Reviews (13)

A Must Have!
I just returned from a 10 day safari in Tanzania. The Safari Companion was informative and enlightening. Our tour guide asked me for my copy when the safarai was over! It seems the book is in such high demand in Africa, it commands nearly double the cover price. I gave her my copy. Because I enjoyed reading it so much on the trip and hope to use it to explain the 500+ pictures I took while there, I ordered another one when I came home!

Great for Amateurs
Most African Mammal guides are designed for people working in that field. Here, we have one specifically designed for the average enthusiast who wants to know a bit more than provided in the also essential Audobon Guide to African Wildlife. Let's face it - while you may get the occasional bird or even reptile enthusiast, it's the mammals that capture the imagination of the average person on the street when it comes to the wildlife of Africa.

You don't have to travel to the Dark Continent to enjoy this one, and - in acknowledgement that people can be interested in wildlife without necessarily being able or willing to go on Safari - it's also designed for use if you're fortunate enough (as I am) to be a regular at a quality zoo or even a regular viewer of "National Geographic" or "Nature".

The book is very easy to use and browse through, explaining habits and noting the best parks and reserves for each animal, as well as the animal's major predators or relationship with other predators. You don't have to look through it long to wish for similar volumes for Asia and North America.

Certainly worthy of being one of the first books on the shelf of anyone who loves African wildlife.

The perfect safari companion
Just returned from a safari to Tanzania. This book, along with the Audubon Field Guide to African Wildlife, made our experience that much better. The information contained in this book embellishes the wildlife viewing experience, by providing fascinating and in-depth information about the animals seen there. The text is organized very well and crammed full with useful information. Highly recommended reading for before a safari, and especially while there.

My most-thumbed book in Botswana
This is the book my tracker had in his jeep on a trip I took to southern Africa (SA, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia). My tracker didn't need it, but I found it fantastic reading during siestas and the longer drives. There are so many behavioural explanations missing from the standard safari guide. What's the difference between a high-horn threat and a low-horn threat in a roan antelope? I could see the different display postures, and this book told me a little more precisely what the display was all about. The only problem with this book is that there is no guide to spoor, so you'll have to get one. There are no colour photos, which is good for identification, because you don't want to get hung up on slight colour variations. Sometimes a roan antelope is about the same colour as a sable antelope. Look at the other identification marks. Anyway, as soon as I found a bookshop, I bought my own copy, and I still refer back to it.

Excellent but illustrated
While I agree with most of the other reviewers comments,I wouldn't agree that it is the only book you need. Descriptions and explanations are exemplary but the book is black/white illustrations with no color and no photographs. ... Read more

Book Description

Wild Orphans tells the emotional tale of eight baby elephants living in the nursery of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphanage at the Nairobi National Park in Kenya, East Africa.It chronicles their story over two long years, including memorable images of the rescue of abandoned baby elephants, their upbringing by dedicated 24-hour surrogate human "mothers," the lessons they learn, and ultimately, their release back into the wild. The stars of Wild Orphans are the "Orphan 8":eight babies who arrived at the orphanage during the summer of 1999, a time of prolonged drought and increased ivory poaching.They are:Natumi - Rescued froma well at just two months old after her mother was killed by hunters, she is the ringleader of the eight and is very possessive of the smaller babies; Icholta - Rescued at six weeks old after being abandoned by her herd.She is small for her age, with soft fuzz on her head, and is very gentle and friendly; Ilingwezi - Rescued at just one month, she was abandoned by her herd after falling into a deep gully.She is very sweet and playful; Idie - Four months old when rescued from a well, Idie grieved deeply for the family that abandoned her.Idie and Ilingwezi are now best friends; Nyiro - Found in a trench, he is sturdy and tough.As the smallest and most out-going of the group, he is a great favorite among the bigger elephants; Salama - Just three or four months old when abandoned by a herd that was fleeing poachers, Salama is tough, confident, and occasionally pushy; Lolokwe - He was rescued after falling into a well at just one month old.It is possible that he, Salama, and Nyiro all share the same father; Laikipia - She was rescued at four months after falling down a well. While Wild Orphans focuses on the adventures of these elephants, the reader will also be introduced to other orphans living in the nursery, their caregivers, older "graduate" elephants who return to teach the babies, and the greater story of the African elephant's plight.Never before has a photographer been granted this kind of access or spent this length of time photographing these orphans of Nairobi.Never before has their return to the wild been documented.Wild Orphans is certainly a landmark in nature photography and journalism, but it is also, perhaps more importantly, a story:One that will warm the soul and pull at the heart-strings of all animal-lovers. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Captivating Photographic Essay of Orphaned African Elephants
Photographer Gerry Ellis spent 2 years with the orphaned elephants of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust at the Nairobi National Park in Kenya in order to document the rescues, daily lives and preparation to return to the wild for these young elephants who have fallen victim to natural and unnatural disasters. In the summer of 1999, prolonged drought and increased ivory poaching brought brought more orphaned baby elephants to the Trust in one season that it had seen in the entire previous decade. Gerry Ellis followed, photographed, and got to know 8 of the young elephants who were one month to one year old when they arrived at the Wildlife Trust. Through more than 100 photographs and accompanying text, we meet the "Orphan 8", learn of the challenges of raising them, observe as the youngsters recover from their injuries and fear, adjust to life at the Trust, develop relationships with one another and with their human keepers, and, after 2 years, move to Tsavo National Park, where they will eventually be released into the wild. An essay by Gerry Ellis introduces each of the book's 6 chapters. Detailed explanations accompany all photographs -not as captions, but full-sized text. I've long been a fan of Gerry Ellis' fine art nature photography, but "Wild Orphans" is fantastic photojournalism and more personal work than I have seen from Ellis before. Ellis' love for this project shows. Admirers of elephants and those concerned with their fate -or that of African wildlife in general- won't want to miss "Wild Orphans".

I LOVE THIS BOOK
I LOVE THIS BOOK!It ranks up there with rainy days, wet puppy noses and double iced mochas.

The text was written by the photographer.The photographs alone are priceless.I think it is also a very valuable contribution to the ongoing oftentimes contentious debate about human intervention in the animal kingdom.This book makes an eloquent statement that there are times when it is appropriate to intervene, save the lives of the animals and educate humans on the importance of maintaining animal habitat in the process.

What I enjoyed the most was the gradual realization of the author that we are all connected - human and animal.We have created the conditions that are killing these animals through our unsound environmental practices.There is no conscionable way to turn our backs on the animals that are being forced to live in what we have created.We must admit our responsibility for the environmental chaos we have created and help where we need to.To simply look the other way as these elephants die and throw out the excuse that it's "nature", "the law of the land" or worse yet "survival of the fittest" is inhuman.

It is extremely touching.For those of you who can't tolerate another anthropomorphic happy-meal animal book, some die as they are being rescued and some after.

The information on GLOBIO and the work they are doing world wide is a valuable teaching tool for children.

You wont forget it!
Bought this for my niece, she loves it.Beautiful photography.

Fantastic
The photography is amazing and that alone is worth getting this book.However the stories behind each picture and story of each member of the Orphan 8 are extremely touching, and provide a wonderful insight between humans and elephants.It will leave you in awe of the difference the wonderful people at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust make in this endeavor to help save the African Elephant. ... Read more

Book Description

The generation of mutant mice raises many questions about the best means of phenotypic analysis, breeding, and maintenance. The answers are now available from two experts with a wealth of detailed knowledge never previously assembled in one volume. Informal and highly practical, this handbook provides step–by–step methods for troubleshooting experiments, from the basics of gene targeting through the analysis of postnatal effects. ... Read more

Book Description

Descriptions of 380 species include size, weight, color, markings, number of teeth, habitat, habits, and comparisons with similar species.Superb color illustrations and line drawings show 230 animals.Range maps as well as photos of skulls and drawings of animal tracks, dens, nests, and burrows round out the wealth of information given in "the best general guide to all of North America" (Peter Warshall, Whole Earth Review). ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Out of date
Unfortunately this book has not been updated in over 25 years. Taxonomic changes in some groups of mammals have left this rather inadequate. The illustrations aren't bad except for sea mammals which have black and white sketches for illustrations. It may have been a decent guide when it came out, but I don't see the point in publishing a book which may not have the animal you're looking at in it! This book needs a revision.

Beware!
This book was issued in 1976 not in 1998 as I was led to believe...... I just received my copy and it is a 3rd edition, clearly copyrighted in 1976. Apparently it was reprinted recently, but not updated. Who knows how much has changed on our knowledge of mammals over the past 25 years? Also, the binding on this paperback has left little space for the inside margin which will make this a little difficult to use and probably shortern its lifespan. RK

Great Field guide
Peterson's field guide to mammals is one of my standard references as a mammology student. I constantly use the range maps,color identification plates, and animal descriptions. The book provides you with good identification characteristics indicated by arrows on the illustrations of each animal and a brief life history of every species north of the border. There are skull plates at the back of the book that are good for comparing different families but do not include every species and in some cases are poor positions to see defining attributes. The color plates for the most part have good illustrations but a few look hoaky like the Mountain Lion. Nevertheless, they all still provide good size comparisons and coloration of the animals. Consistant with other Peterson guides. ... Read more

Book Description

Since 1994, The Bat House Builder's Handbook has been the definitive source for bat house information. This new edition has been completely revised to incorporate the latest research on improving the success rates for bat houses. It updates the original bat house plans and includes a new "rocket box" design, along with mounting suggestions, tips for experimentation, frequently asked bat house questions, and information about bats most likely to use bat houses. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Good houses, could use variety
Maybe I'm too sold on what's marketed as variety.

I agree with what other reviewers have said, that these are good bathouses and the instructions are easy to follow. I just wish there were a little more variety in terms of design.

The book, by the way, over and above the houses does have some reference information on bats including where to put the houses. That was helpful.

If you're into bats, and would like to make your own houses, this is the book I would recommend.

great tool for any bathouse builder
This is a very concise and thorough book on how to construct a successful bat house.

Ongoing Research
This Guide is frequently revised utilizilizing information obtained by bat lover volunteers throughBat Conservation International, Inc. A NON PROFIT organization dedicated to preserving the dwindling populations of many bat species. The volunteers are everyday people who have taken the time and made the effort to build bat houses to supplement the threatened natural habitats of bats. They check the houses and report their findings to BatCon. Population, species, type of colony - nursing, bachelor, etc.
The success or failure of bat houses and bats natural characteristics are still not an exact science. Thus the ongoing research.
Bats are misunderstood. They provide countless benefits to man. They are interesting to observe.
My family has enjoyed countless hours building bat houses, placing them and tracking our success in attracting bats.
This book is a great starting place if you have an interest in wildlife conservation.

Holy BatHouse, Batman!
Bats have to be one of the most mis-understood critters in the animal world.They are very helpful in controlling the insect level and help promote a healthy environment. Although small in size, 34 pages, this handbook contains several bat house patterns and variations of sizes, hints for successful bat house placement and the results of years of research on actual bat house conditions.

This book was purchased for use in an Eagle Scout project to build bat houses and help educate the community to the helpfulness the bats will bring to the overall environment.Using the guidance of this book, the Eagle Scout project was able to determine the right placement, color and size of the bat houses for the area and ensured a high occupancy rate.

The plans for building the bat house were precise and simple to follow.The Scouts (12-16 year olds) were able to read the plans, purchase the wood, cut the wood and assemble the bat houses without one major problem.AND they were very good looking bat houses as well as very suitable for the future inhabitants.They built 8 nursery bat houses for placement around the local inland lake.Requests to build more bat houses for homeowners use on their own property, might turn this project into an annual fundraising event for the Scouts.

This book contains all the information needed to get started in building a bat house, placement of the bat house and tips to ensure a high occupancy rate of the bat house and some great general information about bats.A GREAT resourse tool!!

good information
This contains good information and simple, easy to follow plans.Worth the money. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Consider the lynx, a medium-sized cat of boreal regions of North America, "a solitary animal, associated with the opposite sex only during mating." Consider the Oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus, once abundant in abandoned fields and beaches from South Carolina to northern Florida. These are but two of the 390 species covered in this densely informative, well-illustrated guidebook to the mammals of North America, with photographs keyed to textual descriptions that cover a given animal's physical features, range and habitat, breeding characteristics, and behavior (and, helpfully, that list other animals with which it might be confused). This easy-to-use handbook makes a superb addition to any naturalist's library. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The best ..................
These are the BEST field guides we have ever owned. We have the trees, western USA birds, trees and sealife ones and they are a wonderful size and fit easily into a coat pocket or glove compartment of ones car and of course a back pack. They make a GREAT gift and during the Christmas season a great stocking stuffer.

They are so complete as far as information goes, telling the reader what the migration and nesting habits are, where the birds can be found and they have wonderful photographs that are so useful when out on a hike. Our son loved them growing up and with a set of binoculars on a hike a person can find hours passing and not realize it.

The covers on the books (vinyl) make it easy to keep them clean. Buy at least one and I assure you, you will be hooked..........

One of the Best of Its Kind
I have several Audubon field guides, but this is the best of them all in my opinion. In this book, the editors made a wise decision to write more expansive descriptions, including a lot of information about the animal's behavior, eating habits, breeding, migration, and, often, its conservation status. The editors also show a sensitivity to man-made trends. For example, the domstic cat is listed here, as well as wild horses. In the former case, human carelessness has actually created a viable, but problematic, animal species; in the latter, humans intentionally let loose hundreds of horses at the end of the "wild west" days, and the animals have now actually found a niche.

The editors also did an excellent job of including rare species (such as the lynx and bobcat) as well as very common species (such as all the different kinds of squirrels).

It is unlikely that most amateur naturalists would have a chance to actually encounter every mammal in this book, so it is great to have a reference like this. Like other Audubon field guides, just reading the descriptions is fascinating. I would venture to guess that most people will discover species they never knew about, or learn new facts about what they thought were familiar species. Some of my favorites are the wolverine and the wild cats of southern North America.

This book, as well as most of the Audubon field guides, is a terrific resource for igniting children's imaginations. Reading about the animals' lives should help give children insights into the diversity and interconnectedness of species, and spark an appreciation for the beauty inherent in the wild.

excellent field guide
I thoroughly enjoy my Audubon field guides and the Mammals of North America is the most Interesting of the list. It is definitely a must have for anyone interested in animals. With tons of color photos of virtually every species in North america this is a great buy! Descriptions are longer and have more information than the Peterson series but some photographs are hard to see the identifyable traits of the specimen. Perfect size to throw in the pack and head out to the field to spot your favorites. ... Read more

Book Description

Human Genetics, 5/e is a non-science majors human genetics text that clearly explains what genes are, how they function, how they interact with the environment, and how our understanding of genetics has changed since completion of the human genome project. It is a clear, modern, and exciting book for citizens who will be responsible for evaluating new medical options, new foods, and new technologies in the age of genomics. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Decent..........
This is a good book, but the topic is so enormous that the book is too broad and should be more specific. The book is an overview of so many areas and it doesn't go into much detail. A excellent book for someone who is illiterate in human genetics like an undergraduate.

Excellent overview of the subject.
Very good read. Thorough discussion of underlying science and technology trends. Call me if you want more info : 510-664-3016. Peter Thottam. genesisla@aol.com. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In his third book, Robert Sullivan leaves the wilds of the (Meadowlands and therough whaling waters ofthe Pacific Northwest to take up rat-watching in the alleys of New YorkCity. Sullivan learned to appreciate the rodents during nocturnalstakeouts; a night-vision scope helped him observe rats without scaringthem. As in his previous books, Sullivan uses pointillist details rather thanbroad portraiture to paint his subject, and the details in Ratsare devilish. There are plenty of facts in the book to make your skincrawl, such as a description of the greasy skids rats leave on the pathsthey frequent, and a list of garbage items they prefer to eat. ButSullivan's style is often less that of a nature writer than a historian.In personable, essayish chapters, New York's history is revealed to beparticularly ratty, with tall tales about the rodents' disgustingaccomplishments going back to the city's founding. Although many peoplehave never seen a rat outside a pet store, Sullivan reminds us that theyare our constant neighbors, staring out from dim corners and messycrevices with beady eyes and twitching whiskers. --Adam Fisher ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Ratty enough for me
While I agree with some of the points made by those critical of this book, I believe they are being unnecessarily harsh.The writing is surprisingly rough and awkward in many places, but there is much good writing as well.It seems to me that what the book needed most of all was a good editor.It presents as if it needs about two more editorial sweeps done to it. Although it does have some good notes, a major annoyance for me was the lack of an index and bibliography.This just seems to be sheer laziness or cheapness.

But there is a lot to like about the book.The author appears to be such a strange man.Likeable but strange.For someone who wants to know rats intimately, he is quite timid.There is a mysterious black hole with steps leading down in the alley where he makes most of his observations.He wonders and speculates about it but never gets upthe guts to go down in it.We never really learn what was down there.And when three noisy young people stumble into the alley the author flees for no apparent reason, and peeks back in to see if the young people are still there.They end up peeking back at him.Why is he so timid?Why not go up to the group and tell them what you are doing and get their reaction, their view of rats?And yet I found his neurotic quirks to be endearing in the end.Sullivan is a nice, eccentric guy who would be fun to know.

Other sections or topics just seem to be incomplete.Sullivan does a good job of exposing the antics of the U.S military during the 1950s when it was surreptitiously testing biological weapons on Americans.But he doesn't follow up, and the reader is left asking questions.What ever happened to those people in Norfolk, Hampton and Newport News?Were the tests benign or did people suffer mysterious illnesses, birth defects, etc?Yet Sullivan does well to point out that the monster behind Japan's wartime human testing and vivisection unit, General Shiro Ishii, lived to a venerable old age because he donated his records to the U.S government in return for immunity.There is a lot of good history in this book, even if it is scattered higgledy-piggledy throughout.

And this book is as much about New York, a topic I never tire of, as it is about rats.From colonial and revolutionary times to the paralysis and paranoia immediately following the World Trade Center attack, the reader is steeped in the history and feel of the most interesting city on earth.So while it is not a definitive rat book by any measure, Rats is a quirky, very readable book that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Disappointing
I have rarely found a more poorly-written book on such an interesting subject. Darn shame, as I (like other reviewers below) really wanted to like this book due to its subject.

The author does not move himself to the background. This book is not about rats so much as the author's adventures as he learns about rats. Rats are interesting, Robert Sullivan is less so.

The book is full of distracting misspellings ('They' for 'The' for example) and nonstandard capitalization ('Edens alley' for 'Edens' Alley' throughout). Each page has a half dozen places that brings the reader out of the story and back into the real world.

Further, the author is unable to write in a linear fashion. His description of of the alley is a jumble. I read the entire book and still cannot make a mental map of the place.

All in all, the subject deserves a better treatment than it receives here. An interesting, readable book on the urban rat remains to be written.

Too Bad
I really wanted to like this book.Unfortunately, the author's writing got in the way of what seems like a fascinating subject.Like other reviewers, I put the book down because I couldn't handle the stilted prose any longer.The book got one and one-half stars because I eventually picked it back up and plodded through because there were just enough interesting anecdotes to make it worth my while.
A prime example of my problem with Sullivan is on page 106.He spends a page talking about travelling with a group of exterminators.He sets up the scenario-this place is filled with rats, monster rats leaving two inch droppings.What's going to happen?Here's the payoff: "Something darted down, raced to the floor, where it stopped and looked right at him.IT WAS A BIG RAT." (Caps mine)That's it.Story over.If my 6th graders wrote a sentence like that, I'd give them the paper back.This is only one of many examples of the cringe-worthy writing encountered in the book.You've got to sort through too many rat droppings to make the experience enjoyable.

Almost perfect
Robert Sullivan relates his experiences as he delves into rats, with the focus being on the role that rats play in history and modern culture rather than dwelling on the nuances of rat behavior. He spends nights in a forgotten alleyway in New York, watching the rats as they emerge from their burrows to take advantage of the local restaurant waste. He spends time with exterminators (or "pest control specialists," as the industry leaders prefer), whether they work for small companies or large ones. And, apparently, he spends time at the library, digging up historical information that is at times so obscure that you wonder how he ever found it as it relates to his subject.

But Sullivan's book, peppered with literary quotes from the likes of Thoreau and Emerson, is ultimately less about rats and more about people. The rats are a fascinating hook, and every time a rodent skitters across the page, Sullivan invites us to squirm along with him. But more often, the reader is treated to quirky episodes in American history, in which the rats play some sort of role.

The black plague, the era of Gangs of New York, the American Revolution, the labor movement, and anti-Chinese sentiments at the turn of the century are just some of the subjects of Sullivan's stories, and he tells them all with a master's flair.

The Good and the Bad:
This is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read, edging out Hillenbrandt's Seabiscuit, and rivaling Kurlansky's Cod and the works of Bill Bryson. Sullivan knows how to tell an interesting story, and he has chosen a subject which rivets our attention no matter how it is presented. Putting the two elements together leads to a lot of compulsive page-turning.

Sullivan has that rare ability to reach deep into the history books and pull out the most engaging anecdotes, and yet find the connection to his story that merits the inclusion.

He also possesses the rare ability to insert himself into the story without dwelling on himself.While much of the book involves his personal interactions with the world, he never strays into the grandstanding that so many authors seem to find impossible to resist.

The book is mostly tangents, and there are footnotes that lead to tangents from the tangents, and endnotes that add yet another layer of side stories. But that's okay, because this is a journey that is far more pleasurable than any destination could be.

If I had to pick a nit about this one (and I like to present a little criticism on everything I read), I would say that I was surprised that there weren't more personal stories about people who aren't related to the rat industry, and their dealings with rats. He relates the rat story of an acquaintance who finds a rat in his bathroom, and it is one of the most entertaining sections in the book. I can't help but think that there are other stories out there that would have been worthy of inclusion.

Similarly, I would have liked to have learned a little more about the rats themselves, as pertains to their social structure and other areas of interest from a naturalist perspective. For example, he mentions a couple of times that a starving rat colony will begin to cannibalize itself, but there's no in-depth description of this phenomenon.

These are small concerns compared to the overall level of success that the book enjoyed. You know a book is good when you don't think anything should be taken out of it; you just want more and more. I'm definitely going to go look up other works by Sullivan now that I've been introduced to his writing.

Disappointment
I wanted to like this book. Witht so much prepress hype and such an intriguing subject matter, I couldn't wait to scurry home with a copy. What a let down. Three times I tried to engage in the book and three times I put it down.

It's rare indeed that I give up on a book before finishing it, especially when it is about one of my favorite subjects. With Rats: Observations..., however, after struggling through the first two chapters, I closed it for good. I found the writing clumsy and awkward and peppered with the occasional mistake. It is doubtful, for example, that a rat can `repeal' an attack as mentioned on page 9; repel, perhaps, but not repeal.

Although this immediately set a difficult tone, I pressed on, though with grave reservations. A dozen pages later, however, I identified a second problem and one that proved too much: the author confuses his fascination with the subject matter as reason enough for readers to be fascinated. It is a fatal flaw. Rats ARE fascinating, but less fascinating is the author's preoccupation with himself. I wanted to read about rats, not about an author writing about why he writes about rats. And doing it poorly! The truth is, I don't really care how he came to be intrigued; in fact, his nostalgic journeys into the halls of his own memories and the constant reminders to the reader that he was writing about rats fixed him as a looming presence in my mind and blotted out the real subject of the book: RAT! It was so distracting that I couldn't move forward.

When I read books about natural behavior, etc, I look for something like Ravens in Winter, by Heinrich, which separates observer from observed and - drawing upon his expertise, reams of data, and discrete information presented in a thoughtful manner - actually teaches me something and leaves me wanting more. Rat: Observations..., on the other hand, is little more than a rambling diary entry, a rat blog.

Other books I have read about rats have been far more successful. More Cunning Than Man by Hendrickson, for example, while often lurid, is highly entertaining and immensely readable. The Story of Rats, by Barnett and Barnett, a slim volume, is packed with facts and feels like a book.

Rats: Observations... seems like an overly long term paper from a self-infatuated high school student chasing a solid 3.0 grade point.

This book belongs in the dumpster, along with the title rats.
... Read more

Amazon.com

In the autumn of 1973, the writer Peter Matthiessen set out in the company of zoologist George Schaller on a hike that would take them 250 miles into the heart of the Himalayan region of Dolpo, "the last enclave of pure Tibetan culture on earth." Their voyage was in quest of one of the world's most elusive big cats, the snow leopard of high Asia, a creature so rarely spotted as to be nearly mythical; Schaller was one of only two Westerners known to have seen a snow leopard in the wild since 1950.

Published in 1978, The Snow Leopard is rightly regarded as a classic of modern nature writing. Guiding his readers through steep-walled canyons and over tall mountains, Matthiessen offers a narrative that is shot through with metaphor and mysticism, and his arduous search for the snow leopard becomes a vehicle for reflections on all manner of matters of life and death. In the process, The Snow Leopard evolves from an already exquisite book of natural history and travel into a grand, Buddhist-tinged parable of our search for meaning. By the end of their expedition, having seen wolves, foxes, rare mountain sheep, and other denizens of the Himalayas, and having seen many signs of the snow leopard but not the cat itself, Schaller muses, "We've seen so much, maybe it's better if there are some things that we don't see."

That sentiment, as well as the sense of wonder at the world's beauty that pervades Matthiessen's book, ought to inform any journey into the wild. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (45)

A Book, A Mountain
My brother casually lent me this book some years ago, but I only had the chance to read it recently. In a word I was stunned- in both Mathiessen's honesty and the force and beauty with which he renders all things he chooses to write about. Framing a period of great loss and confusion in his personal life, Matthiessen sets out on a scientific trip through Nepal with preeminent zoologist George Schaller. Their aim is to study and observe the Himalayan blue sheep, but in the back of their minds is the rare chance to see the mythic cat of the mountain cathedrals, the snow leopard. What makes Matthiessen's storytelling so rich is his ability to blend all his interests throughout the odyssey (philosophy, anthro, biology, history) in a way that magnifies the simple art of walking a path, observing. Throughout the book, we share that image with Matthiessen: walking a path surrounded by mountains ringing in light. With these surroundings he initiates an ongoing conversation with himself. Passing him and falling behind him on the path are a motley group of guides and sherpas. Some are quiet and resourceful, some opportunistic and cunning, and there is one who we never fully understand. This one, the enigmatic Tukten, is the one whom Matthiessen is the most drawn to. Perhaps because he feels he himself is a mystery, and that the world is a mystery. And to acknowledge this, is also a direction. After finishing the book, I called my brother to tell him how much I enjoyed the book. I mentioned a favorite passage, where George Schaller exchanges a haiku with Matthiessen, one that he had written during a long hike up to one of the villages. Unfailingly, my brother recited the haiku from memory after which must have been years since reading it. Maybe you too will find yourself saying it on a path of similar space:

Oh cloud trails I go Alone, with chatting porters. There is a crow.

An Unforgettable Journey
I first read this book while in college but it still resonates for me today as well. What starts out to be simply a journey to far-off Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard turns out to be also a journey towards understanding--of the death of his wife from cancer, the exotic culture and people of highland Asia, and his relationship to his mysterious guide and friend Tukten. No definitive answers are found to any of these questions but we learn that sometimes it's the quest and not the destination that's truly important.
It transports the reader to a faraway part of the planet but at the same time it shows how our journeys abroad can illuminate
our own lives and uncover parts of ourselves that we don't see
back in our tightly controlled worlds.
This is not a book for everyone's tastes but it is a true
classic in every sense of the word. Read it!

will i ruin it for you
if I tell you it has little to do with the snow leopard? It is the quest itself, what it means to quest. "Seek and ye shall find." We're never told what we'll find. To me it is impossible to create a top ten list of books--I love so many--but this is way up there. I plan to read it again and again.

4th times the charm
After 4 tries I finally finished this book. I have to agree with the 3 other reviewers- there are just too many references to Budhism that left me befuddled. If I wasn't in a foriegn country without other reading material I don't think I would of finished it this time either. My reccomendation is to read it fast and don't even try to make sense of about 20% of the book. Despite this I did enjoy the book but only 3 stars worth.

No Simple-minded Animal Story - It's an Adventure
If you're looking for a fifth grade narrative about really neat animals you'd better skip the Snow Leopard. However, if you are ready to take on a great author weaving the physical and the metaphysical together into one of the greatest adventure stories ever written you'll read and always remember this fantastic work of art. It's a tale of exploration that encompasses unbelievable off the map trekking, fascinating research by the greatest living large mammal zoologist, and enlightening insights into the very core of oriental religion. I have never read a book that successfully integrated so much intelligence into one superbly narrated tale. Without exaggeration, it's a classic. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The best of the best
This book is it! I have been tracking for about a year now and i recently baught this book and it is the best i have seen. it is both handy in the field and at home moreover the personal accounts from mark are fabulous and add an important dimension to tracking that illustrates his thinking that most books leave out. I have been studying deer in my area and this book has been by far the most helpful of all the books i have used. Thanks Mark!

National Outdoor Book Award Winner
I am the author of this book. Just a few comments and news:

Mammal Tracks and Sign is the recipient of a 2003 National Outdoor Book Award: Winner in the Nature Guidebooks competition. NOBA's comments can be read in full at http://www.isu.edu/outdoor/books/ and include:
"Mammal Tracks and Sign is one of the most thorough and complete guides to animal tracking ever published...It's a monumental effort and an invaluable reference for anyone who enjoys tracking and viewing wildlife."

I've awarded the book five stars not for myself-although I'm proud of the achievement-but for Stackpole Books, the publisher. When you hold this book, feel its weight, and flip through the 1058 color photos, over 300 illustrations and close to 800 pages, consider the material costs of such an endeavor-the investment and the risk for a publisher. Stackpole committed to creating the most comprehensive guide to mammal tracking in North America, and possibly the world. I think they've done it. It is beautiful and far exceeds previous publications on tracking; it stands as a testimonial to the importance of saving wildlife tracking skills around the globe. My thanks to Stackpole Books for unending support and enthusiasm.

(Funny enough, 115 pages were cut from the initial layout, to address concerns over the strength of the resulting binding.)

Excellent but with a caveat or two
While I agree with most of the praise that others readers of this book have expressed, there are a few oddities. Most of the tracks, etc. are photographed without a scale to give an immediate impression of relative size. Additionally, some of the schematic drawings are sometimes confusingly labeled, though the meanings of each become clear with a few re-readings. I guess I wish that the author had asked less experienced trackers to review the manuscript, as a lot of these minor details would probably have been cleared up prior to publication. That being said, one of the major strengths of this guide is the section that illustates various gaits and the subsequent trails they potentially leave. Very few, if any, other guides out there give this difficult aspect of tracking the exhaustive treatment that this author does; a much-needed treatise, so thank you!

Best wildlife tracking reference yet!
Mark Elbroch is one of the best trackers I know, and this is by far the best tracking reference for North America you can buy. This book is both accurate and FUN, as Mark shares his stories from the field, wonderful photos and detailed research.

As another reviewer noted, the sheer size and weight of this book make it heavy for field work, but it is definitely a must-have for any wildlife tracker or naturalist. It is more comprehensive than other tracking guides, and well laid out. Great reading, too, for those long,stormy winter days when you can't be out tracking. Well worth the price- don't miss this one!!

A scientifically credible look at tracking
Mark Elbroch's new book is a scientifically credible look at tracking

The tracking world has once again gained a great resource in the new book by Mark Elbroch. "Mammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species" fills a gap in the availability of good quality photographic guides to tracks and sign. This is a book for the serious tracker! At 784 pages, it is the most complete guide available today on the subject. The tracking world has long awaited a book to rival Olaus Murie's "A Field Guide to Animal Tracks," which has been the field standard for years. Elbroch's book covers some new ground, bringing together coverage of subjects that previously were found only in specialized, and not widely available, publications. These include: mammal remains, a large section of sign on vegetation, identification of kills, burrows/beds/lays/nests, and a big photographic section on scat and other secretions. The very complete section on gaits will help you identify those difficult trails. Photos, drawings, measurements, and range maps are included for each species. Throughout the text are sidebars with tips to distinguish between easily confused species. This is especially useful if you have ever found yourself struggling with an identification in the field. The appendices list other tracking resources for further study, including schools, books, web sites, tracking teachers, and more.

The book is a little heavy to tote into the field, but it offers so much information that it may be prudent to buy two; one to haul into the field and bang around, and one to keep at home for reference. Its weight is compensated for by the fact that it has information you would find in many different field guides all in one book, so you can leave the others at home and bring this one along. It sets a new standard for tracking as a science and brings it new credibility that may help increase its use as a tool for wildlife management.

The initial price may be discouraging to many trackers, but in the end, I think you will find it is money well spent. There are many books on tracking out there, quite a few with poor drawings, inaccuracies, or errors. Although those books are much less expensive, and are probably better "mass market" sellers, a tracker needs accurate information, and this book provides it. This book is destined to become one of my favorites, and one I will recommend when people ask me which book to purchase.

I think you will agree that Mark's two new books are great additions to the tracking library, and offer the serious tracker valuable resources, although these are not books that will sit on the shelf and gather dust. They are the books that will become worn and dog-eared from being hauled into the field and used. I look forward to using them in years to come as I further my own knowledge of the unlimited field of tracking. ... Read more

Book Description

The Behavior Guide to African Mammals is as different from aconventional field guide as motion pictures are from a snapshot. Whether we areable to look at them face to face, on television, or in the hundreds ofillustrations provided here by Daniel Otte, this guide allows us to understandwhat animals do and what their behavior means. Drawing on his own extensive fieldwork and on the research of many otherscientists, Richard Estes describes and explains the behavior of four majorgroups of mammals. Estes's remarkably informative guide is as up-to-date for thezoologist as it is accessible for the interested onlooker. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

For the very keen wildlife watcher
I suspect the book is a little over my head, but it's very thorough & well-reasearched. For a layman like myself, I think I'd like photos - or colour pictures of the animals too - but as the author says, the book goes beyond the normal "field guides" which aim to help with animal identification.

If you want to know things like how the lives of a dikdik & a duiker differ (but you could tell them apart), this is the book for you!

Cant Beat Estes Book
While on a college course in northern Tanzania, I had the great honour of having Dr. Estes as my professor. The book speaks of over 2 decades of knowledge, it is a must have for the travler or researcher. Not only good as a field type guide but wonderfuly done and useful for all topics on african wildlife. I urge all intrested go buy Estes' books.

The Behaviour Guide to African Mammals
I used this book while on a course in Kenya and thought it was great. It describes various mammalian behaviors often seen in the field using plain language. Consequently, even the novice can easily identify a multitude of behavioral patterns. I am purchasing it now so that I can use it to teach volunteers working at a field site in Kenya ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A pleasure to read
This book is informative enough to be a professional reference text, yet accessible and beautiful enough to be a coffee table book or even a picture book for older children. It presents a comprehensive overview of all the mammals, organized by taxonomical group. The text is supplemented with excellent photographs that allow the readers to "see the animals" for themselves and learn much the text does not say.

It was used as a textbook for my college mammalogy class, and it served the purpose better than any standard text. The authors and editor, top mammalogists, do a good (albeit slightly conservative) job of bringing together what is known about mammalogy and condensing it into one large volume. Each section summarizes one species or group of animals. Special spreads describe details such as the songs of the gibbons and the responses of voles to the scent of their predators. It was very engaging, and I highly recommend it even as a popular science reference.

Another Option Exists
The exact same book (I think) exists in another form... available only from a certain "B and N" bookseller, it's huge (930 pg), nice, and $30. Check it out there for BIG savings...

check the copyright date
This is an excellent source but one must be accurate about the copyright date. This book has been reprinted several times but the date of copyright is 1984. There has been much new information and research that would be available in a more current text.

Encyclopedia of Mammals very useful..
This book was great in helping to identify the different animals that I'm able to see on a daily basis. I'm able to tell what mammal I'm looking at and tell people something about them.

A stellar book.
After acquiring the Encyclopedia of Mammals, I went out and bought the others in the series. A great thing about the Facts on File animal encyclopedias is the excellent color photos - I am amazed they can give so many photos at such a low price; each page is packed! ... Read more

Reviews (37)

A modern classic that holds up well
I have fond memories of this book. It was first published in 1967 and I read it pretty young; I'd have to reckon it among the more powerful influences of my youth. Controversial or not, there's something profoundly liberating about stepping back and looking at humankind as one species among others.

And actually, it's still a darned good book. As Stephen Gaskin remarks somewhere in _This Season's People_, human beings are so intelligent and conscious that it's a matter of controversy whether we're the lowest of the angels or the highest of the primates. Well, the controversy hasn't dissipated since this book was written, but it's still every bit as important for us to recognize and accept the reality of our animal nature.

For we _do_ have such a nature, no matter what view of evolution and/or creation we buy into. Evolutionary anthropologist Desmond Morris tends to treat us as though we have _only_ such a nature, as though our being an advanced ape is automatically at odds with our also being a fallen angel. That may or may not be true; I have my opinions on the subject, and you probably have yours.

But we don't need to settle that issue in order to find this book immensely valuable. The most solid evidence we have continues to confirm that we have a close genetic kinship with the other primates and that, biologically, we are best treated as primates ourselves. Whatever else may be true of us, this much is about as close as anything in science ever comes to fully established fact.

We can disagree about the precise mechanisms of evolution as much as we like; we can disagree about how much of our nature is really accounted for by this or that theory of evolution; but the one fact we can't get around on _any_ account is that as a matter of biology, we _are_ naked apes. We may be more than animals, but we are not less.

That's what makes Morris's account so valuable. There just isn't a lot of question that our evolutionary history has shaped us to a very great degree, and Morris is awfully good at explaining how and why this is so. There may be details in need of modification -- after all, evolutionary theory hasn't stood still for the past thirty-five years and some of Morris's own theories were far from universal even then -- but the overall structure is sound.

It's no surprise, of course, that this book was so controversial when it was first published; I'm not sure it would be all that much less controversial if it were published for the first time today. But boy, if you want to get a clear sense of what it _means_ for human beings to be primates, this is a great place to acquire it.

And contrary to what your initial intuition may be, it _especially_ belongs on the reading list of folks who think human beings have a spiritual side too. Nobody ever made much spiritual advance by denying the hard facts of his or her biological nature and pretending to be a disembodied spirit.

A Classic
Desmond Morris wrote "The Naked Ape" in the late 1960's, and it is a classic which established the field of evolutionary anthropology. His ideas were revolutionary at the time, and he clearly says so. If there is a fault in the book, it is that he covers too much ground too quickly. I think his purpose at the time, however, was simply to condition the reader to thinking of people as an animal that has been subject to the forces of biological evolution on the Savannah for 98 percent of our evolution. Our species only formed farming communities 10,000 years ago.

Much of Morris's conjecture has been turned into solid research in more recent years. For example, studies have found that males are sexually attracted to females having a waist/hips ratio of 0.7. This is universal among contemporary societies including primitive societies. When shown diagrams of women having different waist/hips ratios, male members of the primitive societies chose the 0.7 ratio and specifically indicated child bearing ability being linked to it. Females universally are attracted to males having a waist/hip ratio of 0.85.

The argument between nurturing versus evolution is likely to continue. This book started the argument. It is certainly a serious argument. Some readers may prefer not to think as humans as being animals. Some readers, particulary those interested in newer cultural trends such as feminism, may find certain of Morris's arguments objectionable. The material is oriented towards understanding how biological evolution of Homo Sapiens has affected their social behavior. It is not directly related to how to get along with your lover or spouse. However, the book was as thought provoking today as when it was written. It is an excellent introduction to the field of evolutionary anthropology.

Good read and some fasinating information!
I bought this book cheap second hand, and I'm surprised what a good purchase it was. This book is a basic beginners sort of guide into the world of anthropology/zoology but it is tailored to the average reader, and contains lots of interesting facts you may not already know about the animal kingdom, especially about the monkeys and apes. This book is bent towards the Darwinist theory of evolution, probably one of the most popular "scientific" theories people are taught today. Yet all this is still not much more than speculation, for there isn't ample concrete evidence to prove that this theory is true. Still, the question is : what if it is true? And if it is, then all these incredible things said in the book (I was very amused when reading the chapter about how and why human beings have nipples, lips, etc.) could be true! As I said - almost unbelievable, funny at times, and so fascinating! The book isn't overly lengthy at all, so its pretty short and sweet, but most of the general public will definitely learn at least one or two things after reading it.

thenakedape
i can't comment on the validity of the statements made in the book (so i wont), but as for the book itself, it doesn't take much to get into it, i naturally started by reading the sex chapter first, then started at the beginning and read the whole thing, and i found it very fascinating, as would most readers. I wouldn't say that someone who doesn't like to read would enjoy the book, but anyone (who likes reading) with the least interest in humanity would enjoy it. At the very least its an amusing book.

Fascinating!
I read this book over 30 years ago and it remains one of the most impressive works I've ever read. It was actually I book I got from the book club because I forgot to tell them not to send it to me. I thought that I might as well read it and I was thoroughly astounded by what it had to say. The author, Desmond Morris, takes a look at man as a part of the animal kingdom and gives us a portrait of a species only slightly above other genuses and species. His examples and explanations are thoroughly compelling and one comes away presuaded. The question is; persuaded of what? Does "The Naked Ape" denigrate humans or elevate our fellow primates? You decide when you read this most enjoyable work written by an author who knows how to communicate his ideas. ... Read more

Book Description

Important information on nutrition, reproduction, and genetics! This volume begins by dealing primarily with the management of the cow herd, followed by management of the pre-weaned and post-weaned calf. A chapter detailing the business management aspect of beef cattle production provides much useful information as well. As technology continues to evolve and the economy changes, the business of raising cattle is becoming more complex. The Thomas book helps readers understand the importance of a good business background in being successful in the beef cattle industry. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Serious Readers Only
Mr. Thomas deserves credit for researching and providing essential information for the cattleman who is serious about improving the efficiency of his operation. I have recently purchased and read several books on the subject, and while this is an older book, Beef Cattle Production: An Integrated Approach is head and shoulders above the others for reference material covering a broad spectrum of subjects. From sire and dam selection, disease control, reproduction of purebred, cross-bred and commercial cattle, to ranch layout, operational issues, financing tips and equipment concerns this book hits on them all. NOT for casual observers - its for the cattleman.

Excelent book!
The book presents the main points that intervene with the efficiency of the activity of beef cattle, as genetic, feed and reproduction. Indicated for beginning and veteran farmers that still desire to magnify its knowledge. ... Read more

Book Description

Scientists call them Inia geoffrensis, an ancient species of toothed whale whose origin dates back about 15 million years. To the local people of the Amazon, pink river dolphins are "botos," shape shifters that, in the guise of human desire, can claim your soul and take you to the Encante, an enchanted underwater world.

As tributaries braid into a single river, Journey of the Pink Dolphins weaves ancient myth and modern science into one woman's search for these elusive creatures. Over four separate journeys, Sy Montgomery follows the dolphins, tracing their spiritual, historical, and environmental past, present, and future. Ancient legends tell us that dolphins have guided humans for millennia, and in Journey of the Pink Dolphins, Montgomery answers their call, taking us to that perfect place where the Amazon melts into the forest, dolphins swim among treetops, and the twenty-first century dissolves into the beginning of time. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Why haven't we heard this before?
I can't believe how many people (including myself) had never heard of freshwater dolphins before seeing this book. Why isn't there any information out there about these intriguing cousins of the saltwater dolphins that we all know and love? Well, now there is! And Sy Montgomery takes us deep into the habitat of the freshwater dolphins --- the Amazon (where, as she explains, there are trees and ants that can kill you, among many other things). She not only explores the life and biology of these dolphins, but she also explores some of the myths that surround them. She learns that many native Amazon peoples believe that these creatures can take the form of humans in their efforts to seduce women into their underwater world. She relates first hand accounts of these stories and myths. But the author doesn't stop there, she writes extensively about the atmosphere of the Amazon, the people, the ecosystem, the cultures, the tourists, the industries, etc... She provides alot of interesting information about a very unique subject. As I read the book, I felt as if I was being pulled into the Amazon. Her writing is clear and approachable, sometimes poetic, but other times drawn-out. There are some very insightful passages as well. And fascinating photographs are scattered throughout. I recommend this book to anyone interested in animals, conservation, adventure travel, aboriginal/native cultures and all those intrigued by the idea of a freshwater dolphin!

enchanting travelogue and work of natural history
I loved this book! Sy Montgomery is a talented writer, able to put you in exotic places with vivid descriptions, I almost felt I was in the Amazon. She really brought it to life, I look forward to reading another book of hers I have purchased, "Search for the Golden Moon Bear."

The book focuses on the author's quest for the pink dolphin, but really it is a journey to find not one but two dolphins. I don't refer to the other species of dolphin that lives in the Amazon, the tucuxis (one which she also covers in the book), but for two sides of the same animal. On the one hand she searches for the pink dolphin, the bufeo in Spanish or boto in Portguese, a living animal of which little is known about in comparison with many other dolphin species. Living in the most massive river system on earth, one connnected to innumerable lakes in the rainy season, in waters often black as coffee and infested with caimans, piranha, stingrays, and electric eels, in often very remote regions to which there is no reliable transportation to, it is a difficult subject to study. An example of cetaceans from an earlier geologic era, primitive when compared to modern oceanic dolphins, the pink dolphins preserve something from an eariler era, a holdover in the modern world. Montgomery and her various companions in the book struggle to get good observations of the dolphins, to try and track them, to identify individuals, to observe their behavior. The author finds that even experts who have studied the bufeo for years are often perplexed by them. She has many successes, providing much interesting information on them and a fine series of color photographs of the often startingly pink dolphins.

Montgomery though is also questing for the Encante, the mystical shape-shifting dolphin that is very real to many of the peoples who live along the mighty Amazon. Believed to exist in fabulous cities beneath the surface of the river, the locals speak in conspiratorial tones about the dolphins' magic powers and often lust for attractive humans. The natives often worry that their wives, husbands, sons, and daughters will be stolen about by the fabulous Encante, and speak with awe and reverence about the dolphins. Montgomery continually quests for the natives' views of the Encante, for their "true" tales, and for how they protect themselves against their fantastic attention.

Montgomery doesn't exlusively focus on dolphins though. Her book in part is a vivid travelogue of Amazonia, bringing us to many exotic locations. We visit Manaus, the impossible Paris of the Amazon, home to an opera house right out of a fairy tale. Built upon the backs of native jungle peoples by rubber barons, today it is a squalid city trying to embrace change. She takes us to amazing Meeting of the Waters, where for miles two tributies of the Amazon, the black River Negro and the white Solimoes, flow side by side before forming the true Amazon River. We are taken to two different nature reserves, both with differing strategies, Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo and Mamiraua, where some of the rich life and deadly beauty of Amazonia is preserved against an uncertain future. Montgomery takes us to the impossibly clear waters and white sandy beaches of the Tapajos and Arapiuns Rivers, where she actually swims with the dolphins, something not possible elsewhere in the dark and piranha-infested rivers elsewhere. She undertakes a vision quest by taking the hallucigenic Ayahuasca or "Mother of the Vine," something few Westerners have done (and for good reason).

Further, while the bufeo or boto is the star of the book, many other animals form a rich supporting cast. The odd hoatzin, a bird with claws, seemingly someting out of the Mesozoic. Electric eels, extremely common and suprisingly complex. Caimans, another seemingly prehistoric species. Amazonian manatees, gentle vegetarians that are much more intelligent than often given credit for. The weird side-necked turtle. All manner of insects, including ants. And more are given space.

Some have said that she rhapsodizes too much in the book, but I disagree. She has done her research, the book is filled with interviews with experts, and there is a nice bibliography at the end. She has skillfully combined hard science with poetry, and the effort is very worthwhile. I highly recommend it.

Fascinating but Frustrating
As someone who's interested in the Amazon, its people, culture, geography, fauna, flora and other subjects, I read this book for its fascinating topic. However, this is a very mixed bag. There are moving sections, as when she describes the genocide perpetrated against the native peoples by Europeans (you would not believe the atrocities and torture they visited the Indians, whom they considered lower than animals - much worse in its ferocity than the Holocaust of WWII). The writing can be quite bad at times (at one point, her powers of description comes up with a fruit she tried, "bitter as semen"). But the worse is, she seems to be a very bad science writer and researcher. Who edited this book? Certainly not people versed in science or Portuguese. She gets everything in Portuguese wrong. The scientific names and terms are often misspelled. Proceed with caution.

Amazonian vacation
This is one of those books to read when you don't have the money and/or time to actually travel the planet. I enjoyed that Sy both had a grasp of biology and is a truly talented author. She also obviously cares about the socioeconomic situation of the peoples who live in the area that her biological studies took her. This book transports you into a magical world in which pink dolphins inhabit rivers in a mystical jungle. Sometimes the truth is better than fiction.

This book corks my blowhole
To the author: Let me get this straight: You applied with a flimsy pretext to go observe dolphins, to "find the soul" of the Amazon. (Funny how no one writes about the search for the soul of New Jersey. It's always someplace that increases the aspirant's status as interpreter. The Amazon has been prostituted since its discovery, even BEFORE its discovery --in myth; why you suppose your frothy rehash is anything but the same extractivist, exoticizing discourse the West uses to plunder the source-country Americas, is a mystery.) Where was I? Oh, yes. Then you repeat your tourist guides by rote -The rubber barons sent their laundry to Europe, the Meeting of the Waters, so many football fields destroyed, blah blah blah, we know already. Then, not knowing an iota of Portuguese (or lingua geral, better still), you take on underlings to ferry you around and see to your comfort. So there's garbage in the ports? --Any idea where that comes from?
Then, do you acknowledge your privileged vantage? -in one line, yes, you note that tourists can do harm to the very area they wish to see. Would that that stopped you! Then you take Ayahuasca, the cosmological and neurological Virgil of the indigenes and caboclos, and this is the unreal part, you do it to summon dolphin spirits! Sacred vine as recreational trophy for bourgeois day-trippers. Then, as a capper, you relate a slumber party of your half-researched blatherings --endless second- and third-hand accounts of fables, offering no links, context, etymologies, insights to speak of (for example, at one point you tell us the Iquitos prostitutes used to file their teeth like piranhas', but then you don't SPECULATE or reflect critically at all on why that is. Does it have to do with the degradation of women in Latin America or some of kind of reversal of the dynamics of erotic conquests (a topic apropos of your ladykiller/dolphin)? What is the relationship and affective connection of the animal kingdom in general to the Amazonians? Do THEY care about dolphins? (Why not, if not?) Does that effect their ecology? Should WE care about them, besides for the fact they're pretty? What link are they in the river food chain? What of a discussion --in passing at least-- of the complicated politics of First-World ideas of conservation vs. their making a living? Too many things are given unproblematically or unreflectively in this book. And by the way, speaking English deliberately in front of Amazonian river people is RUDE, not to mention paternalistic.
To the editor: Many books about the Amazon are hyperinflated, breathless, and rhetorical by far. They should be purged of HALF of their adjectives. And virtually ALL their adverbs (e.g. here, "dazzingly" , "unimaginably" and for God's sake, "unfathomably".) Where is your blue pencil on sentences like "[We] wanted the same thing: to save this toweringly cruel and nourishing dawn world from fading to twilight." (p. 245)?
Also, virtually all the Portuguese in the book is wrong, save one or two phrases.
To the bookseller: File this under "d" for "dilletanterie".
To the reader: Go find Candace Slater's Dance of the Dolphin instead, which offers real field research.
To Oprah's Book Club: You gotta get this book! ... Read more