Foreword -- 1. Between water and land : salamanders, newts and frogs -- 2. A return to the water : tortoises, terrapins and turtles -- 3. The ancient hunters : crocodiles, alligators and gharials -- 4. Dragons of the dry : the lizards -- 5. Leglessness : the snakes -- 6. The cold-blooded truth : another way of life -- Acknowledgments -- Sources of photographs -- Index.