Customer Reviews

Animal Life: Secrets of the Animal World Revealed (American Museum of Natural History)

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This color-drenched, fact-packed, museum-in-a-book falls open to a double-page spread of a rainbow-hued lizard with a catapulting tongue as long as its body caught in the act of snaring dinner. Or maybe a double-page spread of a maniacal hyena frightening off a pack of dogs. Not an image to share with your 5-year-old before bedtime. Or yourself, for that matter.

But it's not all big spreads of amazing pictures. The photos are great, but most are a lot smaller in order to fit as many in as possible. Like the Natural History Museum itself, the book aims to teach and inspire its readers and browsers to go out and learn more.

It begins with an overview of animal classification, followed by an exploration of the various anatomies animals have evolved to accomplish the basic tasks of circulation, support, digestion, reproduction, etc.

But the book's heart is behavior. Here we find the action shots and the awe-inducing factoids concerning eight major areas of life: Living Space, Hunting and Feeding, Defense, Sex and Reproduction, Birth and Development, Society, Communication, and Intelligence.

There's a marvelous spread of bats night fishing and smaller, more educational shots of their big ears and sharp teeth. We see cubs play fighting adorably and their parents putting those lessons to work in the real world. While the shots of fierce birds and cute mammals always draw the eye, some of the most fascinating creatures are the insects and amphibians we seldom see or pay attention to.

The Texas horned lizard, for instance, repels attackers with a squirt of its own foul-tasting blood and up to 100 male garter snakes will mob a female in a big squirming ball, from which she will choose just one. There are water spiders that breathe air but build a silken diving bell that allows them to live underwater their whole lives.

I could go on and on, of course; readers will pore over the text and pictures both. While the information is necessarily broad and the facts tantalizing, many readers may be inspired to learn more about the animals within. A gorgeous and fascinating overview of the animal kingdom for all ages.

A beautiful book, as all DK references tend to be, this covers every aspect of animal life from taxonomy, and anatomy, to behavior. Because the magnitude of what the book chooses to cover is so broad, it has to be brief and skim some topics, but it is an incredible collection of animal facts assembled all in one place that is pertinent to either the lay person, even school age children, to zoologists, as I am. Even though I already know about much of the subjects, it is still a pleasure to look at the stunning pictures and detailed graphics. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in animals.

02 days ago i recieved this magnificient tome via amazon.com.i've waiting for this book for some time.i own almost every dk visual books of this kind(animal,earth,universe,ocean,rainforest,human,bird,butterfly,frog,reef)by far this is the most amazing.if you want to learn every thing about animal life & their secret behavior while looking at the most astonishing wild life photography this is your ticket to heaven.this 6 pound book is a treasure for those who love nature,wild life & briliant photography.i love this superb book.cant wait what dk is planing for us next.go get this wonderful tome & be entraled.dk you are the best.

This was a Christmas gift for our child. The pictures are amazing, and it's front-to-back eye candy. But it's also a serious, detailed, and engaging overview of the animal world - when we read through parts of the book together I always learn something new and genuinely interesting.

It's potentially useful to a child for a decade. And it's huge. We're very happy that we bought it.

We purchased this book for our 6th grader who is in love with wildlife. She loves this book. It has tons of amazing photographs. It has great small snippets of information to go with the photographs as well. It was well worth the price, which is way lower on Amazon than in the book stores.

Great pictorial for adults and children of all ages. Beautiful photographs and well written comments.

I thought I'd reviewed this already....this book is beautiful and is organized by things like camouflage, etc. which makes it really great to browse. I bought it to have on my desk in my biology class (high school) and the boys love to pick it up and browse.

This is a gorgeous book! I love DK books. The photos are always stunning and I love all the little tidbits of information showcased here and there. It is very informative and introduces you to a wide range of species. Just enough to wet your appetite for more. This would be a great gift for someone who is just beginning to explore the animal kingdom. I highly recommend!

DK and Charlotte Uhlenbroek have gone the extra mile in "Animal Life."

This book is brilliant, perfectly designed and illustrated. The narrative text is crisp and concise, and if it is possible, they have out National Geographiced, National Geographic. Truly, this book is destined to be a well used resource/treasure in any home it finds itself. Schools, and biology students dare not be without it. The layout/discussions are appropriate for numerous levels of academia, and the price point makes it attractive for nearly all schools. Sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History, AL well represents sponsor, author and information.

To say this volume lacks any detail would be a lie. I sat down many times to read, and found myself lost in the world of animals again and again. What Uhlenbroek accomplishes is not to be underestimated.

Our world of wild-life is stunning, and this book accurately reproduces that same quality.

From the first pages of this book I was mesmerized. The photographs are amazing and the information is very interesting. For anyone who is an animal fanatic (like myself) and interested in learning new and interesting facts about all sorts of animals, this book is a must. And for the cost, its definitely something to add to your collection. I have been very pleased with the purchase of this book, and would recommend it to anyone!