The astonishing story of a baby's first two years.

Renowned zoologist and scholar of human behavior Desmond Morris (The Naked Ape) reveals a baby's incredible powers of development and extraordinary growth patterns. Through informed text and stunning photographs and artworks, this insightful reference surveys the biology, physics, chemistry and other forces which drive the rapid changes that occur in a baby's body every day.

Amazing Baby is a discovery tour through a baby's first two years. The story progresses from the moment of conception through each phase of development in the womb and beyond as the baby is born and matures into a talking, walking individual with a unique personality. Chapters are organized by both stage and type of growth.

The book features 250 large and beautiful color photographs and illustrations in an innovative layout that invites both browsing and study. Full-color tracing paper overlays illustrate the many intricacies of infant anatomy. Throughout the book, retrospective glimpses of life in the womb remind the reader of the profound influence of those first nine months.

This beautiful visual reference is designed to appeal to anyone -- especially parents -- interested in how the human body evolves and works. It is also an ideal book to use with siblings of a new baby.

The contents include:

• In the womb: the miracle of life; how baby develops; what baby feels, sees, hears and senses
• Growing: muscles and bones, hormones, sustenance, sleep and dreams
• Staying healthy: powers of self-preservation, reflexes, immune system, hormones, self-repair
• Movement: mastering movement- holding the head, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking
• Communication: hard-wired crying, babbling, speaking, listening, body movement
• Learning: intelligence, awareness and understanding, exploring
• Emotions: personality, experiences, bonding, relationships
• Becoming independent: why humans take so long do so -- longer than any other mammal.

Some of the fascinating facts in Amazing Baby:

• Babies cannot distinguish between night and day until they are about ten weeks. Instead, they rely on their stomachs to regulate their day.
• Within a few days of birth, a baby can distinguish between the touch of brush bristles that are of different diameters.
• Within 45 hours of birth, a newborn knows his/her own mother by her smell.
• Babies have about 10,000 taste buds, far more than adults do. These are not just on the tongue but on the side, back and roof of the mouth as well.

Desmond Morris' landmark book, The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, was published in 1967. A worldwide best-seller, it examined how humans feed, sleep, fight, mate and raise young and compared human behavior with that of apes. Controversial at the time, the book shed new light on the subject and helped change popular perceptions.

As in all his books, Desmond Morris reaches a popular audience and demystifies science.