Customer Reviews

The Frogs and Toads of North America: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification,Behavior, and Calls

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a remarkable book.

It covers every species in the United States, with several photos apiece, succinct explanatory text, and, to boot, a CD containing each type of vocalization of each and every species (a couple don't vocalize). The paper stock is heavy; the printers did a great job with the photo reproduction and presentation; and it is 343 pages long.

First, the photographs in the book are stunning. Most were taken by Elliott. The authors used their very best shots of each of the species in the book, and then drew on the very best of others' work where others had perhaps even better photos. It is somewhat difficult to convey in words the quality of the photography here. It represents technique and artistry of the highest level, and many years of the best and the brightest biologists traveling throughout the country, late at night, searching out and then photographing amphibians, several of them incredibly rare.

The authors, particularly Elliott of course, are also known as preeminent natural sound recordists. The compact disc has 99 tracks, and each track succinctly represents each different call of each species. The tracks are tightly edited. When you hear an amphibian, you will easily be able to identify it using the disc. And by listening in one sitting, as I am doing as I write this review, you will be able to hear the wonderful diversity of amphibian vocalization that the authors, and certain guest recordists, have captured through many years of travel, and research, and slogging through stinky mud to capture the highest quality audio recordings in existence of these organisms. The vocalizations of the anurans are among nature's most wonderful and aesthetic inventions. This book is the definitive reference. It represents several lifetimes of work and dedication, all packed into something delicious for the rest of us to consume and ponder.

There is helpful, explanatory text on life histories, habits, maps about ranges, and discussion of conservation biology issues. What more could want?

The price? There must be some mistake. All this is selling for $13.87!! At this price every school and library in the United States should clearly have this work. As should every lover of nature and the sounds of the night.

George L. Paul

This is to my knowledge the eighth audio guide to the frogs and toads of the North American continent - and with its magnificent and voluminous photographs and informative, easy to read text - it becomes as both written and recorded guide - the definitive creation on the subject.

The book is heavy - at 344 pages. The photos are amazingly intimate. Each of the 101 species (Continental North America - Canada and USA) is described in terms of coloration and design, habitat and range, mating and egg laying habits, as well as word clusters to describe each individual sound to aid in memorization.

Lang Elliott has given us approximately 20 cds, primarily with bird song but recently including a disc on insects. Most of these accompanied books (especially the Stackpole series) with color photographs and descriptions, although a handful were purely soundscapes. His last four productions (THE MUSIC OF THE BIRDS; SONGS OF WILD BIRDS; THE SONGS OF INSECTS; THE FROGS AND TOADS OF NORTH AMERICA) have accompanied large format thick books with extraordinary color photographs and increasingly generous text (128, 128, 228, 344 pages respectively).

Lang's gentle tenor voice is friendly and warm and relays the excitement and fascination he feels about the sounds of nature. He is the able inheritor of Dr. Arthur A. Allen's laid back narrative style, which graced so many of Cornell's nature sound recordings in the 1940s through early 1960s.

For the record the other recordings devoted to frog and toad calls which span sixty years include to the best of my knowledge the following: VOICES OF THE NIGHT [1948](Cornell- six ten inch 78 rpm records- 26 Eastern species); VOICES OF THE NIGHT [reissue][1953] (Cornell - one twelve inch lp record - 34 Eastern species); SOUNDS OF NORTH AMERICAN FROGS [1958](Smithsonian - one twelve inch lp/now cd - 57 Eastern species); VOICES OF THE NIGHT [second reissue][1982] (Cornell - Cassette tape/later cd - 36 Eastern species); THE CALLS OF FROGS AND TOADS [1994] (Elliott/Stackpole book and cd - 42 Eastern species); FROG AND TOAD CALLS OF THE PACIFIC COAST [1995] (Cornell - Cassette tape/later cd - 25 Western species); FROG AND TOAD CALLS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS [1996] (Cornell - Cassette tape/later cd - 38 Western species); THE FROGS AND TOADS OF NORTH AMERICA [2009] (Elliott - book and cd - 101 species).

This is a superb volume and a great gift idea for the nature enthusiast along with all of Lang's creations. You can't go wrong when you purchase a Lang Elliott production. I heartily recommend not only this but all of Elliott's Natursound productions.

George Paul's review is an absolutely accurate a description of this book. The quality of the images are unbelievable. This is not surprising because if you see Lang Elliott's name on the book you can be sure that the photography and the recordings are superb.

This guide book has everything one could want from a field or study guide, including high-quality photography, helpful descriptions and facts, maps depicting the frog or toad species' range, and perhaps most valuable, a CD with recordings of frog songs. The book is probably too large to carry through bogs and swamps, which might be a drawback, but as a reference to throw into a backpack or keep in the car, I am unaware of a better resource. A pocket guide could be used to augment this larger and more comprehensive reference tool. The authors write conversationally and do not assume too much knowledge on the part of the reader (that is, this book can serve as an introduction to North American frogs and toads...it's not scholarly or overly technical), but at no time do they talk down to users.

Frogs and toads are an endangered and in some cases vanishing part of our ecosystems. Some have referred to them as "canaries in the coalmine," because their health and survival is a key indicator for water quality. We have much to learn from these fascinating animals, and perhaps limited time to learn it, unless humanity is willing to make the changes that so far we have seemed reluctant to make.

Apart from this more pragmatic and pedantic concern, however, is the simple fact that many frogs and toads are flat-out cool. Bizarre, colorful, cute, hideous, and perhaps most delightful, musical. My childhood summers were a continuous amphibian serenade, and my adulthood has been impoverished by city dwelling that keeps me apart from their chorus. The CD that accompanies this book was a great way to reconnect with that experience. My regret is that, as a guide book, it did not have just one long track that, while perhaps useless as an identification tool, just let the little blighters sing and sing for twenty minutes.

I already owned "Frogs and Toads of the Southeast" which didn't come with an audio CD. I bought this book for the CD, which I desperately needed.

The book itself is every bit as good as "Frogs and Toads of the Southeast" on a frog by frog basis, but this one covers ALL the frogs in North America.

The audio CD is great... I copied to my i-pod and now carry it with me whenever I'm out herping. Makes double checking audio identification a snap. ( Brag: I was 100% on my call identification the first time I took it with me! )

You're not going to find a better guide to N. American Frogs and Toads, IMO.

"Frogs of North America" by Lang Elliott, Carl Gerhardt, and Carlos Davidson is probably the best book deal within the Amazon.com book coffers that I have seen!
I just received it in the mail yesterday, and spent about 2 hours perusing its overall content. Most book reviews require the reader to at least finish the material before committing an opinion for review, but not this one!

The photographs alone are worth the price and in addition, its publishers kindly enclosed a CD with all of the identifying calls, croaks, and grunts made by these mysterious creatures.

This is a five star book that deserves an additional chorus of five croaks and... then some!

If you have even the slightest interest in amphibians, photography, science, and nature then... your missing a great deal if you haven't already ordered this book!

This is an excellent addition to the amphibian literature of North America. This book deals comprehensively with our frogs and toads and has the first complete list of recordings. The CD is beautifully produced and I will take it on field trips for many years to come for easy reference.
John Neville
Nature Recordist
www.nevillerecording.com

A beautiful book with a perfect cd. I refuse to let the book escape far from my side because I'm so in love with it. The pictures are stunning, the cd is clear and beautiful and the information (as far as I can tell) is accurate.
I'm very appreciative of the maps that show the region. Please, have some fun and get "Songs of Insects" to compliment this book. Very entertaining!

I got this book for a project I'm working on. I never suspected it would be such a hit with my 2 and 4 year old children. In fact, I suspect the authors never imagined my potty-training son begging for the frog book every time he sits on the potty.

we bought this mainly for the CD of calls to study for a frogwatch project, the clarity is great and each call is preceded by the name, and the book is great too!