Shells and Shellfish of the Pacific Northwest

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable for Northwest Shell Enthusiasts
Review: As a newcomer to the Northwest, I sought a book that would enable me to identify the various seashells I had begun to collect on area beaches. This book is the only complete "non-scientific" field-guide type of text I have found on the subject. In other words, species are referenced by English common names, rather than simply by their more correct, but intimidating Latin names. All species are depicted in color photographs, with corresponding descriptions of habits, habitat, physical features, abundance, etc. Of particular interest are the color photos of the "shows", or siphons, of buried live bivalves.
There is some room for improvement in a future edition. I would like to see more specific information on distribution and abundance, collecting techniques, and on distinguishing species of similar appearance. However, it is the best existing guide to the topic that I yet know of, and it has greatly expanded my knowledge and enjoyment of Northwest shells.