Compendium of Seashells [Hardcover]

R. Tucker Abbott (Author), S. Peter Dance (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 411 pages
• Publisher: Odyssey Pub; 4 edition (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966172000
• ISBN-13: 978-0966172003
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,274,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars praise for an excellent book, October 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Compendium of Seashells (Hardcover)

This excellent and well organized reference work contains 4,200 full colour photos of dead shells and is designed for the amateur collector. All categories of marine shells are described and illustrated from all the oceans of the world. It includes geographical and ecological information on over 180 species of cowries, 334 cones, 132 volutes and 140 scallops. It is also invaluable for anyone who is interested in identifying what they find along the seashore or see in the ocean. I have owned this book since 1992 and have not come across a superior book on the same subject. However it is in this day and age sad to see all those thousands of dead marine creatures and I would certainly not encourage anyone to collect shells as a hobby. Lets protect and preserve the marine environment for future generations... For divers or indeed budding shell collectors who are interested in seeing/identifying live shells in their natural habitat. I would highly recommend 'Nudibranchs and Sea Snails' by Helmut Debelius [over 1000 excellent colour photos of living subjects] This book focuses on the Indo-Pacific region and is the best book I have ever seen on this subject illustrating living creatures. If the people who collected shells could see the stunning beauty of the live animal I am sure they would have second thoughts about killing them either directly or by proxy.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for every seashell collector's library., April 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Compendium of Seashells (Hardcover)

We have used the Compendium since it was first published as our primary identification reference. It is well organized, the pictures clear and colorful. It is a valued reference used by many in our museum library.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent general reference for collectors, January 19, 2005

By 

K. Kasabian (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Compendium of Seashells (Hardcover)

This book is an incomparable worldwide reference for both amateur and serious shell collectors alike. Though comprehensive, it is not a complete resource for all 30,000+ species of marine mollusks; rather, the book includes a wide range of the most attractive, desirable, rare and available shells today. Much attention is given to the following groups: cones, cowries, volutes, murexes, scallops, thorny oysters, limpets and periwinkles.

The shells in this book are grouped according to species and each includes a photograph of the shell, usually in pristine condition. This is good for the buyer, though it can sometimes be confusing for collectors who acquire shells on the beach, since found specimens typically vary greatly in appearance from a gem-quality specimen. This makes identification more challenging.

Nevertheless, this book is at the heart of my shell book collection; if you typcially collect shells in one particular region, it would probably be a good idea to supplement this with a field guide devoted to shells in that region.