Tuer, James R. Mammals of Australia / written and illustrated by
James R. Tuer. - Sofia, Bulgaria : Pensoft, 2004. - 214 p. : col.
ill., maps ; 29 cm. - ISBN 9546421987
Much of the content of his book was originally released in 1999, as a CD-Rom titled Mammals of Australia. Due to new technology, viz the sudden introduction of DVD’s shortly thereafter, the demand for CD-Roms declined rapidly. Even so, the success of this CD-Rom was shown by the fact that the Australian Standing Orders organization, which reviews material for Australian schools, chose Mammals of Australia as one of the four best CD-Roms released in that year. In The Australian newspaper IT/Reviews, reviewer Mark Butler described the Mammals of Australia CDRom as a little gem. Butler went on to state that CD-Roms up until that time, were largely uneven in presentation as a result of the work of different photographers’ quality and subject, as well as lack of thought in overall presentation. It was pointed out by the reviewer, that the high standard of the paintings was refreshing and that each animal was rendered with just enough character and detail to make it seem to shimmer with life This new book, the first of its type for the Australian fauna has just been updated by one of Australia’s leading natural history artists, Mr. James R. Tuer.
This book has a different format to any of the other Australian mammal books of the past in that the various species are arranged in common name/alphabetical order. The advantage of this is that those who are not familiar with mammals soon become aware of the wide variation between families and species. For those who are familiar with mammals, the quick find index enables them to go directly to any species or sub-species using the scientific name. The paintings add a 19th century feel to the book and each depicts the mammals in
a way which is not possible with photography. The information on each of the 320 species covered is up to date at the time of completing the manuscript in October 2003 and the reference list is comprehensive. The text entries for each species are clear, precise and informative.
This is an excellent book which attempts to cover new ground and should be a welcome addition to Australian mammalogy and libraries everywhere.
Much of the content of his book was originally released in 1999, as a CD-Rom titled Mammals of Australia. Due to new technology, viz the sudden introduction of DVD’s shortly thereafter, the demand for CD-Roms declined rapidly. Even so, the success of this CD-Rom was shown by the fact that the Australian Standing Orders organization, which reviews material for Australian schools, chose Mammals of Australia as one of the four best CD-Roms released in that year. In The Australian newspaper IT/Reviews, reviewer Mark Butler described the Mammals of Australia CDRom as a little gem. Butler went on to state that CD-Roms up until that time, were largely uneven in presentation as a result of the work of different photographers’ quality and subject, as well as lack of thought in overall presentation. It was pointed out by the reviewer, that the high standard of the paintings was refreshing and that each animal was rendered with just enough character and detail to make it seem to shimmer with life This new book, the first of its type for the Australian fauna has just been updated by one of Australia’s leading natural history artists, Mr. James R. Tuer.
This book has a different format to any of the other Australian mammal books of the past in that the various species are arranged in common name/alphabetical order. The advantage of this is that those who are not familiar with mammals soon become aware of the wide variation between families and species. For those who are familiar with mammals, the quick find index enables them to go directly to any species or sub-species using the scientific name. The paintings add a 19th century feel to the book and each depicts the mammals in
a way which is not possible with photography. The information on each of the 320 species covered is up to date at the time of completing the manuscript in October 2003 and the reference list is comprehensive. The text entries for each species are clear, precise and informative.
This is an excellent book which attempts to cover new ground and should be a welcome addition to Australian mammalogy and libraries everywhere.