Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2017 -

Bursting with life, this excellent title features over 4,000 high quality color photographs of the 1,375 species on the Indian subcontinent. Often, there are multiple photos of each species with thorough treatment of variants if sexes, age groups, or geographical races differ. The text on pages opposite the illustrations shows a range map, and has sections on habitat, voice, range, and plumage. The maps are tiny, giving only a very general idea of a bird's distribution. Physically, the book is heavy and large for a field guide, and is better suited for office rather than field use. Yet, it will be invaluable, especially as a supplement to handy, true field guides, such as Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp's second edition of Birds of India (2012), which has the virtue of fine color painting plates, illustrating 5-12 (or more) similar species on each page and with superior maps. Nonetheless, the work under review is a priceless treasure with its unprecedented richness of photographic illustration. The work is most highly recommended for all readers.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

The author is an award-winning nature writer and a former Bronx Zoo zoologist. His present work is the outgrowth of a lifelong interest in snakes, in this case, an endangered species. This is autecology at its best, a masterful blend of well-written natural history, the more technical side, combined with anecdotes about those who have studied this species, especially over the last 50 years. The writing style is exceptional, providing an air of intimacy with the subject. Overall, the work is extremely well researched and nicely illustrated with inked drawings. In addition, Levin provides readers with a strong sense of the divergent opinions the public holds regarding venomous snakes and how various governmental agencies have interacted with investigators and with the public. Personalities of key timber rattlesnake specialists are presented with humor and extreme candor. Readers are left with the sense that they fully understand the biology of a pit viper and its beauty, often underappreciated.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are a group of relatively small islands (about 466 square miles in total) surrounded by the larger Caribbean islands and the North and South American continents. The authors are professional musicians(!), obviously accomplished birders, and well-published authors, and they have produced a really nice book here--although it is not typical of many modern guides. The first 95 pages present detailed information for finding the best birding areas on each island, as well as available amenities (which is very helpful). Approximately 280 species of birds occur in the area, and these are listed and discussed in the middle 190 pages, a considerable departure from text and illustrations occurring on the same page. Species discussions include a brief description, mention of similar species, conservation status, and known range. Following the discussions, 59 attractive color plates contain paintings of all species. The final few pages consider bird conservation on the islands. This book is an absolute must for birders traveling to the islands, but the restricted coverage area will limit desirability for many North American libraries, except those with extensive ornithological holdings.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

The title of this field guide indicates a rather ambitious undertaking, and a quick glance reveals this is indeed the case. The authors, with whom this reviewer is unfamiliar, have excellent credentials, and there is no doubt they are well known in the Old World birding community. The guide has a familiar format: the arrangement is taxonomic, similar species are grouped together for easy comparison, and there are generally two or three species per page. Individual accounts show male and female plumages when necessary and seasonal plumages where appropriate. Notes on identification, vocalizations, and habitat preferences are given, and a seasonal range map is included for each species. Some common names will lead to minor confusion--for example, the European sand martin is the common North American bank swallow. All transient or accidental species are considered in the work. The artwork is strictly photographic (which is not this reviewer's favorite) but effective. The Old World focus will limit desirability for many North American libraries, but those with extensive ornithological holdings will want a copy. The book is strongly recommended for those traveling or living in that part of the world.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Any individual familiar with shallow-water-living, slow-swimming manatees will know that these marine mammals are often harmed and occasionally killed by collisions with speeding boats in Florida waters. Such encounters are a major concern for manatee management. In Florida Manatees, Reynolds discusses this and other important conservation issues and describes Florida manatee history, behavior, biology, and ecology. Readers will discover some aspect of these animals that they did not know. The narrative, written for lay readers, flows well and will be comprehensible to nonscientific audiences. There are a limited number of citations available for technical sources that can be used by individuals seeking detailed information. A strong feature of this book is the collection of photographs by Lynch, a renowned professional wildlife photographer. These are informative, well-rendered, and notable for their size and clarity. Perusal of the numerous photographs located throughout the book is an enjoyable pastime. However, to do so, to treat this simply as a coffee-table book, would be a mistake; the photographs are striking and attractive, but the text relays interesting information about manatees and their management, an aspect of the book that should not be ignored.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.

Stream Fish Community Dynamics will serve as an ideal guide for students who have had an introductory course in ichthyology, and who want to learn how to conduct research on the ecology of fishes that live in freshwater streams. Authors Matthews and Marsh-Matthews (both, emer., Univ. of Oklahoma) are well known for their published research. This husband and wife research team have examined fish communities in the Midwest for more than 40 years, and their experience, as related in their book, will be essential to students. In addition to describing how their research was accomplished, the authors summarize the existing knowledge of their subject. The book is well written, covers all aspects of community ecology, and is nicely illustrated with drawings and color photographs. Overall, this text offers significant insight from two leading researchers in the field, and will serve as a valuable tool for those individuals who wish to delve further into the research.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above; researchers and faculty.

This excellent field guide contains 249 high quality color plates depicting 4,000 birds and more than 900 species, showing all plumages, readily identifiable subspecies (races), and other variants. The text is far more substantial than text in most field guides. In the convenient modern manner, text, illustrations, and range maps are on opposing pages. The binding is tight but flexible, but some text is too near the binding crease. There is a good glossary but no general bibliography. Helpful introductory material is presented, but the general map needs more named locations. Species accounts have sections on description, voice, and general notes. One wishes for the inclusion of measurements of birds' body lengths, although wing and bill lengths and weight are included. Contrary to most guides, the index is not inverse--e.g., instead of finding barn swallow under swallow, it is under barn. Nevertheless, this text can be recommended more than any other Australian guide because the authors provide vast knowledge of subspecies, extensive and informative text, and complete, superior paintings. Australian islands and Tasmania are covered, but New Zealand and the Australian Antarctic Territory are not. This work is most highly recommended for all academic levels. It is a gem to treasure.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Turtles as Hopeful Monsters is much more than a dry account of the origin of turtles. The text is about the origins of evolutionary novelty--a topic that manifests itself in several classical, historical, and ongoing debates in evolutionary theory. The traditional explanation for how evolution works is embedded in genetic variation and Darwinian natural selection, but the observed phylogeny (patterned relationships) in the fossil record often shows saltational origins of new body plans without morphological intermediates to ancestral forms. Rieppel, Rowe Family Curator of Evolutionary Biology at the Field Museum in Chicago, traces the historical origins of macroevolution ("hopeful monsters") through a long line of principally German scientific thought, leading readers to a thorough understanding of a modern view of the results of change in regulatory gene expression during the evolution of the vertebrate skeleton. His most excellent description of development of the vertebrate skull enables readers to understand the seemingly esoteric aspects of the debate on the origin of turtles--a deliberation that is traced through pre-Darwinian biology to the present day. This wonderfully illustrated book should be on the shelf of any individual whose teaching even touches upon vertebrate paleontology.Summing Up: Essential. All readers.

Wild by Nature is a scholarly work built on the thesis that wild animals in North America played a central and decisive role in efforts to colonize and "civilize" the US. Through historical documents, thoroughly researched, detailed evidence is pieced together to demonstrate how interest in and conflicts over wild animals influenced foundational laws that formed civil society. The book is organized into six chapters, along with an introduction and epilogue. The author discusses beaver and deer, chronicling how significant interest and stakes in these species forced legal decisions ranging from property rights to ownership of wildlife. Those interested in the development of laws pertaining to wildlife ownership will find rich documentation of legal battles that preceded the 1842 US Supreme Court decision known as the Public Trust Doctrine (PTD). Unfortunately, Smalley (history, Northern Illinois Univ.) omits the PTD story itself--it is one of the most important legal stories relative to wildlife. Readers will find the detail overwhelming in many sections and cumbersome to read, but the richness of the information from obscure sources serves as an invaluable reference. This book provides a thought-provoking and interesting thesis.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.

This is an excellent, attractive, authoritative, and handy field guide to an area of Brazil that includes Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Ridgely, an ornithologist and conservationist, has authored previous titles on birds of Panama and Ecuador. Tudor and Gwynne are preeminent bird artists and Argel, project coordinator and translator of the work, is a Brazilian ornithologist and author. All four individuals have collaborated on previous South American books. The present guide deals with 927 species in this rich area, 140 of which are only found in Brazil. In the modern tradition, color paintings are opposite text and range maps. The text, otherwise without blemish, would be improved with boldface markers indicating divisions for identification, vocalizations, habitat, status, etc. Engaging introductory material, more extensive than in most guides, describes habitat and various parks. The text is enhanced by quality color photographs. Other features include a list of references and indexes of Portuguese, English, and scientific names. A glossary would be helpful for some terms, such as "restinga," "cerrado," "pantanal," "araucaria," etc.--though most terms are explained in the text. Seventeen decorative and charming bird paintings are not identified but do have their respective species accounts elsewhere in the text. There are several helpful general maps. A beauty.Summing Up: Essential. All readers.