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Title: Madagascar Wildlife, 2nd: A Visitor's Guide
ISBN: 1841620297
Author:
Hilary Bradt
Derek Schuurman
Nick Garbutt
Publicate Date: 2001-07-01
Publish: 2001-07-01
List Price: $19.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $138.04
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $61.98
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Madagascar Wildlife Book is excellent
This book is a great introduction to Madagascan Wildlife - it gives a breakdown of the main National Parks and Reserves and what you are likely to see at each. Another section provides (limited) details of the Madagascan fauna. While I would have liked some more detail, for the price and size it is a fantastic introductory guide.
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2: I Need Another!!
Fabulous, novice handbook! Great photographs with basic but very purposeful text. My only problem is the owner of the "hotel" in Andisibe, down the street from the main restaurant, enjoyed the book so much I felt compelled to give it to him as a gift!
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3: Good but not grate
What it lacks is maps where to find each animal. Layout of the book is a little bit confusing (pictures are put on pages in chaotic manner) but otherwise a good book. It does what is supposed to: inform about different animals species, not only mammals. There is nothing better on the market right now.
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4: Beautiful but Very Basic Overview!
This book is certainly very pretty, with excellent photographs.
It is also thin and light-weight, and does cover a little bit of everything: habitats, recommended sites to visit, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.
As such, it is an inspiring read, and probably the best single-volume book to carry for those who only have a superficial interest in Madagadcar's unique wildlife.
However, for more serious naturalists the information it offers is far too limited. Even mammals, the best detailed group, are only discussed down to genus level, neither mentioning nor illustrating all or even most species. Birds receive a token coverage of 10 pages, and reptiles fare little better.
Even the descriptions of nature reserves can be found in the more recent, excellent and complete field guides like the Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide which actually tells you where to spot every single species separately, and the similarly brilliant Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands which not only covers all the birds of Madagascar, but those of neighbouring islands too, along with recommended birdwatching sites. Fans of herpetofauna should try and get hold of A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Madagascar.
If you buy any of the above field guides, you will find this book a waste of money - I did.
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5: Very helpful
I am planning a trip to Madagascar and found this book a very helpful review of the various parks in the country. The photos are excellent and the discussion of the various mammals are readable but provide enough information to be interesting. This is not a technical book on either mammals or ecosystems, but is a good review of both. Perhaps I was looking for too much from this book, but I would have liked more maps and a bit more guidance on how to combine trips to different ecosystems in one trip. I combine it with the Lonely Planet and can cobble together the information, but it requires quite a bit of work. I also liked the sections on reptiles and insects - many books neglect the little creatures, which can be far more interesting than mammals in some ecosystems. Overall highly recommended.
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