Customer Reviews

Living Jewels: The Natural Design of Beetles (Prestel Minis)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Living Jewels shows just that: the tremendous variety of jewels that make up the population of beetles. Upon closer examination of the photographs, the "jewels" have a tremendous amount of detail, showing tiny hairs, fuzz and various protuberances. How can that much detail show up in a photograph?
The text at the beginning of the book contains many fascinating, and at times hysterical, facts about beetles. I got a good laugh about the treatment of beetles in medieval times!

This is a beautiful and unique book; the photography and printing are outstanding, and the images of the beetles are simultaneously gorgeous and bizarre.

Book is very tiny, less than five inches by 3 and a half inches. It is a mini taken from a full sized book. Way overpriced.

Despite reading other reviews, I didn't fully appreciate how small this book is until I saw it in person. The pictures are pretty, but this book is hardly worth $8.

This book contains a most colorful collection of creatures.I had never realized that the family of beetles encompassed such variety in colors, shapes, and forms. As an artist, I would recommend this book to anyone who delights in images celebrating the bizarre and the beautiful in nature.

This book contains a most colorful collection of creatures.I had never realized that the family of beetles encompassed such variety in colors, shapes, and forms. As an artist, I would recommend this book to anyone who delights in images celebrating the bizarre and the beautiful in nature.

This is a beautiful book, with incredible photos of beetles. My sons (age 4 and 8) were constantly fighting over having a turn looking at it. Which leads me to the drawback of the book...it's TINY! Why doesn't the description say this? It's like a mini book. So, when the boys were fighting over it, I put it in my pocket, and then it got lost...so I am buying another one.

This is an incredibly beautiful picture book with HUGE closeups of beetles. Since I am an entomologist & artist, it is easy to see why I bought it. However, I am not sure what audience this was aimed for. There are only six pages of text at the beginning that serve as an introduction to the beetles and the rest of the book is all photographs. Some of the photos show a whole beetle on one page and a detail of its body on the facing page, and most of the details were not terribly interesting. I never thought I could say that pictures of gorgeous beetles could be TOO big, but I think that is the case with this 10 x 13 1/2 inch book!

This book is beautifully done. The photographs are extraordinary. Fun for all, and a great tool to bring awareness to our natural world.

I got this as a Christmas gift for my stepdaughter, who likes beetles, and she loved it.