Review: A Field Guide to Mammals of North America

By Fiona A. Reid

 

Reviewed by Kathy Piselli

Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, USA

 

Fiona A. Reid. A Field Guide to Mammals of North America, 4th ed, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 592 pp. ISBN: 0-395- 93596-2 (Trade Paper). US $20.00.

 

The 4^th edition of this guide is a much-expanded revision of the 3^rd edition published in 1976. As expected, species classifications, maps depicting ranges, and other information have received an update. The 4^th edition is expanded in many other ways.

 

Illustration: While the plates for the 3^rd edition were the same as those for the 2^nd, those for the 4^th are completely new. The Species Accounts section is sprinkled throughout with National Geographic-quality photographs, with captions that aid in identification.

 

Reid's illustrations are the highlight. Trained in biology at Cambridge University in England, Reid "slipped into scientific illustration work without any formal training" according to her website (http://www.hopscotch.ca/fionareid). She works today in the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at the incomparable Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and is a worthy successor to the 3^rd edition's illustrator, Richard P. Grossenheider. Larger animals are drawn with a little background, which is an identification aid: The Bighorn Sheep is depicted on high rocks while the wild boar walks on forest leaves (look up for a jaguar). The 3^rd edition expressed habitat for some animals with some line drawings. The 4^th edition pays particular attention to expanding listings of the smaller mammals.

 

References: the 4^th edition uses color photos of skulls instead of the sometimes shadowy black and white photos (or line drawings of marine mammals) found in the previous edition. While the 3^rd references each skull to both map and text, the 4^th references only to text. And while the 3^rd compiles all the dental formula in a single table so similar species can be compared side-by-side, dental formulae in the 4^th ed. are given individually with each listing. New for the 4^th edition are the additional depictions of antlers and line detail drawings of teeth.

 

There is a depth of narrative in the Species Accounts section resulting in a book that combines the detailed information of Walker's Mammals of the World with the simplicity of a beginner's field guide. In 1976, the 3^rd edition apologized for adding bulk, but maintained that it "still fitted the pocket easily." By no stretch can the 4^th edition fit in the average shirt or jeans back pocket; indeed, it would add nearly 2 lbs. of weight to a hiker's pack. So, probably not suitable for that 3 month long trip on the Appalachian Trail, but definitely packed with information for naturalists, ecologists, and those who study mammals. Recommended for general library collections, high schools and middle schools.

 

Kathy Piselli, <kathy.piselli@fultoncountyga.gov>, Government Documents Depository, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, One Margaret Mitchell Sq Atlanta , GA 30303, USA. TEL 404-730-1914.

 

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Electronic Green Journal, Issue 25, 2007

ISSN: 1076-7975