Zoochat Booklist

sealion

sealion

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I had a search around and couldn't find anything similar on the website.....
Basically, I thought that we could use this thread to list any good zoo/wildlife related books that we've read/heard about so that we can share the good ones, dismiss the bad ones and get an easily accessible list of them. Just give the books a subcategory so that they can be easily found on the thread.
So for example, you might say,
Reptile Books
A Beginner's guide to Everything Reptilian- John J. Scales
Lizards Large and Small- Lucy P. Slither

and so on.
(not actual real books as far as I am aware!:p)

I can't think of any ones at the moment, but if I do i'll post. ;)
 
Here are a few of my favorites:

Public Aquariums:
Window to the Sea by Grant & Jones (2006)

Public Zoos:
Keepers of the Kingdom by Nichols (1996)
Sailing with Noah by Bonner (2006)

Zoo-Based Field Conservation:
Building a Future for Wildlife by Dick & Gusset (2010)

Big Cats:
Tigers in Red Weather by Padel (2006)
The Jim Corbett Omnibus by Corbett (1991 compilation of earlier works)
Ghosts of Tsavo by Caputo (2002)
The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by Patterson (1986 reprint of earlier work)
 
Arizona Docent said:
Here are a few of my favorites:

Public Aquariums:
Window to the Sea by Grant & Jones (2006)

Public Zoos:
Keepers of the Kingdom by Nichols (1996)
Sailing with Noah by Bonner (2006)

Zoo-Based Field Conservation:
Building a Future for Wildlife by Dick & Gusset (2010)

Big Cats:
Tigers in Red Weather by Padel (2006)
The Jim Corbett Omnibus by Corbett (1991 compilation of earlier works)
Ghosts of Tsavo by Caputo (2002)
The Man-Eaters of Tsavo by Patterson (1986 reprint of earlier work)
Click to expand...

Looks pretty good on amazon too! (Being an aquatic life fan!)
 
I just finished reading "Did Not Survive" by Ann Littlewood. I will post a review in the forum, but I thought it was VERY good, and considering Im one of the biggest book snobs I know, thats saying a lot.
It's fictional, a murder mystery set in a zoo. It's her second book, the first one is "Night Kill". I don't know if you would necessarily have to read the first one to understand DNS. I think her second novel is incredible, though. It's more for fun than educational or inspirational/motivational.
 
I enjoyed Simon King's "Wild Life" and "A Lion called Christian" but this may have been because I'm just getting into reading specific Zoology-related books-as they are quite mainstream.
 
A book that I found in a second-hand bookshop that I think is absolutely fascinating is "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park". It was published before the Asia section opened, and shows all the old plans and how the makers finally settled on the idea of using live animals. If you can get hold of it, it makes for a greatly informative read. :)
 
DesertRhino150 said:
A book that I found in a second-hand bookshop that I think is absolutely fascinating is "The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park". It was published before the Asia section opened, and shows all the old plans and how the makers finally settled on the idea of using live animals. If you can get hold of it, it makes for a greatly informative read. :)
Click to expand...

Wow sounds interesting, love that park!
 
Anyone interested in books on elephants might visit my website Home - elebooks where you will find a website still under construction (please forgive the errors!) : I have listed any serious books about elephants I can find in my own collection plus titles from other sources: I have included books on biology, conservation, hunting, wild, captive, circus etc but ommitted childrens books and elephant-based novels.
 
@ Chris Furley - I did not have time to go through your entire list to see if it is there (but I am sure it is). Have you read the book Modoc by Ralph Helfer and do you have an opinion on its veracity? He is relating a story about one of his elephants that was told to him by someone else and he obviously believes it is true. But there are so many unbelievable events all strung together that I just think the guy who told him made it up (or heavily embellished). Any one of the events listed would be remarkable and the experience of a lifetime - but when you read the entire thing there are so many extreme, out-of-this world experiences that I just cannot believe it is a true story.
 
Modoc

Hi Arizona Docent - no I have not read the book by Ralph Helfer so I cannot comment on whether it's true or not: sorry !
 
Big Cats
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival - John Vaillant
The Beast in the Garden: The True Story of a Predator's Deadly Return to Suburban America- David Baron

Bears
The Lost Grizzlies: A Search for Survivors in the Colorado Wilderness - Rick Bass
Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness-Doug Peacock
The Blue Bear: A True Story of Friendship and Discovery in the Alaskan Wild-Lynn Schooler

The Wolverine Way- Douglas Chadwick

Secrets of the Savanna, Cry of the Kalahari, and Eye of the Elephant by Marc J. Owens.
 
Tom Brown recommended The Gamblers by John Pearson. It's about John Aspinell and the Clermont set. I'm really enjoying it. A super recommendation.
 
mazfc...glad you are enjoying the book,a very different perspective on Mr Aspinall from the Brian Masters book "The Passion of John Aspinall".I suppose my favourite zoo book would be the classic "Management of Wild Mammals in Captivity " by Lee Crandall[1964] - 700 pages of zoo experience from the legendary Bronx Zoo curator,still a fantastic read to this day.
 
A couple of books to be recommended.....

A Field Guide to the Carnivores of the World by Luke Hunter and Priscilla Barrett - this is an in-depth book listing all recognised species of non-pinniped carnivore, with colour plates illustrating all species and skull diagrams for most.

Owls of the World (Helm Identification Guides) by Claus Konig, Freidhelm Weick and Jan-Hendrik Becking - much like the carnivore book, this is an in-depth analysis of every species of owl, with colour plates for each species. However, this is a much more detailed volume in total, as it also encompasses morphological and phylogenetic essays mapping the relation of all known species to one another, as well as birdwatching guides and tips.

The Encyclopedia of Mammals by David MacDonald - for those who find the HotMotW series beyond their price range, this is a good generalist study of the range and variation of mammals.

The Encyclopedia of Birds by Christopher Perrins - sister volume of the above.
 
I like DK SMITHSONIAN ANIMAL (The Definitive Visual Guide)

Editors-In-Chief: David Burnie & Don E. Wilson
 
Recent purchases of mine include (all were purchased in 2012):

Window to the Sea - by Grant and Jones
Silent Thunder - Katy Payne
Animal Gardens - Emily Kahn
Chasing the Panda - Michael Kiefer
Captive Beauty: Zoo Portraits - Frank Noelker
Keepers of the Kingdom: The New American Zoo - Michael Nichols
Strange Things Happened to me on my way to the Zoo - Mike Thomas
Jumbo - Paul Chambers
Wild Animals in Captivity - H. Hediger
Ghosts of Tsavo - Philip Caputo
The Management of Wild Mammals in Captivity - Lee S. Crandall
Packy and Me - Matthew Maberry
Abenteuer Zoo - Petzold and Sorge
Mesker Park Zoo: A Pictorial History
Hey Mister! - Your Alligator's Loose - Gary K. Clarke
Wrestling with Rhinos - Dr. Jerry Haigh
The Peaceable Kingdom - John Sedgwick
The First Fifty Years: Detroit Zoological Park - William A. Austin
125 Years at the Philadelphia Zoo - Clark DeLeon
The Tower Menagerie - Daniel Hahn
Kansas City Zoo Tales - Ruth Seeliger
Melbourne Zoo: 150th Anniversary Book
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival - John Vaillant
 
The second part of Sir David Attenborough's 60 year retrospective was broadcast by the BBC on Friday in the UK. It dealt with progress in the scientific understanding of animals in this period. He was, of course, far too much of a gentleman to mention any of his own books. But the three volumes he mentioned as particularly inspiring were:-
  • King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz (his copy has Lorenz's autograph and a cartoon he drew to illustrate their BBC interview which also featured a goose and its excreta)
  • The Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace
  • The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
I am pleased to say that all three volumes are in my little library.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz
Click to expand...

One of the first Nat.His. books I ever read, at a very young age and it definately fired my enthusiasm too. I no longer have a copy but I remember much of it was about the colony of Jackdaws in his native village(was it Altenburg?) And the behaviour of the local Dogs also.

I do have his last(?)work though- entitled 'I am here, where are you'? -a study of Greylag Geese.
 
I have a lot of zoo/wildlife books including I believe all the a Gerald Durrell ones and most of David Attenborough, zoo quest's, life of mammals etc
I also like
Man and Animal in the zoo /Wild animals in captivity both by H. Hediger
Zoo design the reality of wild illusions by Polakowski
Zoo 2000 by J Cherfas
Aquariums windows to nature by Taylor.
Plus dozens of others some a bit obscure such as
Equids: zebras, Asses, and Horses. status survey and action plan IUCN
the Indian Blackbuck Antelope a Texas View N. P Clarke Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
 
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