Chased By Sea Monsters (Hardcover)

by Nigel Marven (Author), Jasper James (Author) "There is something deep in the human psyche which links the ocean with fear..." (more)
Key Phrases: giant mosasaurs, sea scorpions, most dangerous sea, North America, South America, Late Cretaceous (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This fascinating, if somewhat unsophisticated companion volume to the Discovery Channel program showcases some of evolution's most telegenic aspects, namely size and teeth. BBC-TV producers Marven and James (who also collaborated on Walking with Dinosaurs) survey the last half-billion years of marine life to rank the "seven most deadly seas" (i. e., geological epochs) in order of the scariness of their sea creatures. Marine marauders include yard-long sea-scorpions, giant proto-squids, and the 33-foot, bone-plated, piranha-like Dunkleosteus; top honors goes to the "Hell's aquarium" of the Cretaceous Period, epitomized by the giant mosasaurs, 56-foot marine reptiles capable of leaping from the sea to spear low-flying pterodactyls. The monsters are brought vividly to life in photo-realistic computer-generated renditions, complete with the wet-suited Marven swimming alongside or peering into their maws from a flimsy shark cage to give a sense of scale and dread. The text highlights hunting techniques and feeding frenzies, but beside the grizzly details is a wealth of paleontological lore about the evolving earth. Readers follow the evolutionary arms races as the top spot in the sea-food pyramid passes from arthropods and molluscs to fish, then reptiles, then mammals; sidebars explore the background of climate change and continental drift, and cast an occasional glance at life on dry land. The book's combination of sensationalism, lurid graphics and solid scientific exposition is well judged to stimulate budding paleontologists.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description
Following the hugely successful Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, DK dives into the past to swim with prehistoric reptiles and mammals in Chased by Sea Monsters. Exploring the underwater world where he "encounters" amazing creatures, Nigel Marven presents a unique record of a lost world never revealed before now.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (February 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756603757
• ISBN-13: 978-0756603755
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 10 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #337,496 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bigger, meaner and deadlier, March 9, 2004

By	Rob Walsh (Putney, Vermont) - See all my reviews

Nothing, not the carnivorous dinosaurs of the past, nor the imagined sea serpents and monsters of maritime history, nor the great white shark, salt water crocodile, killer whale and leopard seal of today can compare to the horrifying hunters of the prehistoric oceans. You will feel a lot more comfortable about going out for a swim or an afternoon boat ride knowing that such behemoths are extinct today!

The Dunkleosteus is school bus-sized armored fish with razor sharp bladed jaws for cutting through anything in its path. The mighty Liopleurodon is a true monster, largest and most powerful of the Pliosaurs. The deadly Mosasaurs where the real sea serpents of their day, and some where large enough to dispatch an adult tyrannosaur easily. The Basilosaurus, the first of the large whale species, is not a harmless plankton eater but a fearsome high speed hunter. And most frightening of all is the Megalodon, a gargantuan ancestor of the great white that makes its modern day relative look like a tuna.

If you're a paleontology buff like me or a fan of BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs series, this book is for you. The digital designs of the monsters are excellent and very well realized. And the fun-loving Nigel Marvin provides a great narrative. My only question is when does the DVD of the series come out?

Another excellent book is Sea Dragons by Richard Ellis.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ichthysoaurs, mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, oh my!, January 13, 2006

By	Newton Ooi (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Written as a companion to the BBC television documentary series, this beautiful book takes the reader on an illustrated journey thru the prehistoric oceans. The book highlights seven different time periods (in seven different chapters) in the Earth's past, and shows the sea creatures living at those times; emphasizing those with the biggest jaws and their respective prey.

In each chapter, the book examines the physiology, anatomy, habitat, and probably lifestyle of the top predators. Each chapter also shows what is happening on land at that same time, and consistently shows that the predators on land were really no match in terms of size or scariness with respect to their marine counterparts. Covered monsters include reptiles such as mosasaurs, aquatic carniverous birds such as hesperonis, sharks like megaladon, and mammals such as the king of whales; basilosaurus. Each chapter also shows how the earth's continents were positioned at that time, along with the state of the global climate.

The book is beautifully illustrated, with color pictures drawn to look like underwater photographs of the actual creatures as if they were still alive. The intro chapter also gives a timeline of life on the planet, and explains how life evolved from sea to land, and often times back to the sea again. Overall, a great book; though it is missing several things that prevent me from giving it 5 out of 5 stars. First, throughout the text various sea creatures are named without any accompanying figures. Second, the term "sea monsters" implies animals at the very top of the food pyramid. Unfortunately, this book fails to "flesh out" the rest of the food pyramid. Each chapter should have included one large illustration of a food pyramid, with illustrations and names of the various organims at each step in the pyramid. Third, outside of one chapter, the book emphasizes creatures living and hunting in the shallows, or the top layer of the ocean. It would be nice if the book also examined more creatures living closer to the ocean bottom, such as deep-sea fish. Last, there should be a concluding chapter to sum everything up. This chapter should also include a large picture of the modern Earth, and highlight where fossils of the different "sea monsters" have been found. Even with these drawbacks, the book is still wonderful, and is great reading for kids, teenagers and adults.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chased by Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Predators of the Deep, October 12, 2004

By	Joe Zika "Khemprof" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"Chased by Sea Monsters: PRehistoric Predators of the Deep written by Nigel Marven and Jasper James is a wonderfully illustrated book with an engaging narrative that will keep you interested in the book till the end.

The book is divided into different time frames and groups the prehistoric reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals according to when they lived. Starting the adventure with the oldest to the more recent times. The books contents is as follows:

The Ordvivian
The Devonian
The Triassic
The Jurassic
The Cretaceous
The Eocene
The Pilocene

In each of these segments or chapters you are taken on a tour of how the Earth "encounters" was in those times making for an engaging adventure tale. Wearing breathing assistance for the earlier times Nigel Maren and Jasper James takes us to the depths of some very starnge worlds, indeed. I liked the book for it's straight forward apporach of the material at hand and puts it all in a logical manner for the reader, giving the reader little clues to the relationship of the different animals written about to their respective surroundings. Thus, making for some very interesting reading. This book would be excellent for a child's reading assignment for those 10 or older, although this is not a childrens book it would be a good start to an education into what lived in the Earth's seas so long ago.

There are some interesting creatures that existed in prehistoric times, bigger, and often fiercer than dinosaurs whose exploits have inspired more terrifying legends than any other group of animals. They were all but hidden and, now, they are being revealed from their watery home that has kept them hidden from view.

"Chased by Sea Monsters" is a sequel to "Walking with Dinosaurs' and follows the same lines and the latter book, taking the reader on varoius and sundry "encounters" for and adventure of a lifetime. As I've mentioned earlier, there are illustrated boxes that describe the latest scientific evidence that led to the reconstruction of these creatures, with details of the modern sites, from New York to Egypt where water once covered the land. What I found interesting was that whales are closely related to the hippopotamus, from DNA samples and the ear bone structures, and that whales walked on land first and later evolved to marine lives.

I rated this book as a solid five stars for the excellent way that the book was written and the excellent illustrations to back up the writing making this one of the better books for the masses... it gives some techincal data but it's in a form that is easily understood.