Customer Reviews

Lizards of the American SW

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is essential for anybody who is interested in southwestern lizard species. The authors, all 77 of them, have created a field guide that is rich with details about each animal it covers, and it covers a lot. If you are familiar with Lawrence Jones' previous publications, such as Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest, then you will recognize the format of this book and its species accounts. Rather than have pictures, species accounts, and range maps all in separate sections, like Stebbins does in A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians (Peterson Field Guide), this book lays them all out together for each species. Therefore, for each species you look at, you'll get the range map*, assorted information (characteristics, habitat, natural history, distribution, variation/subspecies, etc.), and typically 4-5 beautiful photographs of the animal and/or its habitat. Both formats have their pros and cons, and I find both serve their purposes depending on your specific needs when you open the book. It is something to be aware of, however, if you have a preference one way or the other.

Organization is by Family, so it's easiest if you have a little bit of knowledge of taxonomy first. If not, there's a handy quick guide in the back of the book that shows you representative pictures and tells you what page to turn to to find lizards that resemble that. Also included in the book is a checklist for the Southwest, with every species clearly shown with what states it is known to occur in. The book also contains a glossary in the back. One "bad" thing is that the Latin names of the animals are whatever has been most recently assigned, which means that they're not necessarily fully recognized by the community yet. It is something to keep in mind, that not all Latin names are widespread and you may need to do the ol' parentheses trick (i.e., "Phrynosoma coronatum (='blainvilli')."

For the list price of $25, or ~$16.50 on Amazon, this book is a steal. It is a monster at 568 pages, but that's 568 pages of great information. It's clear from reading the book that the authors were passionate about writing it; it's even more clear when you read inside that not a single of the 77 contributors received compensation for their work, and that 100% of the proceeds go to supporting The Herpetologists' League. If you are looking for a new, current, go-to book for lizards of the American Southwest, pick up this book. You will not regret it.

*Edit 1/13/10: One negative thing I have to say about this book since I've been using it for quite a while now is that I really don't find the range maps to be very intuitive. They are done in the very useful way of color coding subspecies. However, in the interest of saving space(?), the subspecies are not given to you on the map. Instead it tells you to turn to page 559 to see what the color codes mean (for every species). So if you look at that page, it tells you that such and such color means subspecies 1, the next color means subspecies 2, etc. etc. and that the subspecies are numbered alphabetically. Okay, great, that's easy enough. Except when you go back to the subspecies section of whatever species you're interested in, the subspecies are not LISTED alphabetically and are only mentioned in a single block of text (as opposed to a list or separate paragraphs), requiring you to read through the section and then figure out the alphabetical order. I would have GLADLY paid a few extra dollars to have the subspecies names just printed right next to the map; I assume this wasn't done to save a little extra space and keep the pages and price down. It takes much too long as it is right now to figure out which color corresponds to which subspecies. Authors, all of you, you put together a fantastic book and I recommend it without hesitation to anybody interested in lizards. It is GREAT and I thank you for writing it just so I could own it and use it and learn so much more about these lizards. I just don't get why the range maps weren't done in a more user friendly way...

I bought this book for $16.47 (it lists for $25.00) and it would be a heck of a buy at twice the price - heck even thrice the price. The book is HEAVY, well bound, highest quality photos both in how taken and how reproduced by Rio Nuevo Press in Tucson. Just a great deal on what will become a classic book on this aspect of popular herpetology.

I particularly like that the authors/editors did not try to do it all themselves - they enlisted the help of many other herpetologists, presumably based upon those scholars' specialities, and yet the authors/editors have instituted a great format for each species, including what you'd expect from a field guide, but also much more. I particularly like the occasional personal observations, and of equal worth is the section under each species telling us where best to view this species.

Obviously I am a fan now of this book. Anyone else who is interested in the American Southwest's lizard fauna will be too once they have their own copy in hand.

This book tells you everything about identifying lizards, where to find them and helpful remarks. The text is easy to read and the pictures are high quality making great visual aids. An enormous amount of knowledge went into this book including information on each lizard and how to tell them apart. Sometimes you really have to catch a lizard to be sure what it is. This book provides instructions on how to noose a lizard but it's very difficult to catch one alive. The first few times I tried to noose a lizard it got away. Then I started pulling harder on the noose but ended up strangling a lizard. Now I just feel bad about trying to catch one this way. I thought I had carefully followed the instructions line by line. Maybe this activity is best left to the experts. Anyway, everyone, good luck in all your lizard watching and don't forget to buy this most essential book.

This book should cost so much more for what's in it. It's well worth the money. This book is too large to be a field guide but it's an excellent resource for anyone who is in the field.

I had the privilege of being one of the 77 authors, and I applaud Jones and Lovich for undertaking such an ambitious project. They went to great effort to hunt down experts for each species and solicit their involvement. I cannot imagine trying to coordinate the writing from so many different people. While general guidelines were given to authors, each entry clearly has its own style and it is evident that the writers care deeply about their topic. Maps and taxonomy are up to date. There are many beautiful and unique photos. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is that I would not consider it a field guide in the strict sense of the word. You could carry it into the field, but it would be cumbersome. Also, a traditional field guide like Stebbins' is a bit easier for quick identification (you have to get past the first 100 pages before you are actually into the species accounts). But you will certainly learn more about the quirks and wonders of each species with this book. This is a serious yet fun book about lizards of the American Southwest and will be well-loved by casual and serious lizard lovers. I learn something each time I open the book!

This is a top-notch field guide. The text is informative, and the illustrations are superb. Highly recommended.

Don't let the low price fool you...This book deserves to be sold in the [...] range. The general information, photographs, and species accounts are the best I have seen! It is a must have for every herpetologist and naturalist. I was fortunate to meet Larry Jones in the Chiricahuas this summer and he showed me his copy...When I stopped by the Chiricahua Desert Museum, they had just that day gotten in their shipment, Larry had autographed them, and that's where I got mine copy ([...]). [...]

This book is just great value for your hard earned money, if you look at the details, number of photos and well written text this is a MUST buy !

This book is a must-have for serious herpetologists and the general public alike. The pictures are beautiful and the natural history on each species is very thorough. Definitely recommend!

I would highly recommend this book for all professional and non-professional biologists and herpetologists or nature-lovers who study and/or enjoy nature in the southwest. This book has spectacular photos and is well written. Also the profits from this book benefit students researchers, through a grant from the Herpetologists' League. What more could you want?