Big Meg

About the book

'Big Meg is big fun! It's packed to the gills with gobsmacking facts, insightful conjecture, and personal obs from two world-class scientists and explorers ... a megaladon of delight for any shark-lover!' - Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

'Tim Flannery scores again, diving into the murky myth-filled waters surrounding the world's biggest predator, and surfacing with a breathless true story stuffed with astounding facts and personal experience.' - Lucy Cooke, author of Bitch and The Unexpected Truth about Animals

'If you are not already addicted to Tim Flannery's writing, discover him now.' - Jared Diamond, author of Collapse and Guns, Germs and Steel

'Engagingly written and a real labour of love (down to the tiny fin at the bottom of each right hand page). Give this book to the wannabe palaeontologist in your life' - MAIL ON SUNDAY

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Imagine a ferocious marine hunter up to twenty metres long, weighing twice as much as a humpback whale and ten times more than Tyrannosaurus rex. With jaws that can open two metres wide, crammed with 276 serrated fangs, it can bite down with the greatest force of any animal that has ever lived.

This is the Megalodon, also known as 'the Bigtooth', and it swam in our waters three million years ago. Compared with the dinosaurs, wiped out 66 million years ago, this is but a stone's throw into our planet's shadowy past when monsters reigned. Yet the Megalodon has been largely absent from the fossil record, leaving behind only a smattering of teeth and vertebrae prized by collectors, its existence steeped in mystery... until now.

Marking a milestone in palaeontology, Tim Flannery, celebrated environmentalist, zoologist and explorer, and his scientist daughter Emma, tell the story of the giant shark for the first time. Big Meg follows the quest to demystify the colossus that left Earth with barely a trace, reveals where and how it lived, and discusses the theories and haunting stories surrounding this ancient legendary creature, including that it may still stalk the deep...

This is the biography of the ultimate apex predator - a vital piece of the great natural history of our planet - and a compelling exploration of its awesome grip on the human imagination today.
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'Tim Flannery is the real thing: a man with a gift for lucid exposition, who can really make his subject come alive.' Literary Review

'This man is a national treasure, and we should heed his every word' Sunday Telegraph