Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics
CHOICE Review
These four volumes can be appropriately considered together and could correctly be called the four-volume ``Encyclopedia of Animal Biology.'' In a style that has become typical for the publisher, these volumes include several chapters organized around major topics; in turn, the chapters may be subdivided. Color charts, diagrams, and photographs are used to supplement the text. At times the amount of space devoted to illustrations seems excessive and the need for some illustrations questionable but, on the whole, the illustrations enhance and complement the presentation of the information. The content was assembled by an editorial staff, based on text written primarily by British university professors and experts from other countries, including the US. The content on the whole is reliable and very up to date, reflecting some of the current debates in scientific research-e.g., cause of dinosaur extinction. Animal Biology covers molecular biology, cellular processes, sensory processes, movement, reproduction, and development; Animal Behavior discusses organism behavior (e.g., predation, rhythms, orientation), relational behavior (e.g., communications, aggression, courtship, parenting), origins of behavior, and social organizations; Animal Ecology includes basic concepts (cycles, species interaction, environmental influence, ecosystem), regions of the world (more than half of the volume), and the ecological role of humankind; Animal Evolution covers paleontology, the origin of life, homology, adaptation, mechanisms of evolution, humankind and evolution, and controversies about evolution. Individual volume indexes are well done, even though the size of the type makes them difficult to read-this is hard to understand since the physical appearance of the rest of each volume is so splendid. The content is written at a level appropriate for beginning undergraduate students and therefore would be useful in community and four-year colleges and public libraries. Other established reference tools in this field include the Grzimeck's Animal Life Encyclopedia (13 v., 1972-1975) and the one-volume supplements-Encyclopedia of Ecology (1976), Encyclopedia of Ethology (1977), and Encyclopedia of Evolution (1976); the Oxford Companion to Animal Behavior, ed. by D. McFarland (CH, Sep '82); R.J. Lincoln, C.A. Boxshall, and P.F. Clark's A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (CH, May '83); The Encyclopedia of the Animal World (11 v., 1980); and the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (6th ed., 20v., 1987; 4h ed., CH, Jan '78). The colorful and attractive presentation of the material makes the Facts On File volumes inviting books for readers. Libraries that do not have many of the titles listed above, and libraries that use them heavily, will want to acquire these in order to provide current coverage of animal biology.-T. Kirk, Berea College
Booklist Review
Facts On File augments its large catalog of popular natural history with a set presenting the basic ideas and discoveries of the four major modes of research into animal creation. Each large-format volume is edited by experts in its field and made up of strictly informational but not highly technical articles by other experts from England, Scotland, Australia, western Europe, and the U.S. The pieces in each are presented in an order sensible for the gross subject; e.g., the ecology title is divided into sections on the themes of the discipline, the ecological regions of the world, and humanity's ecological impacts. As in all Facts On File publications, the illustrations and their captions are major attractions and recommendations. Nearly all the pictures are in brilliant, convincing color and clearly show what they are supposed to show. Layouts, though full of insets and overlaps, are never cluttered, and though not spacious, never crowded. A highly commendable effort that may become many libraries' basal popular resource on the animal sciences. Bibliography, glossary, and index appended to each volume. RO.
