I'd like to step past the obvious positive features of Riedman's lovingly created product - lucid, readable, interesting, well constructed - and focus on something a little more subtle. Riedman steps outside the main topic of the book frequently, with illustrative and textual hyperbolations into animal and plant life closely associated or analogous to the Pinnipeds, presumably in an effort to provide a more three-dimensional view of her subject matter. But there's more to it than that. The picture of the dead Great White Shark at Ano Nuevo - winter home to the Northern Elephant Seal - brought home to me the almost innocent wonder with which Riedman views her subject matter. I imagined Riedman pouring over thousands of photographs, and on finding this one, saying "Boy! I've got to put that one in!" I have to admit that, by the time I got to this picture, I was thoroughly hooked as well. And thinking about it further, I could see that the world these fascinating creatures inhabit is truly a different and marvelous place.

To think that before I read this book, I couldn't tell a Seal from a Sea Lion - both dark, blobby bodies floating around in the surf or sunning themselves on a tidal rock. And after reading "The Pinnipeds", I find that this image has expanded so very much more that I feel I can almost picture what the world must be like through the eyes of that Seal Lion on the cover. Now, to have written the book that got me there... Well all I can say is that Marianne Riedman is one lucky person to have been given the opportunity to write this book, highly competent to have take the challenge so well, and above all so very much aware and so keenly fascinated by her subject matter. Well done!

I also want to say a brief word about the talented artists that provided illustrations for this book. Pieter Folkens is a highly skilled technical illustrator, with a love for marine life, and an eye for the detail. He can truly bring his creations to life. I'm less familiar with Irene Campagna, but her efforts in "The Pinnipeds" are also excellent. Both deserve mention here.


The Essential Text on Seals   June 1, 2000
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Comprehensive. Well written. Informative. Accessible. ... I can't think of enough positive things to say about this book. Riedman manages to give readers a thorough overview of the biology and habits of sea lions, seals and walruses. The book is encyclopedic in its scope, but you do not have to be a biologist or naturalist to appreciate the details it covers. And then there are the pictures: maps, photos, line drawings and other illustrations help bring to life the various pinnipeds Riedman discusses.

Divided into nine chapters, the book covers their adaptation to life in the sea, their evolution and classification, their ecology, predation, diet and food, mating and social structures, reproduction and life history, maternal care, and communication and learning. And while this is a biological text, the writing is breezy and readable, mixing anecdotes and personal observations with the multitude of facts.