Just mutter the word 'dinosaur' and you immediately conjure up images of a lost world, a fantastic but scary past when the earth was ruled by giant reptilians.

Dinosaurs are more popular today than ever before. Hardly a week goes by without word of an exciting new discovery in the badlands of countries like Argentina or China. New movies, documentaries and television shows focusing on these 'terrible lizards' attract wide audiences. Some palaeontologists have even become minor celebrities. But despite the 'rock star' attention that they receive, dinosaurs are not merely a trumped-up media creation. These animals were some of the most important, diverse and dominating creatures ever to inhabit the earth.

From the fearsome Tyrannosaurus and its carnivorous kin to the staggeringly huge sauropods Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus, Steve Brusatte's expert text comprehensively describes each species-where they lived, what they looked like, what they ate, how they lived, fought and died-to provide a spectacular overview of one of the greatest stories ever told: the origin, evolution, and demise of the dinosaurs. With over 170 computer-generated reconstructions based on the latest cutting-edge research and technology, Dinosaurs looks at these amazing animals in stunning detail like never before.

Steve Brusatte is a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, specializing in the anatomy, genealogy, and evolution of dinosaurs. His many books include The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs and, most recently, The Age of Dinosaurs. He also acted as consultant on the Walking with Dinosaurs series for the BBC.