[.ca] Walker's Mammals of the World (ISBN 0801857899)

From Amazon.com:
In 1930, the great mammalogist Ernest P. Walker (1891-1969), who was then assistant director of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., set out to make a checklist of all the world's mammal species. Thirty-four years later, that simple catalog had grown into the huge first edition of Mammals of the World, a book dedicated to all mammals, "who contribute so much to the welfare and happiness of man, another mammal, but receive so little in return, except blame, abuse, and extermination." Now in its sixth edition and compiled in two volumes, the even larger Mammals of the World contains thorough descriptions of every genus of the class Mammalia known to have lived in the last 5,000 years: 28 orders, 146 families, 1,192 genera, and 4,809 separate species. Volume 1 opens with the monotremes (including echidnas and the duck-billed platypus), which, write Walker and his successor Ronald Nowak, "resemble reptiles and differ from all other mammals in that they lay shell-covered eggs that are incubated and hatched outside of the body of the mother." The first volume then moves on to cover the insectivores, including an astonishing variety of bats, and closes with primates and carnivores. Volume 2 comprises the pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), moves through the cetacea (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) and artiodactyls (deer and their kin), and closes with a huge roster of rodents. It also contains an extensive bibliography numbering some 6,000 items, making the set of inestimable importance to students and professionals. Many of those mammal species, Nowak writes, are now in jeopardy. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists 2,078 threatened species, an increase of 1,661 species over its first list, published in 1987. At the same time, Nowak adds, the U.S. Department of Interior list has grown by only 17 species, for, he continues, "The USDI classification process has become hopelessly subject to delay and manipulation by bureaucratic, political, and commercial interests." He argues that much greater effort needs to be given to protecting these animal citizens everywhere in the world. The knowledge of them that this extraordinary compilation affords is a start. --Gregory McNamee

Poor production affects comprehensive coverage:
Obviously, this book would deserve more than 3 stars if one looks only at its informational content. But -as the previous reader rightly stressed- the b & w photos are a scandal. They are old, often confused, unreliable as even a broad identification tool (I mean in the classroom, not in the field). Do you -the publisher- absolutely need to save money on colour printing? OK, some fine line drawing are certainly better. Mammology (especially when this reference is compared with its ornithology counterparts) still wait for a well produced systematic companion.

the best - but not perfect:
This is the most comprehensive mammalogy book in existance. it is thorough, interesting and up to date. it can, however be better. It should for instance include some phylogenetic trees and easy to use statistics about the different families and orders. better pictures (especially colour ones) will likewise be welcome. The main complaint I have for this otherwise excellent book is that when dealing with non "sexy" multispecies genera it is not always clear from the text which species the data actually refers to. an even bigger, more detailed and species rather than genus oriented 7th edition will make this very good book actually excellent

Excellent Value for Money:
Whilst agreeing with other reviewers that there is substantial scope for improving photographs (see below), I think it is important to accept that these two volumes represent a great bargin in terms of the quantity of information presented and the value of the bibliography. This should continue to be a book which students can afford. As a child I used to pore over the original 3 volumes in the main reference library where I grew up. I dreamed of owning my own copies. Imagine my surprise when I picked up the 5th edition in a bookshop in London some 25 years later, long after my professional involvement with Mammal Biology had ceased. Over the years Walker's has seen steady incremental improvement particularly moving from generic to specific accounts and extending its scope to cover all Recent Mammals. As I state above there should always be a place for a good value comprehensive survey, BUT.... The Handbook of the Birds of the World project demonstrates what is possible with good quality color printing. Surely the Mammals of the World deserve an equally high-quality approach. Perhaps John Hopkins Press could be persuaded to produce a 'de luxe' 7th edition eliminating the B & W 'photos (particularly of dead specimens), adding extensive colour 'photos, range maps (both 'original' and current), and so forth. There is also scope for a high quality electronic product if nature films illustrating individual species could be licensed. We can live in hope!

7th edition suggestions (a re-post):
1. No reference to photos/figures in text. This sometimes makes it extremely difficult to find the relevant photo/figure (providing that there is one). Considering this is the sixth edition, it is inexcusable not to have included this addition. Photos should be somehow indicated in the index too. 2. Photos "still" in black and white, how much more would color cost? double? I doubt there would be any problem with sales. If the 7th edition was half b & w and half color most wouldn't complain especially if the editions were headed towards all color photos. It is amazing that after 6 editions no progress has been made. Have there been any attempts other then finding attractive cover jacket (color) photos? These photos are deceptive at best. For a colorless book, there should be b & w photos on the jacket. 3. In this edition (6th) the two volumes have more than the listed 1248 pages (closer to 1800, making two massive books). 4. Next edition will likely have to go back to the original 3 volume style. (It is starting to get too big for only 2 volumes.) The third volume would include: appendices, glossary, references, index, AND photo credits for use of color photos.