W. Robert Eadie

Howes, Paul Griswold. The Giant Cactus Forest and Its World. Duell, Sloan and Pearce; New York— Little, Brown; Boston, xxx + 258 pp.; 52 plates, 1 color; 30 figs. 1954. Price,

Paul Griswold Howes. The Giant Cactus Forest and Its World. Duell, Sloan and Pearce; New York— Little, Brown; Boston, xxx + 258 pp.; 52 plates, 1 color; 30 figs. 1954. Price,

7.50

7.50. This is a charmingly written account of the biology of an unusual habitat. Mr. Howes is a keen observer and adds many bits of ecological information to the record in an interesting way. There are those who may take issue with some of the authors speculations concerning the meanings of what he saw in the daily life of …

Mammals : a guide to familiar American species

Herbert S. Zim, Donald F. Hoffmeister. Mammals. A Guide to Familiar American Species. Simon and Schuster, New York. 160 pp.; 218 color portraits; range maps. Price,

Storer, Tracy I. and Lloyd P. Tevis, Jr. California Grizzly. Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 335 p., 36 fig. (halftones), 2 color pl., maps. 1955. Price,

1.95. This new addition to the Golden Nature Guide series should serve to popularize mammals as only a few recent books have. Aimed at the general public, the mammals included are depicted with beauty and accuracy. For naturalness, life-like posture, and background these portraits by James Gordon Irving deserve high praise. That they could be produced in such excellent color rendition so prolifically and inexpensively is a remarkable publishing feat. Each species portrait is accompanied by a brief commentary that presents some essential facts on …

7.50

Tracy I. Storer, P. Tevis Lloyd Jr. California Grizzly. Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 335 p., 36 fig. (halftones), 2 color pl., maps. 1955. Price,

Bourlière, Francois, Mammals of the World. Their Life and Habits. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1955. 223 pp., 200+ photographs (24 color), 34 line drawings. Cloth,

7.50. This book is a fitting memorial to the vanished glory of Californias most magnificent mammal. The last grizzly bear is thought to have been killed in California in 1922. There is a record of one having been seen in 1924, but since then no more valid records have appeared. The complete extirpation of a mammal once so abundant in as large a state as California is a modern tragedy. This book traces the history of the bear from the coming of the white man …

12.50

Bourliere Francois Mammals of the World. Their Life and Habits. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1955. 223 pp., 200+ photographs (24 color), 34 line drawings. Cloth,

Peterson, Randolph L. North American Moose. Univ. of Toronto Press, xi + 280 pp.; 35 tables; 66 figs, (line cuts and halftones). 1955. Price,

12.50. That two magnificent collections of mammal photographs were published in the same year in book form is indeed a coincidence. It augurs well for increased public interest in and acquaintance with the vast assemblage of mammals still remaining on the earth. A greater general knowledge may well result in sympathy and aid for those attempting to preserve a representative mammalian fauna in the face of great obstacles. Bourliers work differs from that of Sandersons in several ways. The mammals pictured here are, for the most part, in their natural environments. …

12.50

Randolph L. Peterson North American Moose. Univ. of Toronto Press, xi + 280 pp.; 35 tables; 66 figs, (line cuts and halftones). 1955. Price,

Mammals of Kansas

12.50. This reviewers qualifications for writing about a book on North American moose are limited. Nevertheless, having watched tourists equipped with cameras in Yellowstone National Park circle closely and brazenly around two magnificent bulls in the velvet, and having observed the moose in more natural situations feeding in the lakes of Canadas wilderness, I find the book so satisfactory in filling a need for information about these great deer that I am constrained to ignore my limitations. Dr. Peterson has succeeded in packing into this modest-sized work most of the published information on the North American moose. In addition he has added a great deal of fresh information gathered by himself and co-workers from Canadas ideal moose habitats. Indeed, much pertinent information on the moose from European workers is included by way of comparison and supplement. After a brief introduction to set the stage by citing the chief contributors of information on the moose from 1674 to 1934, the author proceeds systematically to present his data. I like especially the early quotation on page three from Josselyn (1674), “The Moose or Elke is a creature, or rather if you will a Monster of superfluity … their horns … very big (and brancht out into palms) the tips whereof are sometimes found to be two fathoms asunder … and in height from the toe of the forefoot, to the pitch of the shoulder twelve foot, both which hath been taken by some of my sceptique Readers to be monstrous lyes.” In brief chapters, the taxonomy, paleontological history, post-glacial dispersal, and early history of the moose in North America are presented. Then follows a vital chapter on the general population status of the moose. In those limited regions of the United States where the moose remains, its status is not entirely discouraging, but …