Rodents of the World (Of the World Series) [Hardcover]

David Alderton (Author), Bruce Tanner (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996 | ISBN-10: 0816032297 | ISBN-13: 978-0816032297 | Edition: 1st

An overview of the family of rodents, from rats and mice to porcupines and flying squirrels, complete with zoological details.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File; 1st edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816032297
• ISBN-13: 978-0816032297
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,237,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Alderton, MA (Cantab.) grew up in a home surrounded by pets and originally trained to be a vet until an allergic dermatitis forced a change of career in his final year of study. Since then, David has used his experience, knowledge and passion for the subject to concentrate on writing about animals and the natural world.

David also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and has recently set up the website www.petinfoclub.com while his blog can be found at www.davidalderton.com His books have currently sold some 6.5 million copies worldwide and are available in 30 languages. He has won various awards for his work, including the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers Association of America, and he is well-known as a columnist on various newspapers and magazines, as well as editing Practical Reptile Keeping magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a field guide but an interesting book about the big world of rodents, February 13, 2010

By 

Timothy B. Riley (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rodents of the World (Of the World Series) (Hardcover)

When you mention the subject of rodents people wrinkle up their noses and shudder a bit. Because mankind has lived in close proximity to (and has been plagued by) mice and rats many people have strongly negative feelings about the entire order and some are even unaware that it includes diverse animals such as the prairie dog (which is a type of ground squirrel), the porcupine, the beaver and the hog-sized capybara of South America. As a matter of fact over 40 percent of the world's mammals are of the order Rodentia. This book gives an overview of this fascinating branch of animals that have existed (relatively unchanged) since Late Paleocene epoch, about 60 million years ago.

The book is divided into 8 chapters. They are:

*1 Rodents and People

*2 Form and Function

*3 Reproduction

*4 Evolution and Distribution

*5 The Order Rodentia

*6 Sciuromorpha: Squirrel-like Rodents

*7 Myomorpha: Mouse-like Rodents

*8 Caviomorpha: Cavy-like Rodents

The book is well written but not overly scientific. It is generously supplied with dozens of full color photographs of varying quality. I am an avid bird watcher but I enjoy a wide variety of wildlife including many (but not all) of the members of the order that this book gives an excellent description of, that of rodents.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rodents are fun to watch., November 7, 2002

By 

Jason Toney "Cold Michigan" (Marshall, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rodents of the World (Of the World Series) (Hardcover)

I happend to run across this book while doing a search for rodents. It's a great book, but it could have been better. What was intriguing to me was that, generally, when you think of a rodent, you think of something small, like a mouse or a hamster, etc. It's hard to believe that the largest rodent is the size of a dog, and grazes right along side cattle. This book would be good for anyone doing research on these particular animals, or if you just feel like reading up on them.