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Title: The World's Most Beautiful Seashells (Worlds Most Series)
ISBN: 1884942032
Author:
Leonard C. Hill
Publicate Date: 1995-10
Publish: 1995-10
List Price: $34.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $23.05
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $22.84
Amazon Merchant Price: $23.07
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Best Seashell Images in One Book
This is truly the BEST book on seashells IMHO. I love it for the images are incredible - so much so that the photography seems almost 3-D in some instances. The high quality of the images and information (and obvious love for the subject by the author) is unbelievable when you look at the cost for this treasure. It is a bargain for what you gain - beauty, artistry of nature, knowledge of many varieties of mollusks, and unique images not seen in other shell books (many in my own library). This is my favorite of all seashell books, unless I am exploring on the shore when a guidebook is more appropriate. Yes, this is quality coffee table book...but one that will be picked up by you and your guests more frequently than your other books.
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2: Do not miss nor underestimate this marvel
First of all, I echo all the positive comments already made by other reviewers.
This book is dangerous, in the best sense!
I am a bookworm and consider this one of my favorite books. (It is also incredibly cheap for the quality, and this is true for the hardcover version as well. You should only go for the hardcover version, see below.) It is nourishing to the soul, a delight to any seashell collector, and has surprised, touched and impressed all the non-collectors I have shown it to. I started collecting seashells a year ago and bought this book back then. It has made me immediately aware of the surprising level of beauty that can be found in well-selected specimens, even among very affordable species. It has done this at least as much as the finer photographs on seashell websites online (e.g. femorale, gastropods, topseashells).
The photographs are stunning. Among other qualities, very vibrant, very rich in colour: exquisitely photographed and printed. The scanned sample pages available here on amazon give but a dimmed impression of the actual printed pages.
Rarely have I seen a photographer demonstrate their deep love for their subject this directly and this well. I find that a lot of seashells photographs in other publications simply do not come close to the passion, beauty, communication, feeling, inventiveness and art found in each photograph here. (I am a passionate photographer - have been since a young age - and have been trying my hand at taking beautiful close-ups of seashells for the last year. These attempts have only deepened my appreciation of the photographs in this book.)
This book contains an average of about 2 colour photographs for each page, and close to 2000 specimens and at least 500 species/forms (I counted one day when sick in bed :-). Many photographs show several specimens and/or species combined fruitfully. Others concentrate on a single shell, sometimes taking up the entire page. All have very well chosen and crafted backgrounds - either lush, saturated colors or various more recognizable themes. The only exception is found in one page composed of photographs each of a specimen of a different volute species shown with their incredibly beautiful live animal mantles deployed underneath the shell; these are the only photographs with a plain back background. You will enjoy a selection of the finest examples of the - cheap, affordable and expensive - species and forms the authors, all long-time collectors, deemed among the most beautiful. They bring you super-selected gem specimens from their personal collections and from a number of other personal collections they borrowed from. All this combines to draw you into looking at the shell more carefully, longer and with your aesthetic eye opened up - not something easily done by any means.
The texts contain all kinds of interesting information, some apparently not necessarily known even to very seasoned collectors, as mentioned in other reviews. It is true that there is no detailed index by species, but in this case it doesn't matter too much: if you own a copy you will be looking at it often and will soon start remembering which specimens are included and where. The sections are organized by families.
My only wish, my only suggestion for improvement, honestly, is for James Carmichael to publish a sequel of the same size even now that Leonard Hill, alas, has passed away at a young age. Perhaps not likely but we can dream, no?
(Added a few months later: in the meantime I've found another book they have co-authored, years earlier, called "Shells: Treasures of the Sea". It is also a very worthwhile book with many photographs and much more text than in this book - it is the earlier book in which Hill writes on many aspects of shells including the cultural ones. The photographs are also by James Carmichael, but they are not as fantastic as in the newer "World's Most ..." book: you can see him going in the direction which he has almost perfected in the later book. So my wish remains: for this photographer to consider publishing a sequel with photographs of the same excellence... there are still many more beautiful species and alternate specimens / forms to choose among ... again, not likely at all but a wish nonetheless.)
So do not hesitate and buy yourself a copy. It would be hard to imagine that you will be dissapointed. Even if you are not a seashell lover or collector but enjoy beauty and enthusiasm.
Do get the hardcover version as this book is tall and wide and heavy. The covers of a softcover copy will certainly start bending and cracking very soon. The difference in price is small and in this case not worth saving on.
Expect to dive into this book often. With, dare I say?, love... And expect to become even more mad about seashells.
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3: Fantastic shell book
This book is pure eye candy for shell lovers. The photographs are beautiful and the close ups allow you to see the fine detail of many shells. This book can also be used as a shell identification reference as the photos are clearly annotated with the names of the shells.
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4: Great for beach lovers
My wife purchased this book for our beach house and we decided to keep a copy for ourselves at home. It has every shell that you could ever dream of. Our kids love the book because they can look up shells that they have found in the book and see what they are called and what use to live inside of them.
It is great for anyone that has a room or bathroom using seashells or an ocean decoration theme.
Very good book!
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5: Much more then expected
This book is not by any means scientific.
This book is not an identification guide.
The species list is obviously very incomplete.
but...
Truly marvelous, large-format photography of only the best of the best GEM specimens. Each with a short description, which is VERY interesting to read - these are some real facts about the shells and not the description of what you can see on the photo. I consider myself an advanced collector, and this book is a real relief after reading some of the more advanced publications on shell collecting. An excellent source for some real-life knowledge. Highly recommended - both for collectors, or just anyone.
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