The marine fishes of North-Western Australia : a field guide for anglers and divers : a general guide to inshore fishes of tropical Australia.

This book is, in my opinion, a pillar of the aquarium community. Anyone who has an interest in Rainbowfish, ought to have this book. The information is excellent and I have often used it. It's not a book you will leave sitting on a shelf.

The information on each type of Rainbowfish is very in-depth. Specific information for each fish is well ordered, in an intelligent manner.

An added benefit is the author's desire to define the various biological, latin names so that they may be understood by all hobbyists.

This book left me hoping for a next, new, bigger edition.

Ever since its arrival in the mid-1970's as a reference for architecture students and professionals alike, this book has been one of the finest references, also, for budding homeowners as well. It places into beautiful perspective the almost anatomical linkage between large and small scale; neighborhood, house and room. It further discusses, eloquently, the relationship -- the emotional relationship -- between architecture and its users. Moore, et al, uses examples of old American neighborhoods, discussing the evolutionary nature of their success, contrasting it with the tragic results of uneducated development in suburban sprawls. If I sustain one distant criticism, it is that Moore slightly overdid the use of his own design examples which, though helpful, present less variety in style than would have been helpful to the central point of the book. But let there be no doubt, this is quite a little gem for *anyone* interested in what makes for exquisite personal residential lives. It is timeless in its core content.

Primarily concerned with the design of residences that are appropriate to their settings. Lots of photos of Moore's houses

This boook qiete miraculous as in de way of facts about the tiny shnookums we call a cockatiel.

This book is great for identifying just about every fish you will find in the Pacific, from Australia to the US, and all the Pacific Islands in between. Highly recommended.

I am a scuba diver who has a passionate to any kind of marine life. This book is not a complete reference, however, if you need to know a specific fish's name you found in Indonesia and other area nearby then this is the book you must have.

Biographies of such prominent World War II generals as Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton Jr. continue to surface regularly. Rarely do corps and division commanders who wore two stars on their collars receive the honor of the historian's pen. Gerald Astor may perhaps be paving the way for a trickle-down effect with his most recent effort. Astor's subject is not an obscure name in the annals of World War II combat. Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen is perhaps best remembered for commanding the infamous 1st Infantry Division-The Big Red One-during the North African and Sicilian Campaigns. He, along with his deputy commander Brig. Gen Theodore Roosevelt Jr. were perhaps responsible for the belief among its troops that the U.S. Army was made up of the 1st Division and a few million replacements. Just as the Big Red One was at its zenith in Sicily, both commanders were relieved and reassigned; Roosevelt would land on D-Day with his 4th Division, Allen would command the 104th Division during the drive into Germany. This controversial decision between Patton and then II Corps commander Omar Bradley to relieve Allen could become the subject of a book in itself. But Astor gives his readers much more. Allen was an Army brat. His father graduated from West Point and led a relatively uneventful Army career and never saw combat. Allen would flunk out of West Point and gain his commission in the reserves. Allen's son, Terry Jr. would also attend the Academy and die serving in his father's old division in Vietnam. This legacy of professional military officership is a promising theme that does not quite come to full fruition in Astor's' book. It appears Astor could have done more with this concept than a few pages he devoted to the first and third generations of Allens. The chapter on the incorrigible Terry Allen at West Point, however, may rank Allen alongside the likes of George A. Custer and George Pickett as a triumvirate of cadet flunkies. Like Custer, Allen made up for his academic and disciplinary deficiencies on the battle field. Astor, who has established a reputation for his oral histories, writes well and illustrates the personality of his subject with flowing prose. Astor is sympathetic, like Bruce Catton was to Ulysses S. Grant, to the fact that Allen may have had a drinking problem. Astor hammers home one significant contention, however: Allen cared for his men and agonised (and knelt down and prayed) when they became casualties. As I read, I kept thinking how could this poignant testament to a hard-fighting, chain-smoking, maverick general have been better. First, Astor does not cite his sources in notes. This is indeed unfortunate for it not only lessens his credibility as a bonafide historian, but also makes for awkward prose when certain significant works have to be introduced within paragraphs. It is obvious Astor has done his homework and trekked to all the relevant archival repositories. It is sad his diligent research is not documented, thus rendering his efforts a grave disservice. At times, Astor succumbs to the temptation to quote long passages from other authors or letters without off-setting the type. For example, Astor quotes Carlo D'Este at length and at one point I thought Astor's work could have been on the same level as D'Este's _Patton_. Like D'Este, Astor sometimes resorts to Bradley bashing with regard to Allen's relief, but tackles the topic thoroughly and even-handedly. Stylistically, what could have been a great biography is instead a very good one. For those who care little for the intricacies of style, Astor tells a compelling story about a remarkable general and man. In short, this book is a good read. Hopefully other authors will follow Astor's lead and more division and corps commanders of World War II will get their just deserve.

I wanted a book that would stimulate my children's interest in marine life. They are into elephants and lions in a big way but there's more to life! I think this book will do nicely. Smaller than I was expecting - that just makes it easier to handle for the kids. Each page has a stunning photograph of an even more stunning creature/plant. Below the picture, there is a block of text with just enough detail. I guess a bright 12 year-old could understand it.

This book is as good as it gets. Which does not say much. I took it on a recent dive trip to SE Asia and was able to determine generally what I was seeing. The photos are good. However, there are insufficient descriptions - nothing on habitat and nothing to differentiate juveniles from adults - to ID species. And there were lots of animals underwater that were not listed. But the other available texts were no better.

I searched for months of find a good fish ID book. I concluded there's just nothing out there. So while this is as good as it gets, that's not a lofty endorsement.

This is the most comprehensive book we have seen, including fish, coral, underseas creatures and even birds and turtles! The pictures are excellent, but there is little description of the fish's habitats and behaviours, although MANY, MANY fish are covered! A thorough reference and one we'll use often when we are trying to identify what we took photos of!

As a professional diver guiding diving expeditions in Indoensia for 4 years I needed the best resources at my disposal. This by far was the one single best publication that I could find for general reef-species identification. Of course there are other better fish books out there, but this is not a book just on fish. This is a book that covers the entire spectrum of what you might find on the reef from algae to hammerheads. So if you are traveling and only want to carry one book, even if you are able to carry a library, I highly recomend this one. Jason@diveindonesia.com

While this book provides good reference material for identifying anemone fish & sea anemones it provides *no* useful material about how to keep clownfish or anemones alive and healthy in a reef tank.

If your looking for a ref. book for identification of the creatures this book is fine. I was looking for a good reference on how to keep anemones, and this book was of no help whatever in that regard.

If you are at all interested in sea anemones and anemone fishes (clownfishes) then this book is THE definitive book on anemone and clownfish identification. Dr. Fautin and Dr. Allen make a point in saying that this book is NOT primarily about the captive care of anemones or anemone fishes (though there is a small section about their basic care needs; however, they say to look elsewhere for more detailed aquarium care) but rather, it is about the identification, distribution, biology of the sea anemones, the life history of anemone fishes, and the interactions between fish and sea anemones. There is no other book that has as much field research on sea anemones and anemone fishes than this book.

The biggest point that Fautin and Allen make about anemones is that they should not be harvested for the average aquarist. Even the most expert aquarist out there has trouble keeping anemones for more than 5 years (there are exceptions of course and hopefully, these exceptions will spread). But anemone fishes can be kept extremely well without anemones. They will even breed without them.

The best aquarium care book about clownfishes and anemones is Joyce Wilkerson's book called Clownfishes. I also highly recommend this book as it is thorough in it's descriptions on the care and husbandry of clownfishes.

Daphne Fautin and Gerald Allen have created the definitive reference for clowfishes and host anemones, at least from the standpoint of the marine aquarist.

Although the text of the first edition of this book is online, it lacks many of the pictures and the identification charts. The physical book is well worth the money.

The aquarist interested in keeping clownfishes and anemones should also have Joyce Wilkerson's book, Clownfishes, and John Tullock's book, The Natural Reef Aquarium. Do *NOT* attempt to keep anemones if you are a beginning aquarist.