Deer of the World [Hardcover]

Valerius Geist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

Detailed, concise information on the deer family's evolution, food habits, reproduction, anti-predator behavior, social behavior, dominance displays, and ecology makes DEER OF THE WORLD the most complete, up-to-date reference available on these intriguing animals. Each species' development is traced from prehistory to the present. 200 drawings.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811704963
• ISBN-13: 978-0811704960
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,936,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book around about deer, June 18, 2000

By 

Sue Miller - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deer of the World (Hardcover)

This is the only book I found that covered all deer, and it was fascinating (although quite technical in places) and well-referenced. I work at a zoo that has several species of deer. This book gave me a deeper understanding of various species, why they are found where they are found, and the impact humans have had on deer populations. It stimulated my curiousity in other areas, and the references are allowing me to dig more deeply into various topics. I will be referring back to this book often and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in deer, evolutionary strategies, or ecology.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent, confusing & sloppy, September 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Deer of the World (Hardcover)

As a researcher attempting to use this book as a preliminary source of data/information, I have found that Geist throws around numbers without ensuring that they match ones cited earlier or later in the text; Appendix values don't match the text; some are rounded, some not; with the sloppy citations he uses, some even appear to have been plucked out of thin air. The appendix is essentially unreadable: citations, data & notes are presented in the most illogical & unintuitive format possible. Plus there are plenty of typos scattered throughout, making you question the publisher's editing skills. Granted some of the text is very interesting & informative but here again, poor formatting thwarts the reader's efforts to understand.
I was originally thrilled to find this book but now I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magnificent and Nearly Exhaustive Tome, January 21, 2010

By 

Jackson Landers (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deer of the World Hb (Hardcover)

Geist's book is a magnificent and nearly exhaustive survey of deer, past and present. It is clearly aimed at those with formal training in biology but can also be accessible to the well-read lay person. The first chapter alone is so dense with fascinating evolutionary history of cervids that I have already read it 3 times, discovering new concepts each time around.

The cost of this book is considerable. Yet also consider the years of work that it must have taken to produce a book of this size and quality. I recommend this book to anyone with a serious interest in evolutionary history and in the comparative anatomy and behaviors of both old and new world deer. If you don't have formal training in this field (I certainly do not), then I suggest reading it near a computer so that you can immediately look up any terminology that you are not familiar with.