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| Elk Country (Wildlife Country) | 
| Author: Valerius Geist
Publisher: Northword Press
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $0.62
You Save: $21.33 (97%)
New (2) from $0.62
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 302749
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 1559712082
Dewey Decimal Number: 590
EAN: 9781559712088
ASIN: 1559712082
Publication Date: June 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New Copy, Never read
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| Customer Reviews:
 Disappointing text...but GREAT photos! September 14, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is actually two books in one. The first is the text, which was written by Valerius Geist, and the second is the photos, which were taken by Michael H. Francis. The first book fails badly, but the second is magnificent. Geist's text is so horrifyingly unsatisfactory that it could be used as an example of every mortal sin that an author must avoid. It is grotesquely verbose, condescending, pedantic, and uninformative, and it is stained by an offensively propagandistic tone (the standard "man is evil...nature is good" oversimplification). As though these flaws aren't bad enough, it is shot through-and-through with inappropriate anthropomorphisms and a teleological mindset that is glaringly anti-scientific. These shortcomings completely undermine Geist's embarrassing attempt to pose as the consummate scholar. As a result, I found it painful even to skim the wholly unsatisfactory text. The photographs, by contrast, are superb! Each is a virtual work of art, and as I looked at them, my thoughts alternated between awe and a deep curiosity. How did the photographer get these shots! Surprisingly, the captions for these photos are the best part of the book's text, greatly surpassing Geist's verbose prose with their succinct clarity and relevance. In light of its flaws, is this book worth its price? I don't think so. Francis's photos are truly outstanding, but Geist's text has inflicted mortal wounds.
 THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ON ELK! July 13, 2002
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This was a great book. Unlike most wildlife or nature books with boring and dry writing, this book kept me interested and reading the whole time due to the fabulous skill of it's author Valerius Geist who is a very good writer. It is the ultimate reference book on the North American elk. It would be very useful to hunters, naturalists, and photographers, like me. It has everything you would want to know about elks' lives throughout the seasons along with excellent photographs the whole way through from Michael H. Francis. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the origin of our elk, which migrated to North America on the Bering Strait land bridge. Identical elk still live in Russia. And there was also fascinating information in the book about the evolution of the North American elk that led to different sub-species This book also contained great historic and present day range maps of the elk and it tells of the elks' conservation story along with what may be in store for the future of elk. If you were to get one book on elk this would definitely be the one. And if you are interested in other North American big game animal books, Valerius Geist has written many others, such as Antelope Country, Mule Deer Country, and more, which are also available here on Amazon.com.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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