Customer Reviews

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals

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

 

 

This book is great on its own or as a companion to the [...]Smithsonian Handbooks: Mammals guide. It's not as slick or aesthetic in its layout as the Smithsonian guide, but it features about the same number of species, including some that the Smithsonian one leaves out! It is not comprehensive, but still a good representation of the important families and species.
Some of the photos are of less than stellar quality, but they ALL show a very good representation of the animals in their natural habitats. None of the animals have been cropped around the edges (As in the Smithsonian book), and the species descriptions are more in-depth.

I reccommend this book to anyone who loves photographic guides or learning about animals!

As part of my job, I am often trying to quickly look up mammalian taxonomy. Once I find the mammal, the information is good - however, getting there can be a battle. The index drives me CRAZY. For example, take peek at the sample pages. Look up 'bat' in the index. Note that it's not there. You have to know the EXACT common or scientific name to find an animal. Or else just browse through the appropriate chapter. The time I've spent just trying to find a particular species knocks this down to three stars, and that's being generous

As an animal lover I found that this book was the best for the price. I found it to be excellent for those that are looking for just common knowledge of the mamal world.