See a slideshow of images from the book

JUST as the really small and feathered dinosaurs become the most interesting ones, along comes the biggest dinosaur book you are likely to encounter. So big in fact, at 70 centimetres wide when open, that a , one of the smallest dinosaurs, is reconstructed at life size.

Size might not be everything – look what happened to the dinosaurs – but fortunately most of the “state of the art” computer graphics employed in are of sufficient quality to justify the extreme dimensions. Just as important is the expert, up-to-date information supplied by .

Some 100 dinosaurs, including the odd crocodilian and pterosaur relative, are described, from their Triassic beginnings through to their terminal Cretaceous demise. Needless to say, Tennyson’s famous phrase “nature, red in tooth and claw” is the rule here, with lots of sharp teeth and dripping saliva, but thankfully no blood.

It is the ultimate coffee-table book – if it came with legs it could be a coffee table – but Dinosaurs is great stuff and an ideal present for dino-enthusiasts of any age.

See a slideshow of images from the book

Read all the reviews in our Christmas Books Special