John Ducey Books

This the best book anyone can buy if you are interested in a total guide on the Amphibians & Reptiles in NY. It is extremely well done and easy to understand.

"What's so good about this book? Without being long-winded and pedantic, the text is incredibly thorough. Species descriptions are marvelously detailed, putting their field-guide forbears to shame. Every time I pick up this handsome volume, and I do often since it arrived in my office, I stand in awe of its clever, user-friendly organization. Each species is described in six sections: "Quick Identification," "Description" (a greatly expanded version of the preceding), "Habitat," "Natural History," "Status and Distribution" and "Other Intriguing Facts." There are chapters, too, on environmental threats, conservation and folklore... With the help of this extraordinary book and its color photographs, the reader, young or old, novice or veteran, will get to know [New York's amphibians and reptiles] intimately."

Edward Kanze, Adirondack Explorer Vol. 10(2) March/April 2008.

The Amphibians and Reptiles of New York State is a very well written, compact, and excellently illustrated account of the species found in the state. The 6 authors are highly respected herpetologists, which lends a greater credence to the book than is often present in books that summarize species' natural histories. I appreciate the citations throughout the text. The colors in the photos are realistic, the photos are sharp enough, and the captions are extremely informative. I appreciate that several photos are shown for most species, including juvenile or alternate color morphologies. The essays, figures, and tables are interesting and succint. This book could be your primary guide to herps of New England, with the caveat that range maps are shown solely for NY state.

This Book is long overdue for those of us who had to consult with the online herp atlas everytime we needed to find out if a species had been recorded in a certain county. This book is set up and flows very nicely with excellent pictures and species accounts, habitat descriptions, counties of occurance, and so on. I have been very impressed already with this book and how much easier it will make things when I need New York based data for site evaluations and habitat assessment. This book is very informative and well written and my hats off to the authors for compiling all of the data used and keeping it readible. This book is an invaluable resource and is cheap enough to keep it accessible to everyone. A must have for anyone in NY that is interested in herps, some of the information is also valid for surrounding states.

I came across this book and had to buy it. Most people think Canada's sport is hockey but baseball was also popular. In fact, many major leaguers played triple a in Canada. Excellent book, good look at baseball from a new angle, highly recommended