Customer Reviews

Compendium of Seashells

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Since childhood, I've loved the beach and seashells. In our library are a dozen or so books on shells, but this is undoubtedly the best I've ever read. Small, unimportant shells that abound on the Gulf Coast are difficult to find in ordinary books, resulting in the fact that I'd picked them up since childhood, but didn't know what they were. I know now, thanks to the "Compendium of Seashells." If a person could have only one book on seashells, this is the one to buy.

An smashing reference book that is currently unsurpassed in the UK for its comprehensive pictorial catalogue of seashells. Most of the photographs are very well presented, possibly slightly marred by them all being in 35mm X 50mm format. This is fine for the shells up to about 150mm but with the larger shells it is difficult to see any real fine detail. When this is combined with even a slightly reduced standard photograph, then the result can be poor. The inclusion of some larger format photographs would have enhanced this otherwise well laid out book both in terms of better detail but also a more pleasing appearance. Each photograph does have the shell's average size which is a helpful inclusion. The written sections are precise and succinct. S. Peter Dance's book `Shells' published by Dorkling Kindersley and very modestly priced in the UK, has an excellent lay out and brilliant photographs, albeit smaller with 254 pages. If these two books were combined, using the latter's layout with the comprehensiveness of the Compendium, it would make the definitive all time guide.

In starting to classify shells this book was recomemded to me by several people. My sister and I both purchased this book. She was lucky enough to find one sign by Dr. Abbott. This book has helped us numerous times. The pictures are good for helping identify the shells. The information on the shells is also very helpful.

I have been a shell collector for a very long time now. This is now my second copy of this book, as I have worn the first copy out. It is the most comprehensive identifier book around. The color photos are excellent, and the amount of species depicted is impressive! This book, along with Jerome M. Eisenberg's A Collectors Guide to the Sea Shells of the World, are probably the only two books on Sea Shells, a novice collector will ever need. The serious collector will also benefit from these books as well.

I have been a shell collector for more than 25 years and along this years, this is the first time that I get such an interesting, well-documented, beautyfully illustrated and skillfully designed book on this subject. I am very happy with this purchase. The book has 411 pages with information and has about 12 photographs in each page giving a perfect appreciation of thousands of shells from everywhere. Each photo includes the common name (obviously valid in English speaking countries only), the scientific name, average length of adults (in centimeters and inches), brief information of geographical distribution and synonym names. Oh!, I almost forget to say that the authors,R. Tucker Abbott and S. Peter Dance are two famous conchologists leading this field of science for many, many years. So, this book informs, teaches and makes it very funny to learn and investigate in the universe of shells. "Bon apetit", collectors!!!

I'm currently cataloging a extremely large seashell collection that was donated to a museum. This book has made the job much easier than I thought I would be. It is organized in a way that makes terrific sense so you can easily find the section you are looking for.....I'm using a library copy, but I definiely want one for my own collection and library.

Book was fairly priced, arrived quickly, was packaged properly for protection and met the customer's needs. That is definitely worthy of a 5-star rating.