Animal Earth: The Amazing Diversity of Living Creatures

I kept checking this book out of the library over and over. I finally acknowledged I wanted to own it, something I don’t do often. I am fascinated by the varieties of underwater life. The photos make it easy to study the details. Text is fascinating too, not quite scholarly but written to inform and to draw us into the clear fact of biodiversity. Well done. The author traveled the world, studying and photographing the creatures, highly respected academically.

The pictures are amazing quality. The text is detailed and scientifically accurate. This book has something for readers of all ages above the point of being old enough to treat the book with the respect it deserves. This is one that you'll keep in your library for many years to come.

I got my PhD in Zoology in 1982 and I was curious about the latest thoughts on the many odd phyla and the relationships between phyla, especially in regards to info that has been gained by DNA evidence. I read the entire book just for fun and it seemed accurate to me. The photography is stunning and the price of the book is quite a bit less than all the graduate level zoology textbooks I have seen. The title is slightly off, however, as you can see from the picture that the title says the "The Amazing Diversity of Living Creatures". Curious that they changed the name Pogonophorans to Siboglinids with no cross reference. It used to be a phylum but is now in the Annelida.

An extraordinary book, with strikingly beautiful pictures, that covers the full range of animals, from A to Z, in all their diversity, with photographs of sample species for each phyla. I used this book in combination with Simon Barnes's Ten Million Aliens to gain a better understanding of the diversity of animal life. They complemented each other well. Barnes tells stories; Piper shows pictures (and provides more detailed scientific information).

1) The pictures are stunning.2) Many of the pictures are of animals that are rarely seen in photographs.3) The book splits the entire animal kingdom into 35 groups of equal importance—the phyla. This approach provides a manageable account of animal diversity, with at least one good look at each "province" of the kingdom. The resulting sense of completeness is well worth the price of a few oversimplifications (which are acknowledged in the text).4) Although the text deserved better copyediting, it is accessible and full of interesting details.

This amazing visual collection surveys all the animal lineages briefly, paying special attention to the small and hidden ones that are often overlooked. Photomicrographs and illustrations reveal amazing forms. And the descriptions of modes of living and reproducing impress one with the diversity of life that has evolved to fill niches from the bottom of the ocean to the tops of trees and the interiors of our bodies.

I saw this book recommended on Twitter by Iain Couzin, a prominent researcher in animal behavior. I got it for my mom because she is an artist and an animal lover. I was expecting a beautiful picture book of manifold exotic animals. Indeed, there were many beautiful colors, but the animals were a bit more exotic than I was expecting!Do buy if you are curious about the diversity of life on earth or if you want inspiration for something interesting to paint. Do not buy if you are afraid of creepy critters!

this book has it all, amazing photography, high quality reprints and lots of information. i bought this book for my son for christmas and he loved it. Read it cover to cover all Christmas day, astounding photos and facts! enjoy

In a world of instant information on the web we sometimes struggle to get undergraduates to read real books. Dense, detailed, academic texts with a catalogue-like approach to describing animal diversity and taxonomy can be daunting for students. At the same time, we don't want them reading superficial coffee-table books. This text is somewhat of a hybrid - beautiful images that draw you in and then detail in the text which is both accessible and appropriate for undergraduates. I'll be recommending this book as brain-bait for my 2nd year Aquatic Zoology course which forms part of our Marine Biology degree at Hull. Hopefully with their interest piqued students will go on to read more deeply in other traditional and excellent tests such as Brusca and Brusca or Ruppert, Fox and Barnes (and, of course, the primary literature).

This is an absolutely gorgeous book with so much detail and beautiful illustrations and photographs! It is perfect for any aspiring Marine Biologists out there! I love it💗

more than a coffee table book but, sadly, shy of a text book. this book has the most exquisite images of the lesser known members of the animal kingdom. it also has fascinating 'factoids' sprinkled throughout with much speculation as to their lifestyles since many of them have been little studied. had it contained more information about the animals on display, and in a more thematic manner (beyond the basic classification of these creatures), then I might have awarded it a fifth star.

An awesome book, in the true sense of the word! The beautiful photography reveals a world of creatures so extraordinary it is nearly impossible to believe we share the same planet. I got this for my daughter as she is interested in zoology and paleontology, and she is loving it.

Stunning and informative. Got it for a text book but actually really enjoy reading it in my spare time.