Wildlife Books

I must say this is one of the most light-hearted, hilarious books I have ever read. The story is of a world that one really may not get to see these days.. Go ahead and buy it..

In todays day and age of Steve Erwin and Jeff Corbin who go around hunting for animals, it is easy to forget where it all started. With people like Gerald, and the London zoo. In this book, he collects animals, deals with his demented siblings and his long suffering mother who has to raise four kids and fend off the advances of a really persistent Colonel who gets increasingly vulgar and `grabby' when he drinks. This is a rare story that combines a humorous story with humorous writing and I once caused passengers in a flight to turn around and give me strange looks, so hard was I laughing.

My Family and Other Animals is a bare-bones story in terms of plot. The Durrell family goes to Corfu, lives through what could be termed as a soap opera, and leaves. It's humourous, but not particularly challenging.

However, the older Gerald Durrell utilises vivid vocabulary over and over when describing the setting and people of Corfu. Fifteen-letter words that paint a crystalline picture are used frequently, relieving the never-ending roller coaster that is the life of the Durrells.

Overall, this is a highly entertaining book that will keep you engaged for the week or so that you will spend reading it every spare second you have.

This book is absolutely, brilliantly funny. The wit and unique characterizations are woven with great descriptions of the animals and plants of Corfu. That Durrell can hold the attention of readers who have no interest in biology simply demonstrates what a fine work this is. Gerald's depiction of a larger-than-life expatriate family on a larger-than-life Greek island is a tremendous celebration of life. The variety of different Greek characters parading through this book rivals the variety of Corfu's flora and fauna. Absolute great read!

Gerald Durrell was not only a naturalist and a gifted writer about his beloved animals, but a loving brother and son whose descriptions of his family and their foibles will keep you laughing all the way through. This is one of those books which I've reread so many times I've lost count, and which I've given to many friends who needed cheering up. Always works, too!

This is the book I've been looking for- tons of information and beautiful pictures. I highly recommend.

This book is filled with incredible pictures. It also contains topical infromation on different animals. The book is broken into sections that allows the reader to look up information easily. DK gives us another high quality informative book. A must have for lovers of animals!

Overall a great valve for the money. Pictures are clear and all in color. Explaines well the breakdown of species. For a book at this price it cannot be beat, but there are some items that I think should have been included. The first is the average life span of the species. It's mentioned for very few animals but it always facinates me to realize how long or short some of these animals live for. Another puzzling exclusion from the book is that humans are not included ... unless humans are not considered part of the Animal Kingdom. Puzzling choice not to include humans.

This is an excellent book! I could not be more satisfied. (However, it is a LARGE book. I expect to be spending several more weeks reading it in detail.)

My kids adore this book, as do many of their friends whom we've given it to. The pictures are excellent, and the level of factual detail is high without being numbing. I don't think we've ever tried to look up an animal what wasn't in here. I recommend it highly.

I find that "The Noble Wilds" is truly a great book to add to anyone's reading collection for both adults and young adults. The illustration is great - as I am going through the pages I feel as if nature is presenting itself right in front of me. It is such a pure beauty and it makes me appreciate even more of what God has created here for us. And every character in the book described by Master Ching Hai is amazing. They are so beautiful and noble in their own beings. So I hope that readers will have more respective view of our co-inhabitants and our Mother earth, and take on positive actions to protect them because if they are protected, we are also protected.

The Noble Wilds
Thsi book is really fantastic! AfterI read this book, I realized that the wild animals like swan, duck, seagull, coots etc. have also the intelligence, feeling, love, sacrifice(for their children), friendship even to human beings and other species.
It shows why humans should respect all the lives on earth who share this precious planet with us.
To be the vegetarian is the first step to love this planet, wild lives and even humanity itself.

This book is full of amazing pictures and stories, which shows how wild animals are compassionate being like human. Reading this book lifts my spirit up and I would recommend it to anyone.

It is a really good and interesting book. If you look at the other beings with love and compassion, you can communicate with them without languages. Then they will return an unconditional love to yourself.

They have their own communities. They protect each other, male towards female and also to their kids, specially a mother to their children. They have courage when encountering a dangerous situation - even human beings sometimes don't have. You will see through the book that they are really noble. The Noble Wilds

In the epic work on the relationship between human beings and wildlife entitled "The Noble Wilds" Supreme Master Ching Hai revealed for the first time the wide range of human Noble Quality (NQ), and the NQ of some of our familiar animal friends.

This amazing revelation has a far reaching impact on our consciousness and understanding, not just of our relationship to animals and the environment, but it also helps us to realize just how far short we have fallen off from our own human standards.

Following from the well received launch of "The Birds in My Life", "The Dogs in My Life, Vol. 1" and "The Dogs in My Life, Vol. 2", "The Noble Wilds" is destined to be a book that will send shock waves to all corners of our civilisation, and thereby helping us to wake up to our own noble quality, our innate compassion and our original pristine nature.

May this book inspire us to increase our understanding, to extend our love, and to help save the animal kingdom and the environment in which we all live.

Great book on the plight of unwanted and abandoned animals and the humans who care enough to do something about it by rescuing them and finding homes for these homeless pets.

I thought it was an okay book, but as I was reading, I found myself skipping through all the blah blah blah to get to the actual animal stories. The stories about the animals were great, but you have to wade through a lot to get to them.

Terri Crisp is a dinosaur and hopefully she has been replaced by more enlightened people. She randomly euthenized every feral cat she came across, proclaiming that ferals are not adoptable and are basically a scurge. Obvioulsy she has never heard of T.N.R. programs. I was very disappointed in this book and in Crisp's actions and can only hope people will NOT use it as a guide to animal welfare. It is just one uneducated womens accounts of her exploits.

This is in response to the post about Terry Crisp's organization being investigated by California's Attorney General's office. This is what's posted on her website:

Noah's Wish Board of Directors, March 26, 2007

We are writing to inform you that Noah's Wish is in the midst of an ongoing civil investigation by the California Attorney General's office concerning funds received by Noah's Wish during Hurricane Katrina. The California Attorney General has taken the position that certain funds donated to Noah's Wish during this period, and its immediate aftermath, are restricted and may only be used for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, rather than the animal victims of other disasters or for general disaster preparedness. Noah's Wish disagrees with the Attorney General's position with respect to those funds, but is working cooperatively with the Attorney General toward a timely resolution of the dispute.

In response to the California Attorney General, Noah's Wish has set aside the disputed funds and agreed not to use those funds pending final resolution of the investigation. Noah's Wish is unable to predict when the matter will be resolved. Because Noah's Wish does not presently have access to the disputed funds, it is unable at this time to continue with its efforts to provide disaster preparedness services and volunteer training.

We will provide you with an update once we have resolved this matter.

We appreciate your patience and also wish to express our gratitude for all that you have done to support Noah's Wish in carrying out our charitable mission.

State probe forces animal-rescue nonprofit to close
Queries $8M raised in wake of Katrina
Sacramento Business Journal - March 30, 2007
by Kelly Johnson
Staff Writer
A local animal-rescue nonprofit that gained national attention for its work after Hurricane Katrina, sparking more than $8 million in donations, was shutting down this month amid a state investigation into how it used that money.
Noah's Wish, which rescues and cares for animals in disasters, was preparing this week to close its El Dorado Hills headquarters. About a dozen workers have resigned or been laid off since late last year.
The California Attorney General's Office has been investigating the organization since last summer, examining how Noah's Wish used donations that might have been designated for relief efforts in the hurricane-ravaged area. The probe led to most of the nonprofit's funds being set aside in accounts where they couldn't be used for other operations.
The nonprofit contends the funds were used properly and said it is cooperating with investigators.
The group received millions in donations after news stories showed its efforts in an area devastated by the August 2005 hurricane. Former Noah's Wish insiders allege those millions were intended to relieve suffering in the storm-battered zone but were improperly used for other purposes.
According to documents obtained by the Business Journal from a former employee, an accounting firm hired by Noah's Wish to examine its books concluded that it would be impossible to conduct a reliable audit because so many records were missing from the period when the group and its volunteers were working on the ravaged Gulf Coast.
Documents filed by the nonprofit or provided by the former employee indicated Noah's Wish had about $210,000 in revenue in the year ended June 30, 2005, and almost 40 times that much -- $8.4 million -- in the next six months.
Expenses shot upward, too, from about $212,000 in 2004-2005 to more than $2 million in the last six months of 2005, including almost $400,000 to purchase vehicles. In early 2006, the group bought a storage building in East Alton, Ill., for $65,125 and leased office space in New York City, according to documents provided by the former employee.
Terri Crisp, founder of the group and its executive director until this week, was paid $6,200 in 2004-2005, tax records show. The documents supplied by the former employee covering July through December 2005 indicated Crisp received compensation of almost $141,000.
The nonprofit's board this week acknowledged the investigation on the group's Web site. "The California Attorney General has taken the position that certain funds donated to Noah's Wish during this period (of Katrina), and its immediate aftermath, are restricted and may only be used for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, rather than the animal victims of other disasters or for general disaster preparedness," a letter posted online said. "Noah's Wish disagrees ... but is working cooperatively with the Attorney General toward a timely resolution of the dispute."
Noah's Wish has agreed not to use the disputed funds while the investigation is pending, and the nonprofit cannot continue its work without access to the money, the letter said.
A spokesman for the state's top lawyer would not confirm or deny an investigation.
Ralph Nevis of Downey Brand Attorneys LLP in Sacramento, who represents the group, would not discuss the nature of the inquiry.
Founder was asked to leave board
Staff members are being paid through April 11, but this week only the office manager remained at the El Dorado Hills headquarters to close things down over the next couple of weeks.
At one point, the nonprofit had 15 employees working at offices in El Dorado Hills and New York City and from homes in other states. The three-person office in New York closed in January.
"They've reduced the staff because of funding. It's everybody," Crisp said Wednesday. She said she's taking her remaining days as sick leave, but by Wednesday evening a message on the group's Web site said she was no longer connected with Noah's Wish.
Crisp also served on the organization's board of directors from its founding in 2002 until February. She's no longer on the board, she said, "partly because it's a conflict of interest." The Attorney General's office "had asked for me not to remain on the board."
Because she's no longer on the board, Crisp said she did not have the latest information on the investigation or details about what it covers. Investigators, she said, have not interviewed her and were working only through the nonprofit's attorney and its board chair, Amy Maher.
Maher did not return calls Wednesday. Board members Lyn Kendrick, Gail Monick and David Lesser declined to comment on the investigation; another, Heather Hathaway, did not respond to a request for an interview.
Asked about allegations that the nonprofit inappropriately used money, Crisp said, "I don't know of any misuse of funds."
Lori Polk, chair of the Noah's Wish board during Katrina, left it the month after the hurricane. Before and after Katrina, she said, she voiced concerns about "the organization and the allocations of the donations we were collecting." She said she felt she was "fighting a losing battle trying to maintain my fiduciary responsibility to the organization."
The group "did not make decisions based upon board approval," she said, and made "expenditures without approval."
The former employee, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, said that "the amount of money that was spent by the organization was unbelievable."
The Attorney General's authority over charities includes investigating the loss of substantial funds during one year, illegal use of funds, diversion of funds from their intended purpose and excessive amounts paid for salaries, benefits, travel, entertainment, legal and other professional fees, according to the agency's Web site.
Raising money last month
Noah's Wish was soliciting funds as recently as February. In a letter to potential donors, Crisp wrote the nonprofit had "made a concerted effort to only ask for donations when the need truly exists, and not become a pest with repeated appeals."
Later, the letter said, "So why am I contacting you now? Noah's Wish is prepared for the next disaster, but lately this has become increasingly challenging." Because 2006 was a "fairly uneventful year," Crisp wrote, donations declined significantly.
Tax documents for Noah's Wish obtained by the Business Journal reported revenue of $8.4 million, almost all of it from contributions, between July 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005. Some $4.8 million was in unrestricted assets and $1.5 million in temporarily restricted assets at the end of that year, financial documents indicate.
In June 2006, the accounting firm engaged to audit the books wrote the board that it could not express an opinion on the 2005 financial statements, according to documents provided by the former employee.
"A significant portion of corroborating evidence such as vendor invoices, receipts, deposit slips and other supporting data were not maintained during the period that the organization was responding to the needs of animals during Hurricane Katrina. The records that remain are not sufficient to permit the application of auditing procedures that would be adequate for us to express an opinion on the accompanying financial statements," according to the letter from John Waddell & Co. CPAs.
For the second half of 2005, Noah's Wish paid $405,948 in salaries and compensation, according to the Form 990 supplied by the former employee. Of that, Crisp received $140,900, while the second-highest compensation went to Sheri Thompson at $118,125, the tax documents show.
If the numbers are correct, it appears the compensation for Crisp and Thompson is well above the norm for nonprofits of this size, said Ann Lucas, executive director of the Nonprofit Resource Center. The annual median base salary for the executive director of a nonprofit of this size is $130,000, according to the 2006 Compensation and Benefits Survey of Northern California Nonprofit Organizations, which is produced by the Center for Nonprofit Management in Los Angeles.
Noah's Wish committed $1 million to the city of Slidell, La. for construction of a new animal control center; the old one was severely damaged by Katrina. The city has not received any of those funds, Slidell City Attorney Tim Mathison said.

After reading the stellar reviews I purchased this book for my 13 year old sister. All I can say is "Blah". This is some of the lamest young fantasy I have ever read, needless to say she never got this book. Falling prey to a host of storybook and fashion cliches Emily the spunky loveable red-head, Adriane the quiet and mysterious raven haired guide at the Raven's Wood Animal Preserve, and Kira the blonde valley girl princess tromp about in a terribly typical manner discovering magic from another world and befriending a host of magical animal companions. Perhaps I've been spoiled by J.K.Rowling, but Rachel/Shelly Roberts writes as though the young women reading these books are stupid. Upon reading "Circles In The Stream" I was a little surprised that it was considered appropriate reading for a 13 year old!

On a less negative note, if you have a little girl about 7-10 that enjoys reading- this will be right up her alley. Certainly not a classic novel but one that is a "safe" fantasy book that younger readers can handle with ease. For all you not so little girls out there try "Howl's Moving Castle"- a charming fantasy novel and love story- or if you prefer a series Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums are an excellent age-appropriate set of fantasy novels.

This book is the best I have read ever!
The book is mainly about, friendship,magic, and the love of Animals, for those parents out there if you want to know more about this book and the series, go to....

http://avalonclubhouse.piczo.com/

This book a no put down, something to treasure. Shelly Roberts has a true talent for book writing!

Highly recommanded to Magic lovers everywhere!

this book is awsome!! Right now I'm middle of reading trail by fire but anyways this is a must read! I love all the magic in the book and friendship. Every thing is so magical. If u lov magic well this is a book for u!!

this book is the best its nice and thick and super interesting i wish i had the auctal book i took it out of the libray if you cant decide to buy it or not buy it you wont be disaponted also another good seires isw w.i.t.c.h.

I loved it! Emily is this new girl in town and is lonely but doesn't mind as her mom is a vet so spends most of her time with animals. As she gets adjusted to the town one day this sick animal comes with these brutal green gashes that everybody thinks is pioson. Not just that but dogs are soon found dead by the wildlife perserve. Emily decides to explore until she finds a stone that later turns beautiful like in all differnet rainbow colours. She later meets a girl Adriane and becomes fast friends. They learn to except the magic that entered their lives and most of all they learn that magic is strongest when your friends are there to help, and not to mention a magical world with evil lurking everywhere.

The cat photos are so impressive I am going to have about 10 of them professionally framed! This is a gorgeous calendar. I'm watching for 2008!

Cat calandar -- Very nice -- Beautiful !!

Our office always has cat calendars in the kitchen but we all agree this is the BEST. Photography is superb. Just one caveat - read the directions. A co-worker discovered too late that for the first half of the year you have to change dates by putting the old picture back in the holder for the 2nd half of the year pictures on the back.

Anyone who enjoys the enormously popular 365 Cats Page A Day Calendar will love this one too. The Cat Gallery Calendar has to be the best calendar around for cat lovers. The large format, quality printing and most important of all, the beautiful and varied photographs make this product absolutely sensational. It is a great daily desk calendar too.

The ultimate cat-lover's calendar. A different face to greet each day, beautifully photographed and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Purrfect gift!

Carl is a wonderful writer and brilliant scientist, this book covers a wide range of issues while keeping it lively and hopeful.

I bought this book for my daughter who will go to graduate school to study marine science next year. I have not read the book but based on other reviews I think this must be an excellent book especially my daughter is very much concerned about preserving nature. Anyway, I was a litle bit disappointed when I received the book. I ordered soft copy and the print was so small that I don't know whether it will turn off my daughter's interest since she is very nearshighted. I don't mind if the book is thicker or bigger.

Part exploration, part eloquent plea for action, this is the report of a scientist's journey toward understanding the plight of our seas. Safina travelled with tuna fishermen and coral research teams, salmon boats and conservationists fighting for the Columbia Gorge. Their stories are here, in their words, set against a backdrop painted by a Yale professor with the soul of a poet. The litany is one of collapsing fisheries and dying reefs, huge nets that are scraping the sea floor into a featureless, lifeless plain, unbridled greed, and people whose heritage as sailors and fishermen is disappearing in a generation. Here also is the graceful breach of a humpback whale, the slow lazy lolling of an ocean sunfish, and the bullet quick movement of bluefin tuna under Atlantic sunrises and Pacific sunsets. An altogether beautiful book about the slow death of the sea. Safina believes we can protect the bounty and diversity he so eloquently describes. The question he poses is, "Will we choose to?" and suggests that one way to help answer that is to ask another. "What if we don't?"

This is one of the most beautiful, powerful books I have ever read. Safina's journey encompasses the entire world and all points of view. His words have inspired me to pursue my dreams and opened up new worlds of knowledge. Now, every time I hear of politicians doing something stupid to the oceans or rivers, I just shake my head and say "'Song' should be required reading for them before they can draft a piece of legislation dealing with the oceans."

I'm only about halfway through this book, but it's so moving that I decided I needed to rave now. Carl Safina uses an amazing grasp of language to paint mental pictures of what he writes about. I work in the scientific community and have spent a lot of time on that water, and his writings are not only objective and scientifically sound, he constructs them in such a way that they are beautiful. You will have a thirst for each topic and region of which he writes. I borrowed this book from the library and had vowed to buy it before I'd finished the first chapter. It has only improved as I've proceeded.

Amazing BW pictures. Very nice and a good edition. Very interesting for all photo-africa lovers....

This is a collection of beautiful photographs. The prints are warm, with good blacks. This made a great gift for our friends that had travelled in Africa.

Nick Brandt's collection of photography is absolutely stunning. His work is much more akin to portraits than traditional wildlife photography. There is an intimacy between Brandt and his animal subjects which resonates in each photo. Page after page, "On This Earth" shows us the humanity and soul of these animals. Brandt has made a brilliant case for why these creatures have the same right to live on this earth as we do.

The day I got this book I spent almost an hour flipping through the pages and soaking in the beauty of these photos. It was then that I decided Nick Brandt was my new favorite photographers. He captures the African wildlife with so much power and natural beauty that it's almost unreal and his post-processing adds a whole other layer to the photos. I would suggest this book to any photo or animal enthusiast, it is quite simply one of the best photography books I have found.

This is one of the most beautiful 'coffee-table' books I have in my collection. The photos are outstanding, with clear, strong shots of the subject. The book is filled with full-page, high quality photography that will make you wish you'd bought 2 books...one to keep on the coffee table, and one to deconstruct and frame.

Wonderful book full of beautiful, mystical, magical photographs. Robert Vavra is one of the best in the business!

Remember when you believed in unicorns? This book is filled with such beautiful photography that you will forget you were told not to believe.

I have always appreciated Robert Vavra from the time I was first introduced to his art. But this particular book I have longed for about 23 years.
Beautiful, fanciful, and "fact"-filled book about a mythical noble creature that is loved so much, that few would dispute his existence.
Photos, illustrations and notes on each well-known type of unicorn is unsurpassed!

I first encountered this book when I was very young. I asked my local library to buy it and they did; and I kept checking it out again and again. Owning this book now is like looking back into my own childhood, at the dreams and the wonder I had for the world. It's beautiful pictures and startling art has never faded for me over time.

This gorgeous book is one of the finest unicorn books I own. It has great pictures and lots of unicorn details and a unicorn searching guide. It is worth buying if you like unicorns or photography. It is worth getting Unicorn of Kilimanjaro or the Calendar if you can find them as well. It is on my list of favorite all time books, and i see a lot of them as i work at a bookstore. By this if you or someone you love likes unicorns and give the gift of magic.

The book Cry of the Wolf was an awesome book. It has dragons, wolves and griffins, some of my favorite mythical creatures. My favorite character is Adriane. Adriane is about 14; she has two friends' that are total opposites. My favorite part is when she battles the manticore.
Cry of the Wolf is about a girl named Adriane who lets her bonded animal Stormbringer (bonded animal is an animal that balances their magic) go into the magical world Aldenmore with wolves. Adriane gets worried and goes after her. While she looks for her she makes friends with a boy named Zach and gets a dragon for a bonded animal.
The dark sorceress captures her. While she's in the dungeon she finds another mistwolf. With the help of the other animals in the dungeon she gets out. When she gets out she has to battle the manticore . After that Stormbringer comes back with the rest of the pack. So Adriane finds her bonded animal and goes back to earth.

Finally Adrianne is on action. In the book there is alot of action and suspence though one part is kinda sad. Adrianne and her boned animal Storm hav a close bond when these other mistwolves come and Storm decides to join with the pack leaving Adrianne torn. The warrior then goes on a journey to find Storm. She then is on Aldenmore and meets with this one boy named Zach(human) and this strange rock. Soon they become friends and Adrianne soon learns about his past. Adrianne later figures out that the rock is not really what it seems. So far this is my faverite book in the series and I think everyone will love it.

This book is prehaps my favorite out of all of the books. Adriane is willful and strong. When she is pulled into Aldenmore, even if she feels like she can't go on, she keeps her head high and moves forward. The mistwolves are a major part of the entire series and in this book, they are shown in a new light, slightly harsh and sometimes cruel, but always for the safety and wellfare of the pack. I would recomend this book to anyone who is willing to sit down and read a fantasy story about loyalty, friendship and the never ending bond that is love.

I really like how this one is mostly about Adriane and her friendship with Stormbringer. I also love how she meets alot of other magical creatures-=some friends, and some foes. Her experieance on Aldenmor really helped her come out of her shell.

Adrianne and Storm share a bond unlike any other. Storm thinks that she is the last mistwolf living since she has no membory of the pack and Adrianne thinks that she has some blood of a mistwolf but not sure yet... until the mistwolf pack arrive and Storm sadly joins. Adrianne cannot since shes not a mistwolf and the leader of the pack believes that humans always bring destruction. When they leave that does not stop Adrianne from finding Storm. With the help of her friends the d flies make a portal though Adrianne gets sucked in to the world of Aldenmore. The action begins as the warrior fights monsters and meets this rock and this boy named Zach. Eventually Adrianne finds Storm and the pack accepts as Adrianne their wolf sister so shes part of the pack!