Wildlife Books

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!

I've been a fan of the Cat Page-a-Day Calender for years now. It makes every morning worth waking up for! Even my own cat approves.

This collection of photos is beautiful and inspiring. I have it on my desk at work and get many compliments on the quality of the pictures. I love the quotes and sayings as well. If you love cats you will love this calendar!

We buy this calendar every year to give as Christmas presents for our cat-loving friends and family. We don't have to buy our own because my sister always give us one. We look forward to "Cat of the Day Time" when we turn to the new page. The photos are terrific.

This is a beautifully-made and beautifully-photographed calendar. I had the 2007 version and tried for some time to find a vendor who carried the 2008 version. It is cleverly constructed to show the first 6 months on one side of the pages and the other 6 months by flipping the pages over and putting them back in the plexiglass frame. I was very glad that Amazon carried the item, and at more than $5.00 off the retail suggested price. I hope they carry the future versions as well.

Love this calendar. I get one for my desk in my classroom every year.

Beautiful pictures, we are actally going to use this book as our guest book at our wedding.

great gift for ocean lovers. amazing photography. an enjoyable book for those that love the water, but don't want to get wet.

David Doubilet's photographs are simply beautiful...this book really blew me away. I could literally stare at the images for hours as they are that captivating. It's almost as if you're diving with Mr. Doubilet and seeing these creatures up close. The way he uses two separate views (i.e. shooting the ray underwater while also shooting the sky above the water) is amazing. While exhibiting his photography prowess, Mr. Doubilet also shows the viewer the strong connection of all the earth's elements. He also seems to have a strong relationship with the ocean life- the stunning photo of the seal peeping over the bed of kelp truly captures the seal's beauty without compromising its playful nature.

This book is a treasure!

I couldn't imagine a more beautiful photography book! If you are fascinated with the underwater world, this is for you! The quality of the photographs are unmatched. Looking through the book is a magical experience.

Not only the pictures are artistically and beautifully photographed, but one cannot not wonder how Mr. Doubilet could be right there at the moment, with the right lights and the right angles to capture such incredible photos. If you appreciate nature's beauty and photography, this book is a must.

The Final Frontiersman is the true account of the wilderness life of Heimo Korth and his family. Heimo grew up in Wisconsin but followed a dream to live in the bush in Alaska. Heimo is a "successful" subsistence trapper and hunter in the ANWR where you can freeze at -55 in the winter and the clouds of mosquitoes torment you in the short summer. The sun disappears for over a month in the winter and there is no night in summer. Heimo and his family spend most of the year in the bush where their nearest neighbor is more than a hundred miles away--human neighbor that is; bears, wolves, wolverines, caribou, and many other kinds of animals abound. Heimo is successful in the sense that he and his family survive, all except one. Theirs is a tough life, and Heimo is a tough but likable character.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author, Heimo's cousin, has a direct, clear writing style and a good sense of pacing. The story reminded me in some ways of The Big House by George Colt: "Here is the story of my (extended) family and all my weird relatives" and like The Big House this book could have used extensive editing. We get too much detail about Heimo and his brood, who in fact are not really all that weird or exceptional after all.

The author presents this work as a meditation on the meaning of wilderness and a vital but disappearing American way of life, but he never manages to infuse these issues of wilderness and the struggle to survive with a sense of metaphysical profundity. Heimo's work and life all come off as somewhat mundane, if exceptionally lonely and uncomfortable; even deprived and brutal (Heimo kills large numbers of furbearing animals for a living). In the end, the author failed to communicate why Heimo would choose such a life, or what about it is attractive. I got the sense that neither the author, nor Heimo's family, nor Heimo himself understand Heimo. He remains a discomforting enigma.

Like The Big House, The Final Frontiersman is most interesting as an exploration of family and what it means to be involved in this most natural and troubling human institution.

There are not very many people I would like to meet, but Heimo and his family are at the top of my list. Fantastic story of some extraordinary folks.

Really painted a good picture of what life was like living in the cold Alaskan wilderness.

It is hard for me to realize that Heimo and his family live even today in the manner in which they live.The hardships they overcome daily as part of their everyday living shows the will that some people have and develop.I recommend this book highly and it has also made me realize that I am not so tough as I thought I was.

This story grips you like an Arctic winter. It is hard to put down as Heimo Korth lives a storybook life subsisting 28 years in back country of Alaska as a trapper and frontiersman. James Campbell takes you through Heimo and his family's incredible story. If you have any sense of life outdoors or appreciation for living off the land, this award winning book is for you.

Heimo and his family did it their way and Campbell's book celebrates their courage, difficulties and successes.

I purchased this book for my husband after the loss of his/our dog that he had adopted 15 years ago. The book is a beautiful look at why older dogs are the best and hardest to lose. I designed a page identical to those in the book with a picture of our dog and a list of a few of the items that made her life so great. It is a great book for dog lovers.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves dogs, especially people who understand the true beauty of older dogs. Asher's photographs are emotion provoking as they seem to capture the essence of the dogs' personalities. I bought this book as a present for someone and one for myself. I am going to buy at least 2 more as gifts. :)

good pictures of the dogs; I liked the captions for the pictures. another good book for dog lovers as our doggies get older.

If you are a dog person, you'll love this book. The pictures and short "sayings" from the dogs match perfectly. I've given this as a gift to friends who love dogs, and they have all loved it.

Mark Asher has captured, in a series of haunting photographs, the rare beauty and vast wisdom that old dogs give to those of us fortunate enough to love them unconditionally. If you have ever loved an old dog, this book is for you. Nothing here but fabulous pictures of old dogs and the secrets of their longevity expressed in brief but memorable phrases. This book makes a beautiful gift for the dog lover in your life.

Wonderful - the shots were amazing. I really enjoyed just leafing through the book and let the visions just wash over me.

Frans Lanting does it again in Eye To Eye--a brilliant collection of intimate portraits and daily activities of various animals. Like Jungles, it's a book that no natural photographer should be without. When you can see the individual hairs in a courgar's fur coat, it makes you kind of wonder what it would be like to be that close to one.
Looking at Lanting's work is always like looking through a book of artwork, as if he is the Picasso of photography and we are looking through his masterpieces.

From the elephant up to the insect, from the cayman up to the seal every animal looks us in the eyes deeply. "Less than the human being: - the monkey follows in the system of zoology according to an immense ravine. If one, however, once wanted to organize the animals after her bliss, cosiness etc., then some people would come to stand anyway apparently under the miller donkeys and hounds ... ", 250 years ago the nature scientist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg already wrote. However, he did not have a camera yet to hand to cover this. Frans Lanting, however, shows us the determination with which snow geese and ibisses, penguins or zebras are away to something, shows us her family care and the dignity of animals in liberty - at times, when more and more people feel caught - a book which reminds us that "upright walking"- that synonymous of the philosophers for courage and self-respect - that you can make it true even on all four paws...

Frans Lanting is one of the great wildlife photographers of the world. He has published many books showing wild animals but "Eye to Eye" is certainly one of his most famous. It consists of dramatically close-up photographs of animals, always concentrating on the eyes of the subject.

The book is divided into three parts: "One on One" shows photographs of single animals, often so close that the frame is filled completely with just the animal's eyes. "Two by Two" usually shows pairs of animals, although there are occasional shots of larger groups. Often the pictures are of mother and child, or mates, but a few shots show conflict. "All in All" shows shots of larger groups of animals. The book also contains a two page section called "Behind the Camera" in which Lanting discusses his photographic philosophy but provides few hints that will allow others to copy his style. Finally, perhaps because the text of the main sessions is limited to species name, there is a section of thumbnails with a brief statement concerning the picture. I found this section to be particularly inadequate since I often said to myself "How did he do that?" but got no help in finding an answer.

These are amazing pictures, primarily because Lanting has managed to get so close to his subjects. In a few pictures we can see that that is a result of enlarging and cropping, but in most cases the pictures are sharp enough so that so that we realize he was really close to the animals. Moreover, with a few exceptions, these are not captive animals. I for one would not like to take a picture of a wild lion at a distance of twenty feet. At least one critic has suggested that this book raised the bar for all wildlife photographers, forcing them to get closer to their subjects, and placing more stress upon photographers and subject.

There are moments of great intimacy, particularly in the "Two by Two" section, where the pictures of parent and child tug at our heartstrings. It's hard not to see human characteristics in these photos. The book also benefits from its layout, grouping its subjects by actions. Thus there are pictures of a huge flock of butterflies followed by pictures of ibises, penguins, snow geese, zebras and elephants all purposefully on the move to some destination. I also particularly enjoyed facing pictures of a lion and a leopard, moving toward the centerfold in mirror image.

These are great photographs because the photographer got so close to his subjects. But they are also mostly documentary. Few of the pictures rise to the level where the form rather than the subject makes them art, although I was particularly struck by a picture of Oryxes carefully treading their way across the Namibian sand dunes. But when I compare Lanting's photographs to the work of other wildlife photographers like Art Wolfe, I can see the difference. The pictures in Wolfe's "The Living Wild" show each animal in its environment, where Wolfe was better able to concentrate on the composition of his subjects to create a more artful picture.

Not withstanding this quibble, "Eye to Eye" is a great book, and readers are unlikely to soon forget these close encounters with the other living inhabitants of our planet.

Wow !!! How can anyone get so close?!

These photographs are stunning. The talent of Frans Lanting oozes from these pages.

There is a closeness to the subjects here that borders on the intimate. In some cases, one wonders how he actually managed to get the shot.

The focussing and exposure is spot on and the composition is perfect.

I have tried to follow this type of photography and I am only too aware of how difficult it is to obtain these sorts of images.

I take my hat off to Frans Lanting. This is a brilliant work. A completely unique approach to wildlife photography. His behind the scenes narrative to the shots is illuminating.

This book is a valuable reference for all nature photographers. Sensational !

I found "Your Disgusting Head" on the clearance rack and just had to have the rest of the series. These books make for great conversation and are actually interesting coffee table books. Giraffes Giraffes tickles funny bones you never knew you had.

This is art and one rarely comes across art that is this beautiful and this close to being relevant. It's hard to deny the randomness in the order with which thoughts, figures, questions and answers appear in this book but that's what makes it so much more enjoyable. The story seems to be powered by a secret source of energy that exists at the boundary between "real" and "imaginary." The authors frequently cross this boundary on either direction without missing a beat, reminding us how great it is to think freely. What's really great is that this story has no beginning and no end so you can really go back and read it over and over again. Just make sure you don't read it 12 times...

I bought this book yesterday and haven't stopped laughing. I work at a zoo and we just got Giraffes so I thought it might be educational. Boy was I right! It's the funniest book I've read in a long time. I highly reccommend it if you are wanting a good laugh or need to know how to make sandwiches for them.
As for the reviewer who gave this book one star (the only negative review I might add) Are you disappointed that you didn't read what the book was about ahead of time or just unable to laugh at anything? You act like this book was in the reference section! This book is hilarious to humans and giraffes!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R15GVECJQ1T8V5

Simply one of the most informative books ever written. I would recommend "Your disgusting head" as a good second read.

Ever since I was a child, I have dreamed of going to visit or to live in Africa. I don't know why. I have this fascination with Africa, its culture, history, and its wildlife. But at my age and with my income the dream may not ever be possible except this one exception.

Wilderness Family is the first book that truly made me feel that I actually living in the bush of Kruger National Park. The stories shared in the book drew you into this family's lives. Rather than looking at them as an outsider peering through the window at their lives, you felt as though you were part of the family.

You could sense Leo the lion, Wolfie their dog and the way those two animals had a real relationship. It was so humorous to see Leo, this growing lion being submissive to the dog and actually thinking it was a dog at times.

It is a book that I will feel a need to pick up and read again and again as my thoughts will surely wonder to Africa and I will use it to slake my desire to be there personally.

I recommend this book to everyone. There is joy, laughter, sadness, all the emotions there is in this book, but it will happen because it dares you to live their lives with them.

I agree with all of the earlier reviews of this book - it is a must-read! My family had the privilege of visiting Kruger Park last November. Ms. Kruger does a wonderful job of capturing what it feels like to be there. I highly encourage anyone who can to make the trip - South Africa is a beautiful country that shouldn't be missed.

The question is - where do you go from here? After this book you have to take a break before launching yourself into any other read just because there's so much verve and life to this book, it lingers in you for days. You laugh with it and you cry with it. Extraordinary book!

This is one of my favorite excape reads. I've read it many times and each time get just a bit more out of it as well as the feeling of being there and wishing I was. It's an incredible adventure written with humor and honesty. Life was not easy and it certainly wasn't dull. Ms. Kruger displays the courage and humility it takes to survive, sometimes alone, as part of Africa's protector. The interaction between humans and animals, even the fearful-for-her snakes speaks volumes. It's a book I don't want to end. Imagine raising children to appreciate life in this incredible location! Wonderful.

Probably one of the most touching and stirring non-fiction books I've ever read, I finished it far too quickly. Kobie Kruger is a very talented author, with a natural talent for engendering empathy to her deepest maternal love for both animals and her children.

I found myself in tears at their losses and beaming at their joys, and craving a life in Africa, far from telephones and the other modern annoyances of society.

I loved Water for Elephants so much that I had to read about more elephants. This is a fast read but very worthwhile.

I loved being able to get the books so quickly and in topnotch condition especially since they were not available in local bookstores

This is the best pet story ever. It begins with a baby elephant whose life's destiny was altered several times, most noticeably when it crossed paths with Bob Norris. I rejoiced in the absolute miracles in this book, and really cried at the sad moments. But the ending was superb, and I was tempted to call Bob Norris and tell him myself how much I loved his story. I have never been more impressed by a relationship between a man and his pet than by this book. Bob Norris is a remarkable person. You will not regret buying this book!

I loved this book. My 7 year old loves elephants and although this is a bit over her reading level, I got it for her and ended up reading for myself. It is a wonderful story about a female elephant and her rescue from Africa, then her tales of growing up on a ranch out west in the U.S. It is a fascinating story about African elephant life, the rancher who adopted her, Texaco, Malboro, African politics, and circus life all rolled into the unusual story of an elephant named Amy. I had no idea elphants were socially such advanced creatures. Plus, I got so much information in such a quick and easy read. Thanks to Malcolm Macpherson for his well researched story.

The true story of Bob and his good natured Amy. It is a wonderful read for anyone who loves animals but Amy's story did not really end the way the book implies. Instead, Amy resides at Riddle's Elephant & Wildlife Sanctuary in Arkansas. I don't believe the author intentionally misleads the reader but I think the plans just fell through in the end and everyone decided it was best. I saw first-hand the excellent care and freedom she is given at Riddle's and approve whole-heartedly of the true ending.