Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards

Rating:
Summary: Great resource on varanids
Review: I will state right now that this book is not, IMHO, an easy read, or a particularly fluid read.
However, it is very informative, containing much information about the natural habits and ecology of varanid lizards. My main complaint is that the book seems to use V. rosenbergi as it's archetypal varanid; there are some 9 sub genera and several dozen species, and I wish that more attention had been payed to the some of the other varanids. However, this is still one of the few good monitor books that's actually in print, and is worth your read weather you're an academic herpetologist or a keeper (or for that matter if you are thinking about keeping a monitor). It provides insights that are sorely lacking in most other (in print) books, espically in regards to the thermal biology, water useage, and the diet of these lizards. It's easily worth your effort to read it.
The discussions about taxonomy are also great, and informative in regards to how gene sequencing is being used to establish relationships and derivations between species.