Coastal Wildlife of British Columbia

Victor Clulow is a zoology professor at Laurentian University.

The B.C. coast has long attracted naturalists and artists because of the
variety of its wildlife and its sublime beauty. This large and colorful
book—the product of a fruitful collaboration between a well-informed
biologist and a gifted photographer, both of whom clearly enjoy their
work and love their subject matter—does justice to the region. The
color photographs are superb in composition and rendition. The text is
at once thoughtful and spontaneous, both didactic and entertaining, and
whimsical and serious by turns. The combination of these qualities
maintains one’s interest throughout. Accounts of steps being taken to
preserve this beautiful part of the world are heartening and hold out
some hope for the future. The conversion table found toward the end of
the book is a thoughtful addition: it offers simple conversions of the
metric system adopted by Canada, and used throughout the text, to the
imperial units favored by many and still used by some.

Coastal Wildlife of British Columbia transcends the genre of
coffee-table book. Its balance of art and intelligence makes it a
suitable addition to the library of anyone interested in the form,
variety, and history of Canadian wildlife. It would make a fine gift to
a person in whom the donor wished to encourage interest in Canadian and
British Columbian nature. It will probably be taken overseas as a
souvenir by visitors and sent abroad as a present to exiles. At $39.95,
the book is a bargain. Its manufacture (from design through paper to
printing) and its distribution are all-Canadian. Bravo! Well done, all
around.