Animalwatching: A New Guide to the Animal World [Hardcover]

Desmond Morris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- In this heavily illustrated volume, Morris covers everything from microscopic creatures to mammalian giants, but he concentrates on the higher forms. His writing style is fresh and conversational in tone, and it is apparent that he is at once charmed and intrigued by the creatures he has so intensely observed. He avoids theories and academic abstractions, concentrating on behavior patterns that anyone sufficiently interested could see and study. The full-color photographs, one or more per page, have captions that elaborate on the text. The one drawback to the bibliography is that most of the publications are British and might be a bit difficult to locate except at a major public or university library.
- Cynthia J. Rieben, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crown; First edition (October 28, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 051757859x
• ISBN-13: 978-0517578599
• ASIN: 051757859X
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,337,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Desmond Morris was born in 1928. Educated at Birmingham and Oxford universities, he became the Curator of Mammals at London Zoo in 1959, a post he held for eight years.

In 1967 he published The Naked Ape which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and has changed the way we view our own species forever.

An accomplished artist, TV presenter, film maker and writer, Desmond Morris's books have been published in over thirty-six countries.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic photographs catalog animal behavior, December 15, 2008

By 

Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Animalwatching: A New Guide to the Animal World (Hardcover)

This great coffee table book catalogs the wide variety of the animal kingdom, from insects to primates. The numerous photos (> 500) illustrate the text well With such as broad focus, Morris only presents an overview, and the writing is sometimes antidotal and conversation, which helps to impart his enthusiasm for some of most remarkable behaviors imaginable. Included are moles that paralyze worms, and then can build an "underground larder" of up to a thousand living worms. There is a photo of a leafy sea dragon in the chapter on Camouflage. In the chapter on warning signals is a remarkable photo of an upside down Oriental fire-bellied toad that is giving its own warning. The chapter on "Mutual Aid" was a favorite of mine, with cleaner shrimps and oxpeckers. Another favorite chapter was on Facial Expressions, with insights to both canine and feline facial expressions. The illustration of bird courtship displays included the Western Grebe, and the chapter on Arena displays included the remarkable grouse and bowerbirds. This bird presents Morris's common sense insights, but does not go into evolution of these behaviors or abstract theories.