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| Orca: Visions of the Killer Whale | 
| Author: Peter Knudtson
Creator: David Suzuki
Publisher: Greystone Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $8.02
You Save: $5.93 (43%)
New (25) from $8.02
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 30600
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Pbk. Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 9.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 1553650344
Dewey Decimal Number: 599.536
EAN: 9781553650348
ASIN: 1553650344
Publication Date: May 18, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New - Direct from Distributor - Light Shelf Wear - No Remainder Mark
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| Customer Reviews:
 good photos; good info; great package November 19, 2005
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
A few months ago National Geographic had an article on orcas that basically persuaded me that this was an animal I wanted to learn a lot more about. I shopped around on Amazon, and decided that this would be the best book for starters. Now that I've read it, I think I was probably right: and if your situation is similar, I recommend it.
Now the text is not for kids. I shared it with a young orca enthusiast, and we couldn't even get through the picture captions. But for adults without degrees in biology, this is probably the most informative and descriptive text available. For a good sample, look at the description of seal hunting technique on pages 73 and 75.
(Another one to check out is "Cetacean Societies." The text is a step heavier, the subject broader; yet it just might be what the curious scientifically-literate adult ordered. This book may actually be a bit simple if you've read many science books. For instance, check out the history of evolution on p. 22. Compare that to another pop-sci book, Carl Zimmer's "Fish with Fingers.")
The pictures are great for everyone. I was a little wary after reading about the "haunting" photo on the cover, which I judge as actually very ordinary. But inside the book it gets better.
On page 25, there's a great view of the mouth and teeth of an orca, as close as you'd probably ever like to get; on 59, a picture of a birth taking place; on 60, a picture of a mother petting her calf; on 87, a picture of a calf nursing; on 92, a picture of a whale playing with kelp. Those are great shots, IMO; illustrating the life of an orca, rather than merely arial acrobatics (pictures of which are included plentifully).
Some people will care a lot about the quality of the photos, which are varied: the surface photos are uniformly excellent, but underwater, I guess you take what you can get, especially in the wild.
(David Suzuki's foreward argues against having orcas captive in small pools; that evidently upset a previous reviewer. Well, it's just an opinion, and a reasonable one at least.)
 over-all an excellent book January 25, 1999
3 out of 19 found this review helpful
I was very dissapointed by David Suzuki and his biased view-points about killer whales and society. However the rest of the book, makes up for a sour start
It's mad! December 6, 1998
1 out of 20 found this review helpful
I reckon it's the best i've ever seen, MAD
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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