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AUSTRALIAN SEASHORES
W.J. Dakin ( with Isobel Bennett)
This is an extremely popular book,
and deserves a special explanation. The full title of the most recent edition
is actually "W.J.Dakin's classic study Australian Seashores, Fully Revised
and Illustrated by Isobel Bennett". This expanded hardcover, large-format
edition with superb colour photographs throughout was published in 1987
(lover photo - there was also a white cover edition). It proved to be extremely
popular with the general public and eventually went out of print. Isobel
Bennett is a leading Australian naturalist who worked with Professor Dakin.
The original Dakin's Australian
Seashores (top image) was published in 1952, with revised editions
in 1960 and reprinted in 1963. These original Dakin books were hardcover,
372 pages with mono prints. The text in all editions is the same, with
the same chapters. The 1987 edition has a bibliography.
Australian Seashores, irrespective
of edition, is the definitive guide on the intertidal zone, and a recommended
source of information to divers. (Australia's foremost marine educationalist
Reg Lipson strongly recommends the book). The twenty chapters cover basic
oceanography through to species biology. The problem is that all editions
are out of print, and second-hand copies are in demand. It is important
to note tht the text in all editions remains the same.
This book is a must for all divers
interested in the marine environment.
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AUSTRALIAN SEA TURTLES
Their Natural History and Conservation
Robert Bustard.
William Collins Sons & Co. London, Sydney etc.
First published in 1972.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 220 pages, mono photographs, maps,
index, references. Author was one of the world's experts on sea turtles,
particularly those off the Queensland coast. He covers th seven species
of sea turtlesin a book of four parts: the Turtle, The Lives of Turtles,
Turthle Research, and Turtles and Man. Certainly a definitive work on the
subject. |
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Australia's OCEAN OF LIFE. Stephen Parish.
Published in 1974 by Wedneil Publications, Victoria,
Australia.
Hardcover, dust jacket, 128 pages, full colour throughoput.
The author is now virtually known throughout Australia
- Steve Parish Publishing produce a wide range of travel and educational
material of iutstanding quality, based predominantly on the huge photographic
library shot by Parish since he 'retired' from the Navy. He was one of
Australia's pioneer underwater photographers, and has since extended his
expertise into location and wildlife photography, the basis of his company.
Ocean
of Life stands on its on merit, one of the first colour pubications
on Australian marine life (shot mainly in the temperate waters of Jervis
Bay). In spite of many more recent publications on Australian marine life,
Ocean
of Life is still an excellent book, with superb photographs.
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"DANGEROUS
MARINE
ANIMALS"
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One book - many titles. It started of in 1975 as:
DANGEROUS MARINE ANIMALS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION
Diving Medial Centre Monograph on Identification First
Aid and Medical Treatment.
Dr. Carl Edmonds.
Wedneil Publications, Melbourne, 1975. ISBN 0 909 853
48 7.
Hardcover, printed cloth boards, dustjacket, 235 pages,
full colour throughout, index.
There were apparently two paperback reprints, in 1976
and 1978, and a second edition in hardcover in 1981.
Then we have:
MARINE ANIMAL INJURIES TO MAN.
Sequel to Dangerous marine Animals of the Indo-Pacific
Region.
Carl Edmonds.
Wedneil Publications, Melbourne, 1984. ISBN 0 949585
40 8.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 2-4 pages, full colour throughout,
index.
Well, not really a 'sequel' to the original edition.
You see, in those days the Australin Government paid a book bountry for
those books published and printed in Australi, to encourage the industry
of course. But to get the book bountry it had to be a 'new' book - and
who woul know if only the title changed. So the publishers get a cheaper
book (and perhaps also the public but I doubt it), the government is mildly
frauded and no one is the wiser. The books are identical except for, perhaps,
a few revisions, and for some reason the chapter on Drowning for Doctos
hs been ommitted in the 1884 book. So much for a sequel!
Wedneil Publications went down the gurgler in the early
1980s and a new player came into the game, under yet another title.
DANGROUS MARINE CREATURES
Dr. Carl Edmonds.
Reed Books Pty Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0 7301 0214 9.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 192 pags, colour, index.
Although much the same ind etail as the previous two
'editions', we now we have a substantial change to the layout of the book.
It is more 'professionally' produced, and had been professionally edited.
We no longer have jellyfish - they are now coelenterates. We have gone
upmrked it seems. But the content and value of the book is predominantly
the same.
I can recall that the book was remaindered for some time,
and Reed Books obviously had no interest in reprinting, or perhaps the
contract ran out and Edmonds decided to go elsewhere. And that 'elsewhere'
was to the USA. We now have (and it is still in print):
DANGEROUS MARINE CREATURES
Field Guide for Medical Treatment.
Dr. Carl Edmonds.
Best Publishing Company, Arizona, USA, 1995. ISBN 0-941332-39-X.
Softcover, 276 pages, full colour, index.
We have now reverted back to the original chapters and
text with extensive revisions. And although now softcover and smaller
in physical book size it is three times the retail cost for any Australian
purchaser - thts the problms for Autralian readers when Australian authors
head to th USA for publication. But, and particularly in this instance,
who can blm them.
-
Okay, what is it all about. This is an excellent book,
a must for anyon connected with th sea, particularly divers, and although
the subject matter has been covered before (Halstead et al), this is a
most important work. Here we hve th marine creatures that sting, bite,
poison, and otherwise affect a nice sunny day at the beach or on the reef.
Th curren editions decsribes th naimal, its distribution, how you may come
in contact with it, first id if you do, and clinical features. As they
say - don't leave home without it. |
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MARINE ANIMALS
Neville Coleman.
Editorial Consultants: Isobel Bennett, Dr. Andrew Campbell,
Professor Michael Hadfield.
Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1991.
Hardcover, dustjacket, larger than A4 (240 x 310mm),
324 pages, full colour throughout, index, glossary.
Coleman is well known to Australian divers for the many
excellent publications that he had produced over the years, on Australian
and western Pacific marine life. This book is an ambitious project as it
purports to cover the world, something that cannot be done in any depth
in the one volume, no matter how large and well produced. This it admits
in an itropduction, advising the reader that it is a general visual guide
displaying only a representative selection of known species or genera.
But in so doing, it still manages about 10,000 species. And inded it covers
all manner of marine animals, from the tiniest invertebrates through to
the fishes and mammals. A very useful book. For some unfathomable reason,
but quite common in the run-of-the-mill publishing industry, the book was
quickly sold out but did not go into a reprinting. This is more a reflction
on the publishing company than anything else, the prim objectiv of making
a quick dollar and moving on to some other title. Nevermind that the book
will not dat for many decades, and there is a demand even if a specialist
one. So the authors miss out on royalties and the public their knowledge.
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FISH AND FISHERIES OF AUSTRALIA
T.C.Roughley.
Angus & Robertson, Sydney. No date. Preface to second
edition 1955.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 243 pages, colour and mono prints.
In two parts - Part One, The Fishes; Part Two, Fisheries and Angling, covering
commercial fishing in Australia at the time, pond culture, shark and their
products, underwater spear-gun fishing, Australian aborriginal fishing,
big-game angling (shame!!!), freshwater fisheries
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LIVING TOGETHER IN THE SEA
Dr. Leon P. Zann.
Published by T.F.H. Publications, Inc.Ltd, 1980. ISBN
0-87666-500-8.
Hardcover, laminated boards, 416 pages, colour and mono
photographs.
Although not a particularly old book, it is nevrtheless
an important work, being one of the first books on marine symbiosis. It
covers the various forms of symbiotic relationships - non parasitic associations
and parasitism - in all forms of marine life. A remarkable book for its
information.
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AUSTRALIAN SEA LIFE SOUTH OF 30 degrees SOUTH
Neville Coleman.
Doubleday, Sydney.1987. ISBN 0 86824 269 1.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 288 pages, full colour throught,
usually one photo of species per pages, index.
And yet another excllent title by Neville Coleman that
quickly goes out of print and is not reprintd by the publishers despite
the demand. I think it is one of his finest books, and yet it is very difficult
to obtain - well, thats understandable I suppose. It is a pity tht the
publishers cannot think beyong the immediate quick sale, and keep a book
like this in print for many decades.
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SEAWEEDS OF AUSTRALIA
Text by I.G.Christianson, M.N.Clayton, B.M.Allender.
Photographs by Bruce Fuhrer.
A.H. & A.W.Reed Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1981. Hardcover,
dustjacket, 112 pages. Colour, index, bibliography.
Chapters include: Collecting andPreservation of Seaweeds,
Blue-Green Algae, Red Algae, Brown Algae, Green Algae, Sea Grasses. |
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THE FRINGE OF THE SEA.
Isobel Bennett.
First published 1966 by Rigby Limited. Reprinted and
revised edition 1974. ISBN 0 85179 795 4.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 260 pages, many mono photographs,
a few colour plates.
In seven chapers, covering sponges, coelenterates, marine
worms, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, and The Living Coral Reef. Still
a useful work.
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THE SEAHORSE AND ITS RELATIVES
Gilbert Whitley, and Joyce Allen. Georgian House,
Melbourne, 1958.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 84 pages, mono line drawings,
index.
Would this be the first specialist book on seahorses
published anywhere in the world? Whitley was at the time the Curator of
Fishes at the Australian Museum in Sydney. Allen was curtor o shells at
the same museum. Both were well respected in their firleds, and Whitely
was, or became, a respected author of other marine books and papers. The
book is divided into two parts - Part 1 on th seahorse, its lore and legends,
habits and habitats, breeding, structure, and a chapter on Australian seahorses.
Part 2 concerned the relativs of the seahorse, the beautiful Weedy and
Leafy Seadragons, and some of the Pipefishes., trumpet fishes and flutemouths,
and seamoths. It is still a most useful reference. [ps] |
