The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells Hardcover – Illustrated, June 30, 2010

I bought this book in the hopes that it would be a great starting point as a shell collecting reference, and I have to say that I am extremely pleased with my purchase.PROS: Judging from what I have seen available this seems to be without a doubt the best value on your dollar. For $35 you are getting a beautiful hardcover book with excellent photos (NOT ILLUSTRATIONS) of 600 different species of mollusks. The species covered range from all over the world as well, even down to Anarctica. The descriptions are clear and concise, the related species sections are extremely helpful in identifying a species that may resemble what you are looking at, and this book also clearly shows range and distribution of each species described. Photos taken are both of the entire shell and accompanied by ones taken to indicate actual size.CONS: Although this book covers 600 species as I said in the title of this review it is quite broad but rather brief on each family of species. I live in the Marshall Islands so I bought this book in hopes of being able to identify a broader range of cowry shells I find on a regular basis but it only shows the major, more common species in the region. If you are looking for a more focused reference it may serve you better to find a book geared more towards the specific region in which you are doing your identifications.CONCLUSION: An EXCELLENT value for the quality of this product and an excellent coffee table ornament for any shell enthusiast. If you are an amature collector just getting started out like myself you will not be dissapointed, but for those with a more serious desire to know exactly what they are looking at I would suggest a pricier more specialized piece of reference literature.

I've been looking for a book for seashell identification for over a year.This book is exactly what I've been looking for.The colorful pages are beautiful.Easy to identify any shells I find.

This is a gorgeous book if you are amassing a library of shell books. I myself was just looking for a couple of volumes to give me some identification leads. This isn't that book! I would look for a few of the actual field guides of a particular area that you are interested in. I'm just buying shells now and then from various shops and so they are pretty much world-wide. Google has proven to be as handy as any book though I do have a copy of Smithsonian Handbook of shells that is quite informative.

Handsome book. Beautiful pictures. Informative.

Nice reference book. A little disappointed that there is not as many shells in book as I would have liked. Still a very good book and worth the investment, If you are a collector. This is not a coffee table book for your guests to look at. A suggestion for that would be "The World's Most Beautiful Seashells" (Hill & Carmichael).

WOW this is the Bible of Sea Shells. I love it. Being a retired U. S. Navy man that spent lots of years at sea and diving for sea shells, I just love to look at these shells that brings back many great memories. Thanks.

This is another great book by Jerry (Curator of Mollusks at the Smithsonian)The “life size” image concept is a great twist on books.Jerry's credentials make this more than just a coffee-table book by a compiler, but a serious quality work on shells for the hobbyist and enthusiast.

Wonderful book filled with beautiful drawings and great information about shells.