passage 1 ("As the...yowl")?"] "Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?" [previous question: "Which choice best describes how Saintriver would most likely have reacted to Lai Wai's remarks in the final paragraph of Passage 2?"] Multi-skill questions Often, questions that ask about both passages will ask you to draw upon multiple skills. The most common examples of this are big picture/inference combo questions, which require you to figure out author perspective and then take one step beyond that. Examples: "The author of Passage 2 would most likely respond to the discussion of the future of household cats in lines 18-28, Passage 1, by claiming that such a future" "Saintriver in Passage 1 would most likely characterize the position taken by Lai Wai in lines 65-69 "Let...climb") as" "Which choice best describes the ways that the two authors conceive of the cat's proper position in the household?" It's also possible to have a combo of detail and find-the-evidence questions: "Which choice provides the best evidence that the author of Passage 2 would agree to some extent with the claim attributed to Hatshepsut in lines 41-43, Passage 1?" So what should you do to figure out which question type is most difficult for you? First, when going through practice tests (actual SAT practice tests, mind), be sure to circle the questions that you're unsure you've answered correctly. Next, compare the questions you've circled to the example questions in this article to figure out where your weaknesses lie. And finally, study our articles on specific SAT Reading question types to improve your skills in the areas that you struggle with. Strategy 3: Eliminate Answers This is somewhat related to the strategy of answering questions on individual passages first (because individual passage questions can help you out with the answers to questions on both passages). Questions that ask about both passages have to meet the same standard as questions about a single passage: there must be one unambiguously correct answer. What does this mean for multipassage questions? If part of an answer is wrong, then you can eliminate it completely. Here’s an example of a common multipassage inference question: [practice2q30correctB] Which choice best describes the relationship between the two passages? A) Passage 2 relates first-hand experiences that contrast with the clinical approach in Passage 1.B) Passage 2 critiques the conclusions drawn from the research discussed in Passage 1.C) Passage 2 takes a high-level view of a result that Passage 1 examines in depth.D) Passage 2 predicts the negative reactions that the findings discussed in Passage 1 might produce. Let’s say you’ve just finished answering questions about Passage 2 when you get to this question about both passages, so Passage 2 is pretty clear in your mind. You can start by eliminating the answers that are not true for Passage 2. In this case, you can immediately eliminate A), because Passage 2 does not relate first-hand experiences. (Since the passage is too long to include here, you either have to take my word for it or read the passage in the free practice test in which it appears here.) You can also start to lean towards B), because it is unambiguously true for Passage 2. Why? Passage 1 ends with the following sentence: "We’re exercising the neural circuits devoted to skimming and multitasking while ignoring those used for reading and thinking deeply." On the other hand, the second paragraph of Passage 2 begins with this sentence: "Experience does not revamp the basic information-processing capacities of the brain." As you can see from these sentences, Passage 2 certainly critiques at least one of the conclusions from Passage 1. To confirm it is the right answer, of course, you'd need to skim Passages 1 and 2 again to make sure that there aren't any other conclusions in Passage 1 (or if there are, that Passage 2 critiques them as well) and eliminate the last two answers. A common recommendation for eliminating answers is to cross out answers that are not contrasting (since oftentimes the SAT wants you to compare passages, and what’s the point in comparing passages that are the same?). In this example, eliminating answers that suggest the passages have similarities would cause you to eliminate C) and D), pointing you back to the correct answer, B). However, this "eliminate answers that don't suggest the passages differ" elimination approach should not be considered a hard and fast rule. Depending on the question, the correct answer choice may confirm the two passages agree on something. Therefore, for paired passage questions, we recommend that instead of trying to go with the general strategy of "eliminate answers that don't suggest the passages differ," you still go through the answer choices and eliminate them one by one. If You Must by Michael Coghlan, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. You do not want this cat coming after you for accidentally eliminating the right answer. Strategies To Attack Paired Passage Questions: A Summary #1: Answer Single-Passage Questions First. Answering questions about individual passages will often give you clues to answer questions about both passages. #2: Find Your Weaknesses And Drill Them. Figure out which type of question you tend to get wrong and then focus on improving that skill. #3: Eliminate Answers. If part of an answer is wrong, then you can eliminate it entirely. What’s Next? Find out more about the overall structure and content of SAT Critical Reading in our guide to SAT Reading. Is there a "best way" to read the passage for SAT Reading questions? Learn different ways to approach SAT Reading passages here. Get detailed with your SAT prep by studying each skill SAT Critical Reading questions test, starting with big picture questions and words-in-context questions. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Amazon Company Background Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Amazon Company Background - Research Paper Example For effective management f its network relations, the company has, in addition to its Seattle headquarters, an additional office at Coffeyville, state of Kansas. Additionally, Amazon.com has global websites in the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and Japan with a view of serving the domestic consumers of its products and service. With more than eight thousand full time employees, the company is able to have effective communication with its customers within the online or network relationships. In this regard, the placing of orders, acquisition of relevant information, following the progress of the order and online sale of products and services are transactions which are effected during the network relationships. The company values its employees as the most important resource in effective management of network relationships between the company and its employees. The management of network relationships includes effective and efficient communication between the Amazon sellers and the customers. Customers are provided with an interface of creating user accounts through which their communication with the sellers will be facilitated. Through these accounts, the users are able to view the company’s variety of products and make necessary inquiries. This is then followed by making or orders by the customers. The orders are consequently processed by the company’s employees within the various subsidiaries and retail shops. The company’s policy provides for professionalism and effectiveness in communication. which includes giving the customers appropriate feedback on the progress of the orders. Additionally, the procedure of communication within the company is in support of enhanced relationship between the sellers and the customers. This is aimed at ensuring effectiveness and quality in the provision of services and products to th e company’s market. Call Centers for Facilitating Relationships The company has call centers Kennewick, Grand Forks and Huntington within the US. Additionally, Amazon.com Inc. has call centers in Cape Town, South Africa and Hyderabad, India. These call centers play the most significant role of enhancing network communications between the customers and the sellers of the company’s products (Ratnasingham 1). The activities in the call centers employ information and communication technology in addition to the utilization of telecommunication networks in order to efficiently meet the needs of consumers for information. More importantly, the consumers are enabled to inquire about the various details on the company’s products and thus achieve an enhanced shopping experience. In addition to the communication with the customers, the data centers play a role of coordinating the activities of the various

DEP Discussion 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DEP Discussion 1 - Assignment Example They were the ones who helped me in learning about sexual matters and my attraction towards the opposite gender and why these feelings were taking place. At this point in life I started idealizing and listening to rock music and from that time onwards I developed a taste for rock music and to date rock music has not only become the main music choice, it has even defined the way I dress and act. My interest in rock music even defined my personality which is quite aggressive in nature. Another part of development in this age was my relationship with my parents. At this age I used to believe that my parents are quite old fashioned and things are not as they perceive and due to this we used to have a conflict. My parents did not reject me and rather accepted my state of mind and confusion that I was facing and they helped me through that time period and became my close friends instead of being authoritarian. The major difference between development in young adulthood and adolescent is th at during adolescent individuals are more focused on their physical development, but during young adulthood individuals start being concerned about their future career and what kind of a future they want to experience. Furthermore, during young adulthood social bonds become stronger and those individuals who become friends during this age lasts for a longer period of time and may even last throughout the life of an

Steganography :: Essays Papers

Steganography Introduction to Steganography Codes have been around for centuries ranging from wax, invisible ink, Morse code, the Enigma used by the Germans during World War II and now steganographic. Steganography is the latest form to insidiously hide information over the Internet without a trace of a file being altered. You are able to hide messages within images, voice or music. Steganography is an ancient method of hiding messages. Today messages are hidden in images and music. Steganography can be traced back to the ancient Greek who would write messages on tablets and cover them in wax. This made the tablets look blank and unsuspicious (Kolata, F4). Citizens of ancient civilizations would tattoo messages on their shaved heads. They would then let their hair grown in and travel across enemy lines to deliver the message (Seper, G1). During World War II the Allies placed a ban on flower deliveries with dates, crossword puzzles and even report cards (Kolata, F4) for fear of a message being hidden with in. Steganographers fi rst alter their data by using encryption and then place the image into a pre-select image. Steganographers look for a piece of code that would be the least significant and look the least altered to the human eye (Kolata, F4), being as inconspicuousness and random as possible. This makes the messages undetectable unless you knew that there is a message hidden and you were able to crack the code. Hacking and Unhacking Hackers and terrorists have been using this form of technology for years. The United States governmental officials had suspected an attack on the United States for a period of time and thought the information to be hidden using steganography. Anyone can use and get access to steganographic materials. It's easy to download on numerous sights and no software is required. It's an easy and cheap way to keep information secure and undetectable. The number of steganography sites has doubled in the past two years (Kolata, F4). The United States government is also trying to place restrictions on encryption methods to prevent another catastrophic attack in the world such as the World Trade Center attacks. By having access to a private key the government would have unlimited access to secure information and crack codes all for safety reasons (USA Today). A " private key" is needed to decode any steganographic messages. Images are made up from a combination of an abundant of pixels (tiny dots).

Changes in technology Essay

Technology enhances globalization. In past two decades, technology burst out like an explosion, definitely, the improvements of technology make our lives much more convenience. And, the advanced technology in microprocessors, Internet, and transportation enable the spreading out of globalization. Hill, C., (2001) stated â€Å"Globalization has two main components: the globalization of markets and the globalization of product.† In other words, the changing in technology would lead to an influence on globalization of markets and globalization of production. The widely use in microprocessors and telecommunications increasing the amount of information being transferred, but lower its cost. This is very helpful in merging markets. The opportunities for companies to expend businesses are raised, due to plummeting in global communication cost. Updated data can be collected, and monitoring overseas markets trend would become easier. Moreover, population of using Internet grows continuously since 1995 (Hill, C., 2001). This helps to create a global audience; advertisings are not restricted by geographic region anymore. Products can sold at overseas, such as Hill, C. (2001) pointed out customer can buy Levi’s jeans in Paris; McDonald’s restaurant located in Tokyo. And, the cost of transportation plummeted, due to the revolutionized in transportation business, also helpful for expansion of business. Manufacturers can transport products at a lower cost and in a shorter time. As the trendy of globalization of production, productive activities spread out over the world, invention and widely use of microprocessors and Internet help supervisor to control the productive activities, and easier to communication to other in the process. The dispersal of production, for instance Hewlett-Packard separated its operations activities to different places, but reducing cost at the same time (Hill, C. 2001). As the decreasing cost in transportation, many businesses move their manufacturing plants to nations that provide cheaper raw materials and nature resources, in order to diminishing their production cost. Summering the above points, the three main changes in technology (microprocessors, Internet, and transportation) have a great supportive to  the globalization of markets and production. If the lower cost of communication does not exist, people around the world would not have so many chances to connect with others and business would not be willing to put money to widen their markets. If the world without Internet and the World Wide Web, people might not able to get the most updated information, the production skills cannot be improved and productive activities cannot be shared. Without the convenience transportation system, customer and provider would not connect each other; products cannot transfer to overseas market. Therefore, people would lose the opportunities to enjoy different products from all around the world. Finally, markets from different countries should not be merged together, and the production process should not spread out. That’s why the technology essential and enhance globalization. The above assignment is coming from the resources of Hill, C., â€Å"Globalization†, International Business, 2001, 3rd ed, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, New York.

Prehistoric Life During the Paleogene Period

The 43 million years of the Paleogene period represent a crucial interval in the evolution of mammals, birds, and reptiles, which were free to occupy new ecological niches after the demise of the dinosaurs following the K/T Extinction Event. The Paleogene was the first period of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present), followed by the Neogene period (23-2.6 million years ago), and is itself divided into three important epochs: the Paleocene (65-56 million years ago), the Eocene (56-34 million years ago) and the Oligocene (34-23 million years ago). Climate and Geography. With some significant hiccups, the Paleogene period witnessed a steady cooling of the earths climate from the hothouse conditions of the preceding Cretaceous period. Ice began to form at both the North and South poles and seasonal changes were more pronounced in the northern and southern hemispheres, which had a significant impact on plant and animal life. The northern supercontinent of Laurasia gradually broke apart into North America in the west and Eurasia in the east, while its southern counterpart Gondwana continued to fracture into South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica, all of which began drifting slowly to their present positions. Terrestrial Life Mammals. Mammals didnt suddenly appear on the scene at the start of the Paleogene period; in fact, the first primitive mammals originated in the Triassic period, 230 million years ago. In the absence of dinosaurs, though, mammals were free to radiate into a variety of open ecological niches. During the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, mammals still tended to be fairly small but had already started evolving along definite lines: the Paleogene is when you can find the earliest ancestors of whales, elephants, and odd- and even-toed ungulates (hoofed mammals). By the Oligocene epoch, at least some mammals had begun to grow to respectable sizes, though they werent nearly as impressive as their descendants of the ensuing Neogene period. Birds. During the early part of the Paleogene period, birds, and not mammals, were the dominant land animals on earth (which shouldnt be all that surprising, given that they had evolved from recently extinct dinosaurs). One early evolutionary trend was toward large, flightless, predatory birds like Gastornis, which superficially resembled meat-eating dinosaurs, as well as the meat-eating avians known as terror birds, but subsequent eons saw the appearance of more diverse flying species, which were similar in many respects to modern birds. Reptiles. Although dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles had gone completely extinct by the start of the Paleogene period, the same wasnt true for their close cousins, the crocodiles, which not only managed to survive the K/T Extinction but actually flourished in its aftermath (while retaining the same basic body plan). The deepest roots of snake and turtle evolution can be located in the later Paleogene, and small, inoffensive lizards continued to scurry underfoot. Marine Life Not only the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago; so did their vicious marine cousins, the mosasaurs, along with the last remaining plesiosaurs and pliosaurs. This sudden vacuum at the top of the marine food chain naturally spurred the evolution of sharks (which had already been around for hundreds of millions of years, though in smaller sizes). Mammals had yet to venture fully into the water, but the earliest, land-dwelling ancestors of whales prowled the Paleogene landscape, most notably in central Asia, and may have had semi-amphibious lifestyles. Plant Life Flowering plants, which had already made a cameo appearance toward the end of the Cretaceous period, continued to flourish during the Paleogene. The gradual cooling of the earths climate paved the way for vast deciduous forests, mostly on the northern continents, with jungles and rainforests increasingly restricted to equatorial regions. Toward the end of the Paleogene period, the first grasses appeared, which would have a significant impact on animal life during the ensuing Neogene period, spurring the evolution of both prehistoric horses and the saber-toothed cats that preyed on them.