The Encyclopedia of Mammals (new edition)

I can only just pick this chunky encyclopedia up with one hand, grasping it by the spine which is as wide as my palm. It weighs over ten pounds or nearly five kilos. There are 936 pages to this new or third edition, plus 41 preliminary pages although, rather oddly, the main text starts with page 2 – no sign of page 1. It has a dust wrapper with a striking photograph of the head of a zebra, a foretaste of the photographic cornucopia to come. Pity about the dust wrapper as it will wear quickly and the dullness of...