Life in Cold Blood (David Attenborough)

[Joseph S]

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press (February 19, 2008)

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Cold-Bloo.../dp/0691137188

This book is meant as a companion to the BBC Television series of the same name. David Attenborough goes through the families of amphibians and reptiles with continual emphasis on evolutionary concepts. From the earliest ancestors of the amphibians trying out life on land through to the highly evolved pitvipers the book covers the groups nicely. As apparent by the cover, it is also gifted with a good set of photos that compliment the text. A balanced book, though neither text nor photos excels particularly.

Though the text and the photos are excellent reading, errors due to miscommunication are apparent. A photo said to depict a larval Japanese Giant salamander is rather a mudpuppy. Also, a photo depicting a king cobra shows a hatchling of the species, which is somehow not mentioned in the caption.

If you enjoy Attenborough's style of delivery, which is very absorbing, it is a good buy. But I think that they could have done a much better job.

[Alex Shepack]

I agree. It has great pictures. I too found that mislabeled picture of the Necturus. Its a nice book to flip through, but it provides very little in scientific info.