Customer Reviews

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think that all of North Americas sea shore critters can not be described in a single book. Certainly not in a book of this size. The publishers where quite bold in the scope and as such much information has been left out. That said let me tell you what is good about this book. The pictures are GREAT! Much better than looking at technical drawings. However, they are not better for identification. The descriptions of animal groups are excellent. For the person with little biological background this will go a good way toward explaining the complexities of ocean life. The method of identification, sorting by superficial appearance is handy, again for the inexperienced. To sum it up, if you want one book to carry during your first summer of beach combing get this one. If you need a companion for a marine zoology class stay away, unless you already have everything else.

I found out about Marine creatures in my Marine Bio. class, and I loved them, so I got this book to further my looking into their world, and it's great. A must have for any person interested in going to the seashore, and just watching what runs around in those tidepools and on the beach.

Perhaps I am going overboard in giving this guide a five star review but even a book with an adequate selection of color photos of marine invertebrates is just so darn beautiful I can't help but cause me to rave and this bok offers a selection that is more than just adequate. There is no way one can include all of the seashore creatures of US into one volume let alone a field guide and Audubon guides are not the best things to use for taxonomy. That being said it is a gorgeous little book and certainly helpful to the average beachcomber. Even if you are a Midwestern landlubber this is a great little volume. If nothing else consider it a mini coffee table book.

I live in North Carolina and catch and keep a lot of Invertebrates we we go to the beach. So far, every Invert that we've caught has been in this book, easy to find and we found out alot about it by reading. Anyone who sees something cool at the beach often should get this book. In fact, it's a Must-Have.
Shredda Out

This is an essential book for beachcombers, tidepool explorers and nature enthusiasts. The descriptions are clear and brief. Photos of sea life are well done as well.

I bought this as a gift for young children. They loved it because they could match up creatures they found to the pictures. It is a great learning tool and reference.

We purchased this book before our vacation to the beach. It came very quick and we were excited at the small size. (easier to transport). VERY informative and has the most beautiful pictures. We had a blast looking up our shells and other finds while on vacation. A+

I would recommend this book to anyone traveling the North American Seashore. I am an avid "nature" lover and purchased this book prior to visiting the Gulf of Mexico. I wanted to be able to identify any creatures I found/saw while "taking in the beach". The National Audobon Society always does an incredible job of displaying high quality photos and giving descriptions that are easy to understand. This book is very "user friendly" and would be great as a learning tool for families with children when visiting North American seashores.

We have used many Audubon field guides as learning tools with our children over the years. We took them with us anytime we went camping, hiking, canoeing, or to local parks. When I was a child, I was afraid of pretty much anything that "crept or crawled". Once I had 3 boys of my own, I realized I needed to "educate myself" so that I wouldn't pass on this "learned behavior". The field guides were very educational and helped me escape the fear. Knowledge is the key! My 3 boys grew up very interested in nature. They knew which creatures were poisonous and which were "safe". I credit the Audubon Society books and field guides for that.

Easy to use and fun to use. I have every one of the field guides!

As with all the Audubon Field Guides, so too with this one. The color plates are the best in the "field" of field guides; these photos are indispensible for anyone who loves to beachcomb or investigate tidepools.

The durable leatherette cover and heavy duty book binding make this a book that can easily stand up to alot of wear and tear.

The descriptive information is good; where the text starts to show deficiencies is in the Range, Habitat, and Comments sections of each species. The information tends to be vague and merely glosses over critical facts that should be included. I can only assume it's the usual story of the editors not having enough space to include more relevant information.

The index is cross-referenced to the color plates; this is a big plus when out in the field attempting to do identifications. As far as a good tool to increase one's knowledge of the natural world, this field guide is helpful and deserves a place in any naturalist's library.

The Cloud Reckoner

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