Probably More Than You Want to Know About the Fishes of the Pacific Coast (Paperback)

by Milton Love (Author) "Unfortunately, many of you do not know the names of various parts of fishes..." (more)
Key Phrases: drifting kelp mats, marine recreational catch, cow rockfish, Baja California, British Columbia, Bering Sea (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 386 pages
• Publisher: Really Big Press; 2 edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962872555
• ISBN-13: 978-0962872556
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #478,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book., July 20, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Shelton, Washington) - See all my reviews

If you have any interest at all in the fishes of the Pacific Coast, this is THE book. I recommend it to the students in my Marine Biology class as one of the most accurate and fun (!) works they will find. The information is up there with the classics by David Starr Jordan, whose books are now collectables. Dr. Love, who is legendary in the world of Fisheries for his research and publications, has added his distinct sense of humor to the usually dry descriptions of fishes. If you are interested in Marine Biology of Fishes you need this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fish are Funny!, March 15, 2003

By	Jedidiah Palosaari "Not My Real Name" (New Glarus, WI) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Without a doubt, the funniest taxonomic work on Ichthyology you will ever come across- and extremely and extensively informative to boot. Even the preface is a delight to read, where Love discusses the intelligence of fish (stupider than the stupidest mouse to ever live), if fish sleep, how their names relate to Communism, if they will harm us emotionally, and Love's relative intelligence when compared to other marine biologists. Then he goes through, fish by fish, all the main species off the Pacific Coast, from BC to SoCal. (If you're looking for fish from the Gulf of Alaska, you will be disappointed.) He begins with Myxini and Petromyzone, moves to Chondrichthyes, and then onto Osteichthyes. (Hagfish, Lampreys, Sharks and Rays, and Bony Fish- for fish are actually four different creatures, as separate from each other as Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals are from each other.) Each section looks at the identifying characteristics, distribution, anatomy, commercial fishery, and extra tidbits, still with that trademark humor. And then there's a bit of the parasitic at the tail end of the book. Perhaps my favorite line: "Your average hagfish can take a bucket full of water and almost solidify it with slime in a few minutes. (I don't know about you, but that makes me proud to be American.)"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing teacher, amazing author. , June 14, 2008

By	Kiki (Santa Barbara, California) - See all my reviews

I know Milton in real life from UCSB, and he is as hilarious and knowledgeable as he is in the book. I'm studying marine biology, and this helped me so much.