A Natural History of Australia (Natural World) [Hardcover]

Tim M. Berra (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 1998 | Series: Natural World

A Natural History of Australia is for anyone interested in this long-isolated continent. It presents the many wonders of Australia, including geography, geology, the Aborigines, the Great Barrier Reef, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. It also covers the history, life style, and language of Australia. From rock art to giant earthworms, this book is a well-written and beautifully illustrated narrative.

Key Features
* Contains color illustrations, diagrams, and photographs throughout
* Covers the geological history of Australia as well as the biological history
* Reviews Aboriginal cultures
* Demonstrates the complexity of the Great Barrier Reef
* Includes valuable appendices for the traveler covering political, social, economic, idiomatic, and practical matters

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I urge anyone visiting Australia with a modicum of interest in its plants and animals to buy this book. It is a bargain and a natural history treasure."
-Robert C. Cashner, University of New Orleans, in OHIO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE (2000)
"A combination of tourist guidebook and primer of Austalian natural history. This book serves several functions and serves them well. First, it arms the uninitiated visitor to Australia with a brief synopsis of the most conspicuous and famous Australian animals and plants and puts them in their proper historical and geographic context. Second, it provides visiting specialists with a broad perspective of Australian natural history against which to silhouette their more detailed knowledge and allows them to branch out and learn something of other Australian taxa. Third, the volume informs the visitor about various aspects of Australian life, thereby enhancing the pleasure of the Australian experience. Finally, the glossary of Australian slang will enable you, the visitor, to understand what the Aussies are saying to you or about you."
--Harold Heatwolf in COPEIA (1999)
"Berra's nifty volume is written for the educated nonscientist and succintly summarizes the natural history of Australia in an engaging and literate style. Properly, the origin and culture of Aborigines occupies a prominent chapter with no attempt made to gloss over the current friction regarding "native title". Isolation and aridity have influenced the biota of Australia, and the author selects the more prominent examples of plants and animals to focus on the peculiarities and adaptations these species exhibit. There are continual references to the danger of humans interfering with native fauna, plus suggestions for treatment of injuries resulting from such interference. Frequent maps and photographs. A work of value to anyone eager to learn more about Australia."
--CHOICE
"This is a well-illustrated, attractive, and enjoyable book. The author clearly fell in love with Australia in his youth; he has spent some years working there, has travelled much of it, and photographed a good deal of it; a selection of his photographs complements a very readable text. The book is wisely titled 'A' natural history: its 10 chapters provide 10 tastes of Australia, from European discovery and current economic geography, the 'Gondwana legacy', the 'First Australians', to chapters on botany, marine biology, terrestrial invertebrates, and the four popular divisions of vertebrates. This is a good introduction to Australian natural history for the biologist with absolutely no prior information on the topic. ...it's worth a read: Quantas should stock it in all U.S. departure lounges."
--JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY
"Tim M. Berra set out to explain how flora and fauna have been shaped by the isolation and aridity of the continent. The book is aimed at the interested visitor, incorporating a geography of Australia and useful information for the traveller."
--NATURE
"Astounding full color pictures leap out of each page in this marvelous history of Australia. Tim Berra goes into enough detail to please the more discerning readers of natural history while remaining accessible to readers curious about Australia. His references are extensive and detailed, and more important, suggest further reading for those interested in learning more."
--EDITOR'S CHOICE REVIEW SERVICE
"Lively to read and gorgeous to look at... Illustrated with drawings and with photographs taken by the author, the book is a pleasure just to hold in one's hands... This book might be a good thing to have on hand the next time you watch a Crocodile Dundee movie."
--MANSFIELD NEWS JOURNAL
"Tim Berra has produced a book that has contributed significantly to the natural history of Australia... His writing style is informal and easy to read, making this book a welcome addition to the bookshelves of student, specialist, naturalist or anyone with an interest in Australia's natural history... Even a person who has a good knowledge of some of the topics could not fail to be impressed by this beautifully-presented and well-written book which covers such a vast range of topics so well. A book that should be on all Naturalist Club's library shelves. This book is for anyone who visits this country and has a natural history interest. Even someone like me who has lived here all her life can learn much from A Natural History of Australia."
--Cecily Falkingham in THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST
"..An intelligent, well-written, informative, quirky, and entertaining book detailing the natural history of Australia... Filled with his own glorious pictures, Berra's book is valuable both for the serious student and keen amateur."
--SUN HERALD - SUNDAY LIFE
"This publication offers an easy-to-read and well-illustrated description of the biology of Australia. It is a well-written account with excellent colour photographs together with drawings and distribution maps... It would make an ideal gift for a visitor to our shores who wishes to understand the biology of Australia in more detail than that provided by tourist literature... an attractive publication... I feel confident it will be enjoyed by all who have a fascination for our rich and precious biological heritage".
--Carrick Chambers in NATIONAL PARKS JOURNAL
"...a book to treasure, and will appeal both to Australians and visitors wanting a record of Australia's unique wildlife and environment".
--AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY FOR FISH BIOLOGY NEWSLETTER
"A comprehensive, highly readable reference guide, A Natural History of Australia includes all these facts and other fascinating information about Australia's flora and fauna."
--THE TULANIAN

From the Back Cover

As the title says,A Natural History of Australiatakes a comprehensive look at the sometimes bizarre, oftentimes spectacular, and always fascinating natural history of the island continent. It describes in words, illustrations, tables and charts, and with some truly inspiring photographs Australia's geography and geology, its Aboriginal people, the Great Barrier Reef, and its fauna and flora. It also deals with the country's colorful history, its laidback lifestyle and the quirky and entertaining brand of English that Australians speak.
A Natural History of Australiais a serious but accessible book that describes how isolation and aridity have shaped Australia's fauna and flora. The book explains the principles of Australia's biogeography and the complexity of its Great Barrier Reef. It compares the reproductive system of Australia's unique monotremes (egg-laying mammals) with those of its well-known marsupials and with placental mammals, and it reviews the latest discoveries in paleoanthropology. These are but a few of the topics discussed inA Natural History of Australia.
A Natural History of Australia, will appeal to all lovers of natural history, travelers and tourists, professional zoologists and anyone interested in Australia and its wildlife.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press (February 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0120931559
• ISBN-13: 978-0120931552
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,210,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Tim M. Berra is Professor Emeritus of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University. He received the Ph.D. in Biology from Tulane University in 1969. He is a three-time recipient of Fulbright Fellowships to Australia in 1969,1979, and 2009. He taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before joining the faculty of OSU in 1972. Over the last 40 years he has spent over 8 years doing fieldwork in Australia.

He is the author of over 75 scientific papers and 6 books including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism published by Stanford University Press in 1990. His book A Natural History of Australia (Academic Press, 1998) features 200 of his color photographs, 220 line drawings and maps, and over 500 references. Freshwater Fish Distribution featuring 169 maps, 324 fish drawings and 1,700 references was published by University of Chicago Press in 2007. His latest book, Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2009 and features 60 b/w illustrations and 16 color plates.

In 1992 he was visiting professor at the University of Concepcion in Chile, and in 1996 he was visiting professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He took early retirement from The Ohio State University in July 1995 to devote full time to research and writing.

Dr. Berra is the former editor of The Ohio Journal of Science and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where he also served on the Conservation and Collection Management Committee. He was also the ichthyological book review editor of Copeia, the journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. He resigned these positions at the end of 2000 to pursue fieldwork supported by the National Geographic Society and the Columbus Zoo in Australia in 2001.

He is a member of the Board of Governors of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and Research Associate at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, Australia where he spent most of 2001 working on the life history of the nurseryfish. He returned to Darwin in 2003, 2004, and 2005 to continue his nurseryfish research. He was back in Darwin to keynote the bicentennial celebrations of Charles Darwin's birthday at Charles Darwin University in Sept. 2009. He is University Professorial Fellow at Charles Darwin University and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Dr. Berra's paper in BioScience (May 2010) on inbreeding in the Darwin/Wedgwood families attracted international media attention including a story in the NY Times and NPR interview.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect travel guide to Australia, March 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Natural History of Australia (Natural World) (Hardcover)

This book is exactly what you need to take to Australia if you don't want to haul 15 field guides. Berra's book describes geographical areas of Oz with short descriptions of climate, physical geography, and population. An entire chapter is devoted to Australia's unique geological history, and the next is devoted to Aborigines. The rest of the book is devoted to describing Australia's unique flora and fauna, including excellent photos and range maps for many species. A chapter is devoted to each of these subjects: Plants, Saltwater organisms, Invertebrates, Freshwater Fishes, Reptiles and Amphibians, Birds, and Mammals. It is an excellent resource for people traveling to (or living in) Australia who are interested in the amazing animals and plants of the island. He also lists introduced species and (for some) their impact on native systems. It is surprisingly thorough for such an immense undertaking.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An "unfocussed" Natural History of Australia., December 23, 1999

By 

Academic traveler (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Natural History of Australia (Natural World) (Hardcover)

The natural history of Australia is described in a light and accessible style in this book by respected naturalist Tim Berra. He attempts in the early chapters to describe the geologic history of this now arid continent and later relate it to the animals and plants found in Australia. However, the book falls short by trying to do way too much in too short a space. The author resorts to a literary form of cherry picking and loses his systematic thread as he deals with the diversity of flora and fauna. An example is the chapter entitled "Some Interesting Invertebrates". The Great Barrier Reef is especially poorly dealt with as it is treated as a series of, mainly vertebrate, photo-ops and largely ignores the intricacies of the ecosystem.

The appendices degenerate into a short overview of modern Australian culture and as such are out of place in what is supposedly a book on biology.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars poorly written, January 21, 2000

By 

Mike Sorensen (Washington state) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Natural History of Australia (Natural World) (Hardcover)

I thought Tim A. Berra's "A Natural History of Australia" was a half baked research paper by a C student. It made me doubt that the author was really an expert on the natural history of Australia or just compiling a list of miscellaneous facts from numerous sources and presenting them in organized text form. There are several inexcusable holes in this list of facts as well. Understandably, anyone writing a book with a title like this would be confounded by the huge subject of evolution in this isolated continent. But instead of attempting an expository essay on this he, more-or-less, lists several key dates on evolution's time-line (many of these are on a planetary scale not specific to Oz) and leaves it at that. The two page chapter on geography explains next to nothing, historically speaking. It tells you that Australia is the flattest, driest, most stable continent etc etc, but never digs into the geologic past to say WHY. By avoiding the stories, and explanations behind WHY Australia became such a unique place the book misses its own supposed HISTORICAL point. That frustrated me. I would recommend this book only as a natural almanac full of thousands of facts and photos, but never as a natural history.