The decision to review the recently published National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Travel Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) in The Well-read Naturalist was not one made lightly. After all, WRN is explicitly dedicated to books pertaining directly to the study of natural history in all its myriad forms. Would a book providing advice and instruction in how to be a better photographer, particularly as understood from the perspective of a traveler, or a photojournalist assigned to document the sights to be seen and experiences to be had in a specific geographic place, be of use or interest to naturalists? However after having read it and discovering that the information, advice, and inspiration it provided began almost immediately to influence my own field photographic work on natural history subjects for the better, I could not but help to record my impressions of the book here for the benefit of all. Read the rest of this entry »

In his famous work Parerga und Paralipomena, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer put forth the dilemma faced by a group of hedgehogs who need to huddle together in order to share one another’s body heat and thus better survive the cold. However despite their best intentions, the closer they get to one another, the more pain each one causes the others due to their respective spiny exteriors. This parable has, since Schopenhauer’s first publication of it, been widely used to explain the dichotomy of human relationships – how it is often the case that the more two people want to be emotionally close to another, despite their best intentions, they cannot but help increasing the amount of pain inflicted upon each other. However in Hugh Warwick’s The Hedgehog’s Dilemma: A Tale of Obsession, Nostalgia, and the World’s Most Charming Mammal, the situation is given a slight twist in that it is not the hedgehog that is wanting to be close to humans, rather it is the humans who are becoming closer to hedgehogs, either willingly or simply as a resulting effect of the human-caused changes on the natural world, and thus inflicting harm upon the hedgehogs – and quite possibly ourselves as well. Read the rest of this entry »

The search for the solution to what Sir John Herschel famously called the “mystery of mysteries” – how new species come to exist – has brought a myriad of remarkable creatures to the attention of science. From Deinonychus to Darwin’s Galapagos finches, every discovery has added another clue to the assembled body of knowledge that may someday yield the solution. Yet after reading Sean B. Carroll’s Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species, the reader is left with another tantalizing question to ponder in addition to Herschel’s mystery; that question being which are really the more remarkable – the creatures that have been discovered in the one-hundred-fifty year old quest for the mystery’s answer or the “creatures” (meant rhetorically and with the greatest possible respect, of course) who made the discoveries. Read the rest of this entry »

At long last the much anticipated second edition of the Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterstrom, and Peter J. Grant is now available in a jacketed hardcover edition with the paperback edition still scheduled for release in March of 2010. NHBS Environment Bookstore in the U.K. lists the hardcover edition as being in stock; however Powell’s Books in the U.S. is not yet showing the book as available through their own locations. As this book has been so long anticipated and will be in such high demand, it may take the distribution links outside the U.K. a bit more time to secure copies of the book for sale. As of this writing, The Well-read Naturalist has not yet received a review copy. Be assured that once we have, a review will be published in as timely a manner as possible.

When it comes to field guides, Princeton University Press has long held a position of honor and respect among both professional and amateur naturalists for consistently providing exceptional levels of accuracy and attention to detail. With its new and updated illustrations, revised identification information, and the addition of twenty recently recognized species to its contents, the new second edition of Mammals of North America by Roland Kays and Don Wilson more than upholds this well-earned reputation. Read the rest of this entry »

Lee Welles, author of the award winning Gaia Girls novels, recently provided her readers with a sneak preview of the long-awaited third volume in the series. Ms. Welles read from the first chapters of the forthcoming book, titled Air Apparent, during the December 31, 2009 “Blue Moon Special” webcast of her Blog Talk Radio program. Judging from the portions of the work Ms. Welles read during the webcast, readers can expect Air Apparent to be just as captivating and enlightening as were the first two Gaia Girls volumes – Enter the Earth and Way of Water. No date for the publication of Air Apparent has yet been announced.

One of the true joys of both reading and bird study is the practice of simply doing it for unapologetic personal pleasure. In the world of books, the trend toward “utilitarian books,” those intended to impart to the reader some great secret that will improve their business, romantic life, or cholesterol levels has largely displaced many older genres that really made reading an enjoyable part of life. Of these, the miscellany has perhaps suffered most. Lacking a Puritanically measurable purpose, these wonderful collections of facts, literary snippets, personal reflections, and assorted other discoveries, despite being a bane to classification and stocking for the modern bookseller, are a genuine joy to read. Fortunately, the authors and publisher of Winged Wonders: A Celebration of Birds in Human History have defied this trend and given us all a gift for which we should be most grateful. Read the rest of this entry »

Prior to reading Richard Fortey’s Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum, I honestly cannot recall audibly exclaiming “Bravo!” upon completing a reading of any book. Such is the effect of Professor Fortey’s prose – it wraps one up in a continuous flow of fascinating scientific insights, superbly wrought historical vignettes, and exceptionally human biographical portraits such that upon completing it the first emotion that one feels is the wish for it not to have come to an end.

With a style that is at once both learned and familiar, Professor Fortey leads the reader not only through the public galleries of the London’s magnificent Natural History Museum but back into the labyrinth of unseen passages, scholars’ chambers, research labs, storerooms, and other hidden places. Along the way, not only are the various areas of research undertaken by museum staff, both past and present, discussed, but a generous amount of legend and lore are also disclosed such as would only be known to someone who has spent an entire professional life as a member of the museum’s scientific staff – and be assured, not all of it is of an entirely scientific nature (wink, wink). Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s face it – natural history enthusiasts can sometimes be a tough lot for whom to buy gifts; especially if you don’t personally share, or even know much about, their particular interests. Alternatively, even if you do share a common interest with the gift-worthy person or people in your life, you might be at a bit of a loss as to just which of the superb collection of recently released titles from which to choose. For that reason, we present The Well-read Naturalist list of holiday gift book picks to help with your gift-giving needs. Some have already been previously reviewed on this site while others are still awaiting a full and complete published review; however even those titles appearing in this list that have not yet received a formal review here have been nevertheless been critically examined and deemed worthy of detailed published comment in the very near future. Read the rest of this entry »

NHBS Environment Bookstore is reporting that the much anticipated publication of the second edition of the Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterstrom, and Peter J. Grant has been delayed until 2010. The website for Harper Collins UK now lists the publication date for the cloth bound edition as January of that year. They do not list the paperback edition at present but NHBS’ own website indicates that it is expected in March of 2010. The original Collins Bird Guide, published in 1999, is widely considered to be a cornerstone reference for the birds of Britain and Europe. This new edition has been much anticipated since word of its future publication was first made known. Those who have seen advance copies of it have indicated that the wait for the release of second edition is well worth it.