Marine Life Books

I'm thoroughly pleased with this book, which is an indispensable resource on all forms of marine mammals, extinct and extant. The book has provided indepth essays from the foremost experts in respective fields, with helpful diagrams and accompanying images, throughout.

This book is easy to use and provides comprehensive information for such a variety of topics that every student of marine mammals should have it in their library. I recommend it to students who are just starting their journey into marine mammal studies!

This book shipped promptly. It is great. It is informational and age appropriate.

My 2nd grader had to do a presentation on dolphins for school. This book was hands down the most informative. Losts of good questions with short, several paragraph answers that an elementary student could understand. Full of good information to get a large project started.

I used the book while I researching about Gray Whales for a science term paper and it had lots of good info.

One of my favorite hiking memories involves exploring Point Reyes National Seashore for the first time the morning after Christmas, 2004. The day was crisp and clear, with a slight breeze, and the park was quite crowded that day. Like all new tourists to the park, I went to the famous Point Reyes Lighthouse for my first stop. It was very nearly my last too. On the way down the stairs to the lighthouse I came across a large number of whale watchers scanning the ocean and breathlessly joined them as we observed one gray whale after another making its way along the coast. From the steps above the lighthouse we were able to clearly see the spouts, flukes, and occasional soundings of these magnificent creatures. It was hours before I could pull myself away. I was hooked on whale watching then and there.

If you are interested in watching the California Gray Whales as they make their thousand mile migrations from Alaska to Baja California, by all means get this relatively inexpensive guidebook. As a previous reviewer noted, it has a lot of information, including facts about the migration and the whale's life cycle. You will also learn how to distinguish whales by the type of spout they produce, and what has been done to protect California Gray Whales and bring them back from near extinction.

The book also offers plenty of advice for where and when to see Gray Whales, as well as rules for traveling with them in private boats. Now that I have read the guide (and been on a few whale watching cruises) I plan to visit Baja in the winter. As the author notes, only in the calving grounds of San Ignacio Lagoon can one truly get up close and personal with these creatures. If you want to know when and where to have similar experiences, by all means get this guide. It is a quick and inexpensive way to add to your whale watching pleasure.

I think this book is excellent because it have things I didn't know about orcas like the size, some parts of their body, and many other things. I think this book is very different to the others because it have different things. I want to recommend this book for all the people that like orcas becouse is an excellent book, is one of the best books I've read of orcas.

I think this book is excellent because it have things I didn't know about orcas like the size, some parts of their body, and many other things. I think this bbok is very different to the others because it have different things. I want to recommend this book for all the people that like orcas becouse is an excellent book, is one of the best books I've read of orcas.

This book is specially good for students and professors, since its written in a very nice way. It contains all the essential information for fisheries biologists, mainly beginners. Must have for graduate fisheries students.

Fisheries Biology, Assessment and Management is a good textbook which provides essential information on several modern methods of resources management for both temperate and tropical fisheries. Modern catching methods are reviewed in full, analyses of fisheries resource species are provided. Fisheries Biology Assessment and Management contains worked examples, graphs, charts, diagrams and line drawings. This title is useful to undergraduate of fishery biology and ecology. This is a really good textbook to fishery researches.

As a mother of a three year-old who loves whale, I have to say that this is the pinnacle of his whale book collection. Humpbacks, grays, belugas, killers, fins, rights, bowheads, narwhals and even dolphins are all represented in a breathtakingly beautiful dreamy story of whales and the children who love them. Evenly matched with the prose is the awe inspiring illustration. Wow. This is just a beautiful book that you and your children will love. I read it twice to my son right out of the box and got choked up each time when I read about the children hatching a plan to regrow all of the whales that man has killed in their secret whale garden. This story acknowledges the deep connection that many children have with these large sea creatures and inspires them through a magical fantasy to save the whales themselves without one preachy word...ever.

Even if your children don't love whales yet...they will after reading this book. A portion of the author's proceeds even go to the Earth Island Institute, "dedicated to developing innovative projects for the conservation, preservation and restoration of the global environment."

This book has a terrific story that will transform the reader into this great fanatsy land. The illustrations are top notch, bringing the whales to life. This is a must have book for all little tots. Jennifer O'Connell could be rated among the best of Children's books illustrators. This book has both an excellant story and great pictures.

Life in Peking (Beijing) China before World War II was the ultimate big frog in a small pond experience for Europeans and Americans. Persons of modest means and position, such as Marine Captain John Letcher, could live like pashas on a modest salary. Moreover, Peking had fabulous art, architecture, food, and a glorious culture to enjoy.

Life was not nearly so good for the Chinese and that was why Letcher was there. He was a member of a US Marine Corps contingent with the mission of protecting foreigners and property. The Chinese had the disconcerting habit of rising up occasionally and killing the Westerners enjoying their bounty. Captain Letcher's tour in Peking was made memorable by the beginning of World War II when Japanese and Chinese troops clashed at Marco Polo Bridge, just outside Peking. What is perhaps most remarkable is how little the war between China and Japan disrupted the good life of the foreigners inside the walls of Peking although there is a sense of gathering doom in Letcher's account.

This book consists of Letcher's letters and diary entries from 1936 to 1939. A lengthy introduction, a few photos and maps, extensive footnotes, and a bibliography supplement the text. Letcher has no startling insights or wisdom to impart, but his stories of daily life conjure up life in Peking pretty well and his eye-witness observations of the war are interesting. "Goodbye Old Peking" is a well done book of interest to scholars and those of us who are fascinated by old time China and the Westerners who lived there.

Smallchief

Mr. Letcher's letters were written in a style that gives the reader a "visual" description of pre World War II China. Although some of his opinions may not be politically correct by todays standards, I think he honestly expresses his feelings of the people and surroundings at the time. Some of his predictions regarding the upcoming war are almost right on--however his prediction that California would eventually be captured by the Japanese happily did not come true. Regardless of Mr. Letcher's personal opinions, his letters are well written and gives the reader the feeling of being there. A good story. The editors did a great job of keeping the story on track, and the footnote information was very informative (Their references led me to several other publications which I subsequently read). The copy I read was from the public library. I plan to buy the book for my collection in the near future.

This book does an excellent job of describing the marine life found in numerous diving locations throughout the world. Mr. Roessler is very informative and descriptive, as well as being very honest and objective about the pros and cons of dive travel to these locations. I will use this book in planning future dive trips since his description of places I have already dived was extremely consistent with my personal experience and observations. His photography is superb and my non-diving friends really enjoyed looking through the book as well. A 'must have' for divers and anyone who appreciates great photography!

This is a book of beautiful photography, with interesting text to supplement it. There is nothing in the book about the Florida Keys, however the book makes a stellar "coffee table book". The photos and summaries are from divesites all over the world, including the Caribbean, California, Hawaii, Galapagos, Polynesia, Australia, Asia, the Red Sea, and many others.

I was lucky enough to stumble across this book at a book sale in Colorado. It's a great introduction to learning about dolphins and similar cetaceans. There is even a helpful taxonomic chart in the appendix. The book is split into 3 basic sections - 'The Nature of Dolphins', species information, and human impacts on dolphins. You would assume from the "Greenpeace" title that the book would be full of subjective descriptions, but surprisingly they stick to just the biological facts during the first 2 sections of the book. That makes it a great choice as a beginning cetacean biology book for anyone.
The first section teaches about Cetacean evolution, dolphin anatomy (including an anatomy diagram), behavior, echolocation, intelligence/communication, and similar dolphin basics. It also dispels and discusses the real facts about some of the popular romantic myths about their intelligence and social behavior.
The second section gives details about each of the species within the Delphinidae family (dolphins, porpoises, and killer whales) worldwide. Like a field guide, it is split up into different categories based on habitat location. For example, all arctic species are presented in one section, all coastal species are in another section, etc. At least one color picture or sketch is given for each species, along with size and color description, habitat description, and a few paragraphs about what makes that species unique. I found this section of the book the most helpful.
The third section of the book covers the impact that humans have had on dolphins. This is the only section with obvious bias and subjective wording. The book was published in 1990, so a couple of the facts may be a little outdated now, but still helpful to know. Most of the human practices mentioned are still going on and thus still relevant. Some of the pictures in this section are very graphic and might disturb children or adults. This section of the book covers hunting practices around the world, secondary dolphin mortality caused by the fishing industry, U.S. and Soviet military use of dolphins, captivity for entertainment purposes (such as Sea World), and finishes with descriptions of dolphin conservation projects worldwide by Greenpeace and scientists.

I am in the process of considering a career in marine biology, and found this book helpful as a beginning point on my quest to learn about dolphins. The wording is easy to understand, so I think even people with just a casual interest in cetaceans would learn a lot from it. If you can find it, I recommend buying this book for a good overview of dolphins/toothed whales.

As anyone might expect from the Greenpeace stable, the emphasis here is on conservation - and so it should be! Commencing with a chapter headed "What is a Dolphin?", I cannot think of a better way to start any book on any factual subject than by describing precisely what that subject is. So, having left the reader in no doubt as to what this book is all about, we then go from strength to strength as it describes the creature's; Evolution, Family Tree, Anatomy, Behaviour, Swimming, Relations, Intelligence, Echolocation and instances of Stranding. And that's just from part one entitled "The Nature of Dolphins."

From this point onwards, the reader benefits from having just received a great education into these endearing mammals. It is, therefore, with a greater understanding of the creatures in general that we now move on to learn about, All Ocean Species, Artic Species and Northern Ocean Species. It is here we encounter the Pakistan and Yangtze River Dolphins and the even rarer Vaquita from Mexico (to mention but three). Along the way we are taught of man's threat - both deliberate and accidental, and that threat is quite disturbing.

Altogether, this is a book packed with information supported by outstanding colour photography and diagrams. It is a book which brings home a message loud and clear and is one that should be read by anyone who has ever been thrilled by the sight of Dolphin.

NM

collection procedures and identification of zooplankto

This book, following on the heels of DeBoyd Smith's 1st edition, presents a good selection of line drawings and information about the diversity of more common marine plankton and invertebrate larvae. While no guide to this group of organisms can really hope to be exhaustive in its coverage, this book presents a good overview of the kinds of organisms that are floating around out there.

This book is a great primer to the group. It is not, however, all that useful in doing taxonomic work, but it is a great tool for use in supporting laboratory work involving general identification of plankton. In order to do more specific taxonomic work, however, one needs access to more comprehensive taxonomic keys from the professional literature.

Still, this book would be a great addition to the library of any serious student of invertebrate zoology, marine biology, or oceanography.

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN