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when you buy this book, for my copy shed several pages on
second time of opening.
It struck me as slightly incongruous that, in a book
of British and European birds, the Preface says, "The
American Museum of Natural History supplied most of the
skins for the artist".
The same criticism applies to otherwise excellent books
recently brought out by Hamlyn All-colour Paperbacks at 6/-.
There's a wide range of subjects (not only in natural
history) and I have enjoyed reading several of them. The
subjects are not dealt with in depth, but they are adequate,
and the illustrations themselves are worth the money.
Another general book is the newly published Shell
Natural History of Britain at 50/-. This is not a book of
reference for identifying species, but is a well written,
authoritative account of the natural history of these
islands. Dr. Maurice Burton is general editor, and the list
of contributors includes such well-known names as Dr. CM.
Yonge and Richard Fitter. Each of the seven main sections
is illustrated in a distinctive style, with many plates in
colour. It is a thoroughly readable book.
Lastly, a book which I believe should be on every
naturalist's shelf: the Book of British Birds published by
Drive Publications Ltd. for the Reader's Digest Association
and the Automobile Association. It is a biggish book,
6x11 inches and 471 pages, — perhaps a little too big and
expensive to use as a field book. The publishers do provide
a little booklet for identification purposes, to slip into
the pocket, and this is thoughtfully printed on waterproof
plasticised paper. The main book is, however, a fine
production; the body is a description of all the more
common British birds, one per page, grouped according to
habitat, with distribution maps both local and global,