A Child Is Born (Lennart Nilsson, Lars Hamberger)

Company:
Doubleday

Price:
£14.00

Stockist:
Amazon.co.uk

• There's nothing like it for showing you what happens from the twinkle in your eye to the babe in your arms.
• A great conversation piece you won't resist showing to others.
• Includes specialist sections such as genetics and conception difficulties.

• It's not really a how-to book and doesn't contain much practical advice compared to others.
• May not be suitable for the squeamish.

Verdict: I kept muttering "unbelievable" while reading. This book truly is... unbelievable.

Conception and childbirth is amazing - anyone can tell you that. But very often it's said off-hand or without real meaning. Although there's no substitute for experiencing it first-hand, "A Child Is Born" hammers home, with the force of a sledgehammer, the wonder of creating a new life.

How does it do this? Well, I'm sure you've noticed that often-overlooked gap in the market between coffee-table book and medical textbook, just waiting to be filled. As Jeremy Clarkson would say; not any more! Many times I found myself wondering "how did they get a camera in there?" or "who would volunteer to be photographed doing that?". Some of the images seem to be physically impossible, for example a photo (not just a diagram) of the cross-section of the head of a sperm. If you're expecting, it also helps you know what to expect in the delivery room. If you're a dad already, you're guaranteed to broaden your knowledge and the journey through the 200-odd pages is awesome. So much so, that we found ourselves thinking that in having a baby we had achieved something of a miracle. It even made me want to have another go - for scientific reasons, of course.

There's not much else you can say about this book. Although it contains clearly written text that is interesting, educational and extremely detailed, what you really buy it for is the incredible pictures. I've used plenty of superlatives already - you'll just have to see it for yourself. It's well worth it.