Customer Reviews

Ultimate Cat Book: A Unique Photographic Guide to More Than 100 International Breeds and Variations

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The write-up and history sections of each breed in this book are very shallow, not detailed, and in some cases inaccurate. For example, the Tiffany cat was NOT produced from crossing Burmese cats with Persians as stated on page 71. It did not show any accurate pictures of the Chantilly/Tiffany breed.

Most of the information is of the level of detail about what you would expect from a middle-school or high-school book report. I was very disappointed. "The new Encylopedia of the Cat", by Dr. Fogle, which we ordered at the same time, is much better and has a lot more accurate and informative details. If you want one book, get Dr. Fogle's. "The Ultimate Cat Book" is not ultimate at all. It was a disappointment.

This is the ultimate book of cat photography. The textual material is NOT so ultimate. If you want a stunning experience, open Barron's Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds to any page in the breed description section, and look at the mediocre photographs. Then open the Ultimate Cat Book to the page about the same breed and see the breathtaking photos of the same breed! The verbal descriptions in the Ultimate Cat Book, on the other hand, leave a lot to be desired. There are no charts for ease of comparison of different breeds. The histories and descriptions are oversimpilified and contradicted by other books. It seems that the author finds it impossible to make any negative remark about any breed, which makes it impossible to weigh the pros and cons of different breeds. The whole subject of Traditional versus Extreme versions of different breeds is completely ignored - or, maybe, the authors are completely ignorant of the subject!

The TRULY ultimate cat book would consist of the photos from the Ultimate Cat Book and the text and charts from Barron's Encyclopedia. I would still recommend that every cat fancier buy the Ultimate Cat Book, but they should understand that what they are buying is the Ultimate Cat PICTURE Book.

Had it as a child and wanted to have it in my house again. Great pictures, great layout, great information for cat lovers. Amazing price, fast and easy delivery. What's there not to like?