See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

7 used & new from £33.00
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Natural World)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Natural World) (Paperback)

by Jonathan Kingdon (Author, Illustrator)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


2 new from £113.95 5 used from £33.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New Ed) £29.99 £28.49 15 used & new from £16.73

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates

The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates

by RD Estes
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £23.70
Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (Helm Field Guides)

Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (Helm Field Guides)

by Terry Stevenson
4.9 out of 5 stars (9)  £23.74
The Safari Companion: Guide to Watching African Mammals

The Safari Companion: Guide to Watching African Mammals

by Richard Estes
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £16.11
Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania (Helm Field Guides)

Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania (Helm Field Guides)

by Dale A. Zimmerman
5.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £23.74
Field Guide to the Birds of Western Africa (Helm Field Guides)

Field Guide to the Birds of Western Africa (Helm Field Guides)

by Nik Borrow
£28.49
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Poyser (31 Dec 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0124083552
  • ISBN-13: 978-0124083554
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.8 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 644,860 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #47 in  Books > Science & Nature > Nature > Wild Animals > By Region > Africa

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Review
Since the appearance of his seven-volume encyclopaedia of East African mammals in the 1970's, Kingdon has become a figure of high distinction in conservationist circles. His extraordinary talents as a writer and painter have been dedicated to astonishingly beautiful and detailed records of African fauna and the ecosystems that sustain them. This makes his new field guide rather more than a handbook. . . . The richness of information is exemplary. The illustrations would make a big cat purr. . . . . It is one of Kingdon's strengths, both as a naturalist and as an artist, that he is interested in how animals look and feel to each other. . . . His drawings and paintings stress the elegant functionality of body geometry, the way animals use facial and body patterns for visual signalling.

Product Description
The author seeks to cover all the known species of African land mammal in this text, providing full information on identification, distribution, ecology, evolutionary relationships and conservation status. The focus is always on the mammals as seen in the field and on their ecology and evolutionary interrelationships. Introductory profiles summarize the characteristics of the various mammal groups and the author simplifies many of the more complex groups of mammals by referencing genera. The author combines his long personal experience of life in Africa with natural history and biological science to create this comprehensive reference work.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
mammals
africa

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Natural World)
53% buy the item featured on this page:
The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Natural World) 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals
23% buy
The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£16.14
The Safari Companion: Guide to Watching African Mammals
10% buy
The Safari Companion: Guide to Watching African Mammals 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£16.11
Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (Helm Field Guides)
8% buy
Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (Helm Field Guides) 4.9 out of 5 stars (9)
£23.74
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars About the Best Currently, but Could Be Improved, 15 Sep 2004
By Laszlo Wagner (Hungary) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Paperback)
First let me say that in general I find this book excellent, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the mammalian fauna of Africa.
It is very comprehensive, covering every single species of African mammals with the exception of bats, rodents, insectivores, elephant-shrews and hyrraxes, which are usually represented by one species for each genus. But every single genus is represented, and of rodents, every species of squirrel is dealt with separately.
The information accompanying each species is very detailed and appears up to date.

Now for the shortcomings:
1) The illustrations are next to the description of each species. Given how detailed/long the texts are, this means that usually there are just 1 or 2 species shown on each page, so to compare all antelopes you must look through a hundred pages or so - not very practical in a field guide!
2) Maps are often pages away from the text and illustration, with no reference to their whereabouts. I often thought there was no map for a species/genus, only to find it pages away, combined with the map for another taxon.
3) While illustrations are identified by the species' English name, the maps are confusingly id'ed by Latin names only. If you aren't familiar with the latter, it takes some cross-reference to find out which species' range you are looking at.
4) The illustrations vary so much in standard that it is hard to believe they were drawn by one person... While most are quite good, even excellent and life-like, others are quite awful, either showing animals with stiff, straight limbs/bodies as if drawn with a ruler (like the Crowned Monkey) or in highly unnatural positions (like the Potto with the limbs twisted out, or the Cheetah standing up like a circus horse).

Note that a cheaper, condensed version of this guide, without the first 3 shortcomings listed above and more practical for field use is now available under the title "The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals" (ISBN: 0691122393). It is probably the book you would want to take to Africa while keeping this one at home for reference.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE Book for African Animal lovers., 28 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This is a dream book for those interested in African mammals. First of all, it does not concentrate on "popular" species, such are lions and cheetahs, but talks about all species and important sub-species. The layout of the book is like this: first the author talks about a certain class of mammals, ex. Carnivores, and talks about the things characteristic to that class; then he goes down to family, e.g. canids, and talks about aspects characteristic to that family, and finally, the species themselves, and talks about their individual characteristics, distribution, size, and status. And it goes like that until every species, family and class of African mammal is mentioned. There are no pictures in the book, but color illustrations of all the species mentioned. The illustations are high-class, so much you can easily imagine what the animal looks like in real life. And now, a few bad points. As a bonus, he adds the names of animals in French, German, and a few African languages. Unfortunately, this is inconsistent throughout the book. I understand for the African languages, but French and German translations should have been given for each species. Also, he doesn't mention the mammals of Madagascar, even though Madagascar is part of Africa. And another thing, which would have been nice: with eponymized species (e.g. Ruppell's fox, Wolf's monkey) he should have mentioned who those species were named for. Nevertheless, I still give this book the highest score, for being complete, at least for continental Africa.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Safari Companion?, 11 May 2004
This review is from: The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Paperback)
Covering 460 mammal species in a single compact volume is no easy task. Neither is providing detailed, quality colour pictures of each animal, along with details of identification, ecology, distribution, evolutionary relationships and conservation status. In this excellent field guide, Kingdon achieves all this and more.

As a visitor to Africa, I found this guide irreplaceable when identifying the mammals that I encountered, especially small species such a bush squirrels, mongooses etc. Such animals are often overlooked by similar texts.

The only criticism I can find with this book is I often found the distribution maps to be too small to accurately identify the area I was visiting. In addition, several complex groups of small mammals, e.g. bats and shrews, are referred to by genus only.

It must be realised, however, that field guides have to be compact if they are to be practical. Rectifying the above criticisms would result in a text much too large to be any use in the African bush.

In summary I would recommend Kingdon's field guide to any wildlife enthusiast visiting Africa, or with an interest in this beautiful and fascinating continent. The author's illustrations alone make this text a worthy addition to any naturalists' bookcase.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars best safari guide
Currently the best field guide to take on safari. I found most of the illustrations excellent, although some of the descriptions were rather light. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Meriadoc

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]

   

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

More From Jonathan Kingdon

The Kingdon Pocket...

The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African...

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals is the standard... Read more
£16.14

 

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates