Product Description

From reviews of previous editions:

"Professional naturalists will find [these volumes] invaluable as a handy reference, and amateurs -- at least those citizens alive to their earthly environment -- should delight in finding so much fascinating information made so available and palatable." -- Audubon

"What an amazing lot mammals are, seen here in all of their diversity!... Walker has made available a mine of information, for the specialist as well as for the casually interested... If you want to find out about a mammal, then, here is the place to look." -- New York Times

"Every mammalogist must have [these books], and those who profess a broad interest in the fauna of the world will want them." -- Natural History

From aardwolves and bandicoots to yapoks and zorillas, Ernest P. Walker's Mammals of the World is the most comprehensive -- the pre-eminent -- reference work on mammals. Now, completely revised and updated, this fascinating guide is better than ever. Providing a complete account of every genus of mammal in all historical time, the sixth edition is 25 percent longer than its predecessor. Of the previous generic accounts, 95 percent have been substantively modified, and there are 80 new ones -- among them, three remarkable, large ungulates recently discovered in the forests of Indochina. New also is a full account of the woolly mammoth, now known to have survived until less than 4,000 years ago.

Each section of the book describes one genus and includes facts such as scientific and common names, the number and distribution of species, measurements and physical traits, habitat, locomotion, daily and seasonal activity, population dynamics, home range, social life, reproduction, and longevity. Textual summaries present accurate, well-documented descriptions of the physical characteristics and living habits of mammals in every part of the world. As in the last two editions, the names and distributions of every species of every genus are listed in systematic order. These lists have now been cross-checked to ensure coverage of all species in the comprehensive new Smithsonian guide, Mammal Species of the World. Facts on the biology of mammals have been brought together from more than 2,700 newly cited references, nearly all published in the last decade. Also new are the latest data on reproduction, longevity, fur harvests, numbers in the wild and in captivity, and conservation status. The sixth edition also records all official classifications of every mammal species and subspecies in the massive 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

The illustrations -- more than 1,700 -- include virtually every genus of mammal. Among them are pictures by such noted wildlife photographers as Leonard Lee Rue III, Bernhard Grzimek, David Pye, and Warren T. Houck. Mammals pictured here for the first time include the just-discovered giant muntjac deer of Viet Nam, a rodent known only from the Solomon Islands, a large fruit bat whose male suckles the young, and an extremely rare web-footed tenrec of Madagascar.

Since its publication in 1964, Walker's Mammals of the World has become a favorite guide to the natural world for general readers as well as an invaluable resource for professionals. This sixth edition represents more than half a century of scholarship -- Ernest P. Walker himself devoted more than thirty years to the original project -- and remains true to Walker's vision, smoothly combining thorough scholarship with a popular, readable style to preserve and enhance what the Washington Post called "a landmark of zoological literature."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1280351 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2015 pages

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

Review
'From reviews of previous editions:' "Professional naturalists will find [these volumes] invaluable as a handy reference, and amateurs--at least those citizens alive to their earthly environment--should delight in finding so much fascinating information made so available and palatable."--'Audubon' "What an amazing lot mammals are, seen here in all of their diversity!...Walker has made available a mine of information, for the specialist as well as for the casually interested...If you want to find out about a mammal, then, here is the place to look."--'New York Times' "Every mammalogist must have [these books], and those who profess a broad interest in the fauna of the world will want them."--'Natural History'

About the Author

Ernest P. Walker (1891-1969) began work on Mammals of the World in the early 1930s, when he became assistant director of the National Zoo in Washington. His work reflected an unequaled store of knowledge about the world's mammals. Ronald M. Nowak was senior author of the fourth edition and author of the fifth edition of Walker's Mammals of the World. His other works on mammalogy include North American Quaternary Canis and several parts of the National Geographic Society's Wild Animals of North America, for which he also was editorial consultant. He received a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Kansas in 1973 and was staff mammalogist at the former Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from 1974 to 1987. He served as an Air Force officer for four years and is a private pilot.

Customer Reviews

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!

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.