National Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Familiar Marine Mammals (Audubon Society Pocket Guide Series)

Rating:
Summary: LITTLE BOOK
Review: I love all marine mammals and I have quite a few books on the subject. This is one of my favorite ones. It has small but informative discriptions on each of the known whales along with a little background on the cetaceans. It also has photographs of almost every species. I highly recommend it. I just love these little field guide books!

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE LITTLE BOOKS
Review: I totally love whales! And so i have many books on them. My favorites are my small little field guids like this. Its great, very informative descriptions. And great photographs of the animals. I highly recommend it to!

Rating:
Summary: There are Better Guides Out There
Review: PROS - Compact and lightweight; really does fit in a pocket; nice photography/artwork; descriptions kept brief.

CONS - A number of questionable assertions, e.g., page 30 states that the Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) is "also called the Leopard Seal." This is the only book I've seen which makes this statement and it can't be true for there exists a separate species known as the Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), but which is found only in Antarctica and, unlike the Harbor Seal, has what is often referred to as a "reptilian" head and is quite predatory (it also feeds on penguins and other seals). Another example is on page 82 where the Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is said to be "also known as the Hourglass Dolphin." Again, the Hourglass Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus cruciger) is a very different species both in terms of anatomy and distribution. Also, the author consistently and improperly refers to large gatherings of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) as "herds" when the correct term is "pods."

For pocket-guide-type books on the subject of marine mammals, I would recommend the Sierra Club Handbooks ("Whales and Dolphins" & "Seals and Sirenia") over this one. True, they're a little bulkier but you get a lot more detail and accuracy from recognized professional marine mammalogists.