This book lays out the faxts about lizards in a complete, easy to read way. It's a big subject, these are incredibly varied animals, but Mattison gets it all in there. Plenty of photos, both black and white, add to the enjoyment.
This makes it a perfect companion to Loco for Lizards, a very funny book which details lizards' crawl into movies, rock and roll, ads, legends, and myths worldwide, and even includes an interview with a gecko.

Lizard lovers or those exploring the world of lizards will be fascinated by this clear introduction to origins, physical characteristics, habits, and natural environments of various species of lizards by this internationally known herpetologist. The chapters cover the definition of lizards, the relationships of lizards to their repsective environments, how to care for lizards in captivity, and the classification of lizards, which includes geckos and monitors. The concluding chapter is about Amphisbeanians, which are neither lizards nor snakes, but they all share a common ancestry. The index is very helpful, the chapters clearly written and informative, and the beautiful close-up color photographs invite further exploration. There are line drawings to illustrate or delineate a fact being discussed in the text. This book would be especially helpful for science research projects or as a thoughtful gift for a lizard-loving friend. It is similar in format to Snakes of the World.

Lots of information and the largest collection of pictures of primates I've ever seen in one source. Has Prosimians, New World Monkey and Old World Monkeys. This book discusses the differences and similarities of all the groups and uses illustrations to show anatomical differences. Great book in a great series. I bought this for a primate class in school and it was the best book I've ever bought!

This book probably the BEST snake book I owned. Large of photo (I mean: really BIG photo!!, double pages). This book give you a very comprehensive section about the anatomy, how they hunt, habitats,and senses ...
It written in a very short informative way ....
I really love this book !! This book is "A MUST" for all snake lovers ...

This is a wonderful book, full of captivating pictures and beautifully written explanatory chapters. A serpent enthusiast myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. Its excellent visuals guide you through the first few chapters which discuss several aspects of snakes themselves. The majority of the rest of the book looks at many different types of snakes..a page or two devoted to a certain individual species. I was impressed at the variety it covered, from boas to pythons to colubreds to venomous species. I applaud the author...this book will entertain beginners to professionals. This is a must for anyone who is interested in these amazing legless creatures.
--Lauren

This book starts out by giving a very comprehensive section about the anatomy, hunting, evolution, habitats,and senses of the snake. Each of these topics were given two pages, of which were filled with interesting information. I keep snakes, but I still found myself learning things. After this, the book goes into a section that tells about many interesting species of snakes in a great format including color pictures. While the book doesn't feature as many species as I would have liked to have seen, the ones it does show are well chosen(for the most part). After this section, the book goes into a huge directory of genuses and species of almost all the snakes in the world(including some rare subspecies). This section of the book is invaluable for a herpitoligest or just someone looking up the latin name of a snake. Overall the book is great for average person and person who knows alot about snakes alike. I think the book could have been better if he had featured more species of snakes, but the book is fine as it is.

The first edition of this book appeared in 1988. This second, "fully revised" edition is essentially an entirely new book. Some material has been reduced (for example, breeding tables and information on keeping venomous snakes), and the new photographs, found throughout the book, are spectacular.

As a general introduction to keeping snakes in captivity, this book is first-rate, if only because there are few such books on the market. While there are many guides to specific kinds of snakes (e.g., boas, corn snakes), few approach the subject in general. This book does so in a thorough and authoritative manner. Very little is left unsaid and, for an adult beginner, this book can serve as a useful reference. Its principal shortcoming is its patchy coverage of individual species: for some snakes it is excellent, whereas for others it leaves much to be desired. Its usefulness to the reader will depend on how well it covers the particular snakes in which the reader is interested.

Its coverage of boas and pythons is very comprehensive, and even lists species rarely available. The exception is its coverage of sand boas, which is limited to a single species.

Coverage of colubrids is more uneven; the one long chapter on this very large family of common snakes affords very good coverage to the genus Elaphe (rat snakes), New World and Old World species alike. Its coverage of kingsnakes is fine but less detailed. Those interested in other colubrids may well be disappointed; the material on pine and gopher snakes and garter snakes is underwhelming, and some species, such as the rough green snake, are omitted altogether. While no book can credibly claim to cover all species equally well, these omissions and shortcomings are surprising when you consider that there are sections for blind snakes and snakes from other families that are seldom kept.

The first edition's section on venomous snakes has been reduced to the most cursory of summaries; those with an interest in this subject must look elsewhere for information.

A great book for anyone. It gives details on breeding specific species of snakes. It is also good for anyone who owns or is thinking about buying a snake; or for those who just want to learn about them.

The section on montiors and tegus is REALLY insufficient. He discusses only the Nile and Water monitors, but there are some 12 or 13 species available. In fact, he tries to dissuade you from owning a monitor, when they are great animals if you know what your doing. The section on venomous snakes was rather lacking, but that is the norm. Also, some of the information was somewhat dated, but nothing major enough to cause real concern. HE got the diets, temps. and other basics for most of the species. However, the amphibian section wasn't all that great. It didn't cover frogs now avialable, and the care was too bare, sometimes not including temperatures or other essentials. This book can be helpful if you've got no knowledge, but youre still much better off buying a more specific book (i.e one that covers just lizards, or just snakes). His reach exceeded his grasp here. But, it can help, and has a few good spots. I reccomend buying it, but don't rely on it as the best care source out there.

It is a must buy for beginners. It contains a shallow overview of many species. While it does not go into too much depth on any one species, it does give the absolute bare bones for most- cage size, temps, diet, ect. The section an montiros and teiieds is very lacking though. He seems to think that the average hobbyist should even consider these aniamls. That is the books one really big flaw.

This was a great, informative book. No complaints about the information that it held.... however, I was specifically seeking information about amphibians. In view of this, I have to say I was disappointed in the small amount of info i could find on my amphibs. I'd say it was 75-80% reptile info... disappointing especially when it wasn't a large book to begin with. Reptile owners: Buy this book! Amphibian owners: find an amphibian book.

I am not reviewing this book just can find no where to write a review of the site. in the memory you use to put the larger photos on you could put the table of contents and samples in the book. i see no virtual review of the book, nothing about it, no number of pages, no table of contents nothing. so therefore i will not buy from this site. i dont buy what i cant see or have no clue what the contents of the book is. this book is only a book of snakes not sure if it contains what i want or not. all i have a title that is all. titles dont sale books unless one is looking for a specific title.

This books provides great info for snakes and their physiology, as well as taxonomy/classification. The main thing I found lacking was information on specific species; though it cover family/genus info fairly well, I felt it forsook the "trees for the forest." But overall very good.

This is a great book. Instaed of the usual individual synopsis of each species, it has a more general approach. The sections on taxonomy and classification were especially useful to me.

I picked this book up in Smithsonian Gift Shop. It is pocket sized and has 1 page on about 220 species. Each page has a description of the snake and a good (but small) color photo. It then gives a brief blurb about average size, distribution, habitat, diet, breeding and similar species. Overall, a nice little book - well worth the [money]. You won't get much detail on any individual species, but there are some neat facts on the overview pages. Well worth it for someone with a basic interest in various snakes around the world -- even if just for the photos. Don't expect a lot of new info. While there are not too many details, they seem to have most of their facts right.

This book covers almost every aspect of anuran biology. Chapters include physiology, defence, food and feeding, reproduction, life-histories, distribution and families of frogs. Huge amount of colour and black and white photographs that aid in the comprehension of the topics being discussed. Informative yet a breeze to read. Highly Recommended!