This book is really best judged by a zoologist or field biologist, rather than a layman. I noted that is was one of the referenced books in "Prey", so I bought it 2nd hand on Amazon. It is an interesting read of a several year field study, filled with many tables, graphs, and statistics on kills, ages, distribution, etc. However, the author's actual in the field notes and observations are quite interesting, and probably serve as a role model for those that followed. I have a passing interest in animals, and I recognize this as a landmark work. Spotted hyenas are interesting animals to study. I am glad I read this book.

This book, now out of print, is part of the same series as George Schaller's "The Serengeti Lion", which is still in print. Like the Schaller book, it is very informative, packed with a lot of hard data about spotted hyenas, their habitat and the other animals they share it with. Lions may have more appeal to the less informed, but to those who take the time to study and learn, hyenas are just as interesting and complex, and certainly not the villains alongside the "hero" lions they are often made out to be in literature and other cultural references. I am fascinated by both animals, but there is a good supply of material out there about lions and a relative dearth about spotted hyenas. This book may be the best there is, and it is very good indeed.