Customer Reviews

Guide to Marine Invertebrates: Alaska to Baja California, 2nd edition (revised)

5 star:		(2)
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3 star:		(1)
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This volume is composed of a collection of attractive color photographs of marine animals, taken from life. If this is what you are looking for, then this small book may be for you. If, on the other hand, you want a useful field guide to marine life, look elsewhere. The choice of species to be included seems to have been largely based on how photogenic the animal is, not on how common it is or how likely to be encountered. On the positive side, the names of the animals have been vetted by respected experts in the various fields. I personally like picture books of pretty marine animals. I purchased this one for the quality of the photos. I only wish that the author accepted that he has made a picture book, not a field guide, and adopted a more suitable design that would have done his photos more justice. An occasional full page image would have been welcome, as well as a larger format.

This is an excellent guide to the invertebrates of the pacific coast. Make sure you get this updated 2nd edition, the older version (though still useful) is getting a bit dated. The pictures are fantastic, and identification is easy. Not all species are shown, but most of the critters I see underwater are illustrated in the book. There is one other book I like even better, but it costs more and isn't quite as small/portable: Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds And Selected Fishes. That book contains similar high-quality pictures, but a lot more of them, and includes organisms besides invertebrates (nice algae/kelp id section).

I have this in my office and refer to it often to look up organisms. It's great and sturdy in the field as well. Great pictures and good information.