Disclaimer! Princeton Publishing provided a copy for review!
Price listed on book - US $14.95
Authors - Steve N.G. Howell & Brian L. Sullivan
Pages - 64
Size - ~5"x8" - Less than 1cm thick and floppy
Photos: 100+
Topics covered - A wide assortment of sea life one would encounter off the east coast of the USofA
The Skinny: This is a cute little book... A little expensive given the size of the thing, but it's packed with photos and tidbits of information and ID tips... I would bet my left button that this book will sell very well with casual naturalists who spend time anywhere on or off the east coast. Like - have a timeshare/cottage or a sailboat nature enthusiasts. Not the people spending lots of time & money to get a brief glimpse of a European Storm-Petrel in late May...
The Good: The amount of photos and information packed into a small package. Howell's photos (and the other contributors) are out of this world. Also - there probably aren't too many people who are familiar with each and every species in the book - so a great chance to quickly learn something new.
The Bad: I'm reaching a point where seeing multi-photoshopped-images (like the cover) make me a little sick to my stomach. Yes, i'm being overly dramatic - but - enough is enough. Sir Richard Crossley was the first out of the gate with the idea, and I was more than willing to give credit where credit was due (heck, it was my first book review in this series!) I grew to like the idea because we could jam 10,000 bird photos into a single book, and it was a really neat reference. With this tiny little book - we didn't need to save space. Maybe most of society is happy to have many photos mashed into one - saves time and increased stimulation - but i'm not really a fan of it!
Who Should Buy It:
Naturalists of all shapes and sizes. Or anyone you know who spends time on the atlantic coast - or - especially if they spend time on a boat off the coast. If you're a "hardcore" lister/birder, then you may not want to drop $15 bucks on a tiny book that won't help you find that latest tick, but that's getting picky. Personally, I'm not sure i'd recommend it for a broader audience. Perhaps too technical for the general population, and perhaps not exciting enough for youngsters...
More info here:
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10651.html (Princeton's page)
http://www.amazon.com/Offshore-Sea-Life-Guide-Princeton/dp/0691166218
"This guide, designed for quick use on day trips off the East Coast, helps you put a name to what you see, from whales and dolphins to shearwaters, turtles and even flyingfish"
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