A Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians (Peterson Field Guides)

As a kid, I grew up on the first edition of this field guide. When I was an undergraduate, I upgraded to the second edition, and it was a constant companion on several herp-hunting road-trips with my like-minded friends. This is the book that got me into herping, a hobby that I have enjoyed for essentially my entire life, around the world, and today I own more than thirty different herp field guides, collected across North America and five other continents. And at the end of the day, I regard Stebbins's as the best, especially w/r/t its illustrations. The animals are captured with such great form, character and detail, and are optimized for identification. Absolutely top-notch.Without any hesitation, I must say that I love this book. Illustrators of other reptile/amphibian field guides should look to Stebbins's illustrations and follow his example.But ... this third edition is lacking. I find that it has suffered the field-guide-equivalent of feature creep. In striving to be the best, this book has lost sight of "good enough" and strayed into the realm of the impractical.Of course, the new full-color plates are fantastic. And I love that this book completes the final mile, by including plates for those animals that were marginalized in earlier editions with only monochrome plates (or none at all). As an added bonus, many animals are complemented with color photographs. And hey, the maps are in full color as well. This book is just bursting with color, and that's usually a good thing. But the cost of this ubiquitous color is that every page of the book consists of glossy paper, which is thicker and heavier than regular paper. (And more-economical to print full-color images on.) At least half of this book only sports monochrome text, yet it's printed on glossy paper as well. This results in a field guide that is roughly the size of a house brick, and weighing about the same.I did the test: literally, the third edition of this book weighs more than the first and second editions combined. You don't even need a scale to tell the difference.In older editions of this (and other Peterson's) field guides, the editor's note by Roger Tory Peterson always concludes with, "Take this handbook with you whenever you travel. Do not leave it at home on your library shelf; it is a field guide, intended to be used."That introduction is lacking in Stebbins's third edition, likely because of the sad fact that Peterson is now deceased. That said, my inner cynic sees the lingering implication that perhaps the publishers no longer expect us to carry this house brick into the field. After all, it's just too big and unwieldy.And this makes me sad. Would Petersen have approved of this edition? I have my doubts. With Petersen no longer at the helm, the publisher probably felt more free to cut corners for the sake of reducing costs, and by turning this book into a boat anchor, its spirit has been compromised. I have a copy of this, the third edition, and the content within is completely brilliant. The updated distribution maps themselves are worth the cover price. But because of the book's bulk and mass, it almost never comes with me into the field. It's simply too burdensome. At best, it stays behind in the car or tent, and frequently, alas, it is left home on the library shelf, just where Peterson feared it would be.Stebbins, I love your work, and this book is a fantastic legacy.Houghton Mifflin (the publisher), I regard this edition as a failure. Please revise, using glossy paper only as needed.The sweet spot for this book is the second edition, which is my constant herping companion.

I am a complete beginner to trying to identify reptiles and amphibians. I mean, I know the difference between a frog and a toad, but when it comes to really knowing the different varieties, I'm lost. I got this book to identify the snakes that I have in my yard. This book helped me to identify which snakes I had, but it seemed to me that you already needed to have a good idea of what type is was to begin with. For example, one snake that I tried to identify was a brownish/gray with a yellow underside. I had to read just about every description given in order to identify it as a racer. There was only 1 picture of the snake, but it wasn't really even close to what I had. It showed a green snake and mine was definitely brown. It wasn't until I read the description that it said there was a brown variety. That said, this book was about the best one I have had for identifying reps/amphs. The whole reason I bought it was because what I already had was totally inadequate. This one is laid out almost instinctively. You start with the color plates, then on to the description, then the last section is the map. My only suggestion as a newbie is to put bookmarks on the first page of each of the sections so you can go to it rapidly, especially the beginning of the section where the keys are located. A really helpful part of the guide is the area in the front and back of the book where you can see exactly what part of the creature they are talking about. I was looking in the racer description and it said that they have 15-17 rows at midbody. Well unless you know exactly what a "row" is (I didn't), the guide is useless without the page at the back of the book showing the different parts of a snake. Once I knew what a "row" was, I could then use it as an aid in id'ing my snake. I'm sure it will get easier as I use the guide and learn about the creatures in general.

This is THE field identification guide for amphibians and reptiles found west of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, including Alaska and western Canada. Stebbins is the expert. I am a professional herpetologist and keep a copy of each edition for my own use, as well as Conant & Collins companion book for Eastern herps. This last one I bought was a gift to a young up-and-coming naturalist who likes to collect snakes. The pictures are fantastic. Stebbins is also a wildlife artist, and has great paintings of each species. In addition, there are fine photos throughout. But the paintings are better to illustrate features that help distinguish between similar species. I recommend this little volume as a necessity for anyone who might need to identify amphibians or reptiles in the West. It handily fits into a backpack or even a large pocket to take on hikes and such.

This would have had 5 stars if it wasn't for the less than perfect ID key. Something about the layout of it just feels less than ideal. Otherwise, it's a great guide, pictures are awesome. Lots of content

Like a pair of shoes with a little extra room in the toes, I purchased this book for my 5 year old son, knowing that he would grow into it. He is very interested in animals and the outdoors, so this book is a natural fit for him, just as it was when my Dad purchased it for me as a boy. Granted, the descriptions of the various species are above his understanding, but the beautiful illustrations and color photos keep his interest, and make him want to read more. The range maps are easy enough for him to comprehend. This book is a nice supplement to his PBS Animal shows (like Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts), and one that he enjoys thumbing through to look at the pictures and attempt to read.

I was looking for a complete field guide about North American Herpetofauna and this is absolutely wht I was looking for. In this book you find all the species of reptiles and amphibians of the west US and Canada, the keys to their identification as well as the description of amphibians eggs and larvae and sea reptiles. The drawing are beautiful and perfect in details, also the photos are well done and can contribute to identificate the animals.I advice to buy both the Western and Eastern so you can cover the whole North America. The only drawback is in the Eastern book where the plates are sometimes too crowded and the drawings, as a result, are smaller then the western.In conclusion this is a great buy for all the people interested in herps!

I bought this guide to use for my Zoology dissertation, in which i identifed every testudine in the museum archives using this and other guides.very very good value for money!

Recomendado a investigadores que se inician en esta rama y estudiantes de licenciaturas, maestrías o doctorados es un gran libro

Perfect condition. Great help. Exactly what I needed for a field class in the desert. Bought 3 for classmates

Basically what you would expect form a Peterson Field Guide. A useful amount of detail is provided. Similar to the Eastern guide.