Mini Expert Guides – serie

Revealing the incredible diversity of fossilised plants and animals preserved for millions of years, this book profiles 300 examples of the most common and fascinating fossils, using an entry by entry approach. By including examples from all of the major variety of fossilised life, from preserved trees and grasses to molluscs, trilobites, fish and dinosaurs, Fossils offers a truly comprehensive overview of fossils from every continent and gives a sense of the huge amount of natural history available to us in the fossil record. Each fossil is illustrated with a clear and informative colour photograph, accompanied by informed and accessible text. The fossilised plants and animals are grouped by order, then within each order by family (and, where necessary, within each family by subfamilies). For easy reference, each entry includes a table of information on scientific name, order and family, habitat, distribution, geological period and dimensions.

Following the ‘Big Bang’, it took the universe billions of years to evolve into the unique system of stars and planets that we know of today. Scientists have studied the planets of our solar system for centuries, and are beginning to understand the billions of stars and other bodies that make up the Universe. Stars and Planets is an ideal reference book for anyone interested in astronomy, featuring 300 of the most well known stars, planets, moons, constellations and other cosmological phenomena, such as black holes and quasars. Each entry includes an image – either a photograph or an artist’s impression or diagram – and a key information table including specifications such as the mass, radius, surface temperature, distance from sun, gravity and major elements of each object. Presented in a handy, pocket-size format, full of facts and engaging text, Stars and Planets is a valuable reference source as well as a fascinating read, revealing the spectacular world of the Cosmos.

For 150 million years, dinosaurs were the undisputed rulers of the Earth. Today, these great lizards still fire our imaginations. Dinosaurs profiles the creatures who lived during the great Age of Reptiles, the real-life giants and monsters such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Stegosaurus who once dominated our planet. Also featured are many of the prehistoric world's other most fearsome and awe-inspiring creatures, from huge birds of prey to ferocious sabre-toothed cats. The entries are grouped chronologically, with examples drawn mainly from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Each dinosaur or other prehistoric creature is illustrated with a stunning, full-colour artwork. For easy reference, each entry also includes a table of information containing key data such as size, weight, diet, meaning of name, armour, hunting techniques and distribution of fossil remains. Engaging accessible text provides an introduction to each dinosaur's behaviour, habits and other key information.

Tabby cat or toucan? Airedale terrier or Angora rabbit? Python or Parakeet? If you didn’t have a pet as a child, you probably wanted one. Pets features a huge range of pets from everyday pets such as cats and dogs to exotic pets such as tropical fish, toucans and terrapins, from cute mice to formidable pythons, from energetic rabbits to docile tortoises to thoroughbred horses. Part of the highly successful Mini Encyclopedia series, Pets includes 300 pets from around the world, offering a wealth of fascinating information on the background, breeding and natural habitat of these animals. With a page and outstanding colour illustration given to each pet, and specification boxes detailing on the origins, appearance, size, diet and lifespan of each animal, Pets is an easy-to-use pocket reference book for anyone interested in domesticated animals.

Exploring some of the world’s more remote regions can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but should things go wrong, would you know what to do? Do you possess the basics skills and, above all the determination and will to survive? With a total of 150 expert survival tips, Survival Tips gives you the basic skills to keep going in any situation, and reach safety. Tips range from using an ice axe and sheltering from the wind, to finding fresh water and building a protective shelter. Survival Tips is an easy-to-use handbook of professional survival skills. It teaches survival fundamentals for every scenario and every environment, from the sub-zero landscape of the Arctic to the scorching suns of the tropics. In clear and practical terms, the book explains how to preserve life with minimal external aids and stay safe. Topics covered include: how to make hunting weapons, identifying edible plants, survival psychology, evasion techniques, celestial navigation, surviving at sea, constructing shelters, hunting and trapping techniques, making fire, improvised cooking vessels, improvising weapons, endurance techniques and finding underground water. The book also explores traditionally less well-covered but equally essential aspects of survival such as natural remedies for common diseases, rope handling and climbing methods and unarmed combat. Illustrated with more than 100 black-and-white illustrations, Survival Tips provides the reader with a single source of invaluable survival information.

Modern Artillery brings together 300 of the most important examples of artillery used or designed since 1900. Beginning with the guns that pounded the trenches in World War I, the book details all the major forms of artillery in service throughout the century. From hand-held anti-tank devices, anti-aircraft guns and field pieces of World War II to the recent tactical and strategic missiles, the book provides a wide survey of the development and use of artillery, with the entries conveniently placed into categories for easy reference. Each artillery piece featured is illustrated by a full-colour artwork and accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving the country of origin and technical details of the weapon, including where appropriate the calibre, elevation, muzzle velocity, traverse and range, all measurements being provided in imperial and metric. Each entry also contains a piece of text summarizing the weapon’s development and service history. Presented in a handy, pocket-book size, arranged by type and with 300 colour illustrations, Modern Artillery is an authoritative and accessible reference work, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in military technology.

Submarines features 300 of the most significant submarines from the first submersibles in 1776 to the present day. Each featured submarine is illustrated with an outstanding colour profile artwork and is accompanied by detailed specifications, giving powerplant, dimensions, maximum speed, range and armament. Also included is a design, development and service history of each featured submarine. The final section of the book covers underwater weapons, such as torpedoes, SLBMs and cruise missiles. Arranged alphabetically and with 300 colour illustrations and photographs, Submarines is an authoritative and accessible reference work, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in military technology and naval history.

Battleships and Carriers features 300 of the most significant capital ships to have sailed the seas since the age of sail. These include such famous battleships as Henri Grâce à Dieu in the 16th century, ironclads such as Indianola, Admiral Graf Spee, Bismarck, Iowa, Yamato and Dreadnought. The book also includes the greatest aircraft carriers that served during World War I, such as HMS Furious, and World War II, such as USS Independence, and goes right to the present day, with HMS Prince of Wales, the latest Royal Navy carrier, as well as the USS Gerald R. Ford and Chinese Liaoning carriers. Each of the 300 vessels featured is illustrated with the aid of a superb side-view artwork. This is accompanied by a brief account of its development and service history, as well as a detailed specifications table giving displacement, dimensions, performance, date of launch and armament. Presented in a handy, pocket-book size, arranged alphabetically and with 300 colour illustrations, Battleships and Carriers is an authoritative and accessible reference work, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in military technology and naval history.

From the birth of popular road travel with the Ford Model T in 1908 through the golden post-war era of stylish to the modern day Jeep, the United States has been at the cutting edge of automotive design. American Classic Cars looks in detail at the 300 most celebrated machines from the US from 1914 to the year 2000. Arranged chronologically, the book provides a unique, exciting and accessible guide to American engineering, from the 1914 Stutz Bearcat to the 1999 Rough Mustang. With accessible text putting the car into it historical context, each entry is illustrated by a side-, front- or three-quarter-view colour photograph and is accompanied by a specification table providing year of manufacture and the full technical details. Presented in a handy, pocket-size format, full of facts and engaging text, American Classic Cars is a colourful and fascinating reference source of some of the best designed vehicles of the 20th century.

Small Arms looks in detail at 300 of the most widely used pistols, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns and other small arms of the last 100 years. It includes famous small arms such as the AK-47, the M16, the SA80, the Lee Enfield, the MP40, the MG42, the Browning Hi Power, the M60, the Thompson sub-machine gun, the Colt .45, the Sten and the L115A3 sniper rifle. Arranged by type, each small arm is illustrated by a full colour artwork and accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving the country of origin and the technical details of the weapon, including calibre, length, weight, barrel length, rate of fire, muzzle velocity, operation and, where appropriate, magazine capacity. Each entry also contains text summarising the weapon’s development and service history. Presented in a handy, pocket-book format, Small Arms is colourful, packed with information and offers a great insight into the development of weaponry over the past century.

Military Jet Aircraft contains 300 of the most important and influential military jet aircraft that have flown since World War II, including such famous aircraft as the Messerschmitt Me 262, English Electric Lightning, and North American F-86 Sabre. Each of the 300 aircraft featured in Military Jet Aircraft is illustrated with the aid of a superb colour artwork. In addition, the artwork is accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving dimensions, powerplant, armament, performance, and weights, plus accompanying text that summarises the design, development and service history.

Aircraft of World War II contains 300 of the most important and influential military aircraft in service between 1939 and 1945. From Allied fighters to Axis bombers, from biplanes to flying boats, each of the aircraft featured is presented with a full colour profile artwork, alongside technical specifications and text explaining the aircraft’s development and service history. Including some of the most famous and beautiful aircraft of the twentieth century, Aircraft of World War II is a pocket-sized reference guide that will appeal to any reader interested in military technology, World War II and aviation.

From the crude, unreliable tanks that first appeared on the Western Front during World War I to today’s high-tech machines, Tanks and Military Vehicles features 300 of the most important and influential tanks and AFVs from 1916 to the present day. With a page per entry, each vehicle is illustrated by a full-colour side-profile artwork, and accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving country of origin, crew, weight, dimensions, armour, armament, powerplant, and performance, all measurements in imperial and metric. In addition, there is accompanying text for each vehicle that summarises the vehicle’s development and service history. Arranged by type from main battle tanks to tank destroyers to armoured cars, amphibious vehicles and anti-aircraft guns, Tanks and Military Vehicles ranges from the Mark V Male to the Tiger, Sherman and T-34 and on up to the M1 Abrams, Challenger and Warrior of today. Presented in a handy, pocket-book format, Tanks and Military Vehicles is colourful, packed with information and offers a great insight into the development of land warfare over the past century.

For 150 million years, dinosaurs were the undisputed rulers of the Earth. Today, these great lizards still fire our imaginations. Dinosaurs profiles the creatures who lived during the great Age of Reptiles, the real-life giants and monsters such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Stegosaurus who once dominated our planet. Also featured are many of the prehistoric world's other most fearsome and awe-inspiring creatures, from huge birds of prey to ferocious sabre-toothed cats. The entries are grouped chronologically, with examples drawn mainly from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Each dinosaur or other prehistoric creature is illustrated with a stunning, full-colour artwork. For easy reference, each entry also includes a table of information containing key data such as size, weight, diet, meaning of name, armour, hunting techniques and distribution of fossil remains. Engaging accessible text provides an introduction to each dinosaur's behaviour, habits and other key information.

Discover the fascinating world of the treasures beneath your feet. Minerals and Gemstones is an accessible and informative reference guide to 300 different minerals and gemstones, from simple sandstones to sanidine, jade and diamond. Learn what the Earth is made of, how its rocks were formed and how minerals and gems are used today. Minerals and Gemstones is divided into sections covering the internationally recognised classification groups. Each entry includes an accurately reproduced and representative colour photograph, and a key information table including specifications such as the colour, lustre, streak, hardness, specific gravity, cleavage, habit and crystal system of each type of mineral and gemstone. Full of facts and with an engaging but expertly written text, this handy, pocket-size book is a valuable reference source as well as a fascinating read.

Modern Artillery brings together 300 of the most important examples of artillery used or designed since 1900. Beginning with the guns that pounded the trenches in World War I, the book details all the major forms of artillery in service throughout the century. From hand-held anti-tank devices, anti-aircraft guns and field pieces of World War II to the recent tactical and strategic missiles, the book provides a wide survey of the development and use of artillery, with the entries conveniently placed into categories for easy reference. Each artillery piece featured is illustrated by a full-colour artwork and accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving the country of origin and technical details of the weapon, including where appropriate the calibre, elevation, muzzle velocity, traverse and range, all measurements being provided in imperial and metric. Each entry also contains a piece of text summarizing the weapon’s development and service history. Presented in a handy, pocket-book size, arranged by type and with 300 colour illustrations, Modern Artillery is an authoritative and accessible reference work, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in military technology.