From Smithsonian and Scientific American writer Asher Elbein comes the ultimate illustrated guide to prehistory’s most dangerous real-life monsters, perfect for lovers of survival guides and dinosaur enthusiasts!

You’ve seen Jurassic Park. You think you know T. rex and Velociraptor. But the depths of time are packed with bizarre creatures wilder than anything you’ve seen on the screen––and deadly enough to leave you in the past tense.

Part field guide and part bestiary, this ultimate fantasy survival guide takes the “which animal could you fight?” question to its wildest conclusion. Leading science writer Asher Elbein pries open the cabinets of natural history museums to prepare you for a dangerous trek across the epochs, where you'll encounter nightmarish fauna like:

• Daeodon, a gigantic stomper known as “hell hippo”
• Basilosaurus, a puzzlingly long serpent whale
• Prototaxites, an inexplainably mega mutant mushroom
• Champsosaurus, a remixed crocodile straight from the ooze

Complete with 50 detailed full-color illustrations by Stieven Van der Poorten, each entry breaks down fearsome facts on each animal:

• Why they're a full nightmare, then and now
• Their most gruesome features and abilities
• Up-to-date paleontology findings and fun facts
• Their direct genetic trail to current-day animals
• How you, a human, could survive them

After you survive the formidable journey, cool off with a finale highlighting some of the oddest animals that humans made extinct in our march across the planet.