3 comments about Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas: With Keys, Taxonomic Synopses, Bibliography, and Distribution Maps (W.L. Moody, Jr., Natural History Series, No. 8.).

1. Unless you are a serious student of herpetology, do not buy this book. It does not contain photos or descriptions intended for the use of the general public, but tables and numbers that mean nothing to me. If you don't know what you are looking for, you are certainly not going to find it here.

   This was an expensive lesson for me to learn. I hope this prevents someone else from doing the same.




2. Dixon's book is an important research tool for professional and amateur herpetologists working with the amphibians and reptiles of Texas who need to 1) refer to a rich bibliography of about 3,500 references that is current as of April 1999 - more than half of which are new since the 1987 first edition, 2) have distribution maps for all the native Texas amphibians and reptiles based on more than 13,000 county records covering more than 110,000 localities, 3) keep current with taxonomic changes, 4) refer to identification keys, and/or 5) understand the problems facing the continued survival of these animals in the face of commercial collecting and habitat destruction.

   The book is composed of four major sections - A) keys (40 pages covering salamanders, frogs and toads, amphibian larvae, turtles, lizards, and snakes), B) species accounts (115 pages), C) distribution maps (94 pages with 162 maps), and C) a bibliography (143 pages). There are also shorter sections covering an 86-term glossary, indices of common (about 425) and scientific (about 550) names, and a few (25) black and white photos.

   While the book is not suitable, in my estimation, as a field guide; it is nonetheless an excellent, annotated, and comprehensive bibliographic reference for serious students of the full range of Texas amphibians and reptiles. Under each genus and species account, in addition to the comments and distribution maps, a sometimes lengthy list of bibliographic references from among the 3,500 cited in this book is shown for further look-up as desired. This is a very effective way of cross referencing, by species, a shelf of additional material that I grossly estimate to be perhaps ten feet or so wide. I suggest that the most effective use of this thorough and well-researched book is in conjunction with nicely illustrated and somewhat more self-contained guides to Texas herps such as Werler and Dixon's Texas Snakes, Conant's Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Eastern & Central North America (Peterson Field Guide Series), or Vermersch's Lizards and Turtles of South Central Texas - for any of which this book is a particularly excellent and useful companion.

   As time goes on, the late-1990's content of Dixon's book will need to be updated again (the first edition of this work was released 13 years before the current edition) or it will cease to be as current and useful as it still is even today - some five years after its 2000 publication. On the other hand, even if not timely updated, this book will remain an excellent and vital snapshot in time of the literature and known distribution of the Texas herpetofauna. Anyone wishing to enhance or complete their knowledge of specific Texas herps should certainly refer to this book or consider adding this excellent, moderately priced book to their herp library depending upon how often they wish to refer to it.

   As an afterword, it is interesting to note that most books - certainly those able to pass the rigors of marketing scrutiny that commercial publishers require today before a book is accepted for publication - don't need operating instructions; one just needs merely to read the book. Unfortunately, however, this book is different. Because of its rather unusual style and content, the appearance of the book is not "friendly", and at first blush it seems to contain a lot of arcane tabular data and mysterious code without adequate plain English text to "decode" it. Of course this is not the case. This tabular information and code is the meat of Dixon's book, being the wealth of the distribution data and the excellent, cross-referenced bibliographic references. One should try to visualize that with the use of this book there is a ten-foot long shelf of accompanying reference material stretched across a library table, and that this book is the codex that translates between that wealth of outstanding reference material and shorter, more user-friendly herp reference books. With this understanding, the true value of Dixon's book can be appreciated.

   Just note that although the book has been in print for nearly four years as of the time of this writing, there has been only one short review of this book on Amazon.com, titled "Book Not For Amateurs", which states that "Unless you are a serious student of herpetology, do not buy this book. It does not contain photos or descriptions intended for the use of the general public, but tables and numbers that mean nothing to me. If you don't know what you are looking for, you are certainly not going to find it here. This was an expensive lesson for me to learn. I hope this prevents someone else from doing the same."

   How sad to read that poor Amazon.com review: I can only hope it didn't discourage anyone who could have benefited from reading/using Dixon's fine book. Proof positive of the absolute need for this book review!
   END




3. Dixon's guide is far better than the Peterson, Texas Monthly and Audubon guides when it comes to narrowing down the species/subspecies of a specific county. With many reptiles and amphibians this information alone can decide a difficult identification. Also, the bibliography section has led me to many in-depth reports and studies. If you are only interested in looking at paintings or uncharacteristic photographs of these animals, I encourage you to consult the usual field guides. However, if you are a professional or an amateur willing to put this book to work, there is no other Texas resource like it.
   
   My only complaint is that we could sure use a 2005 update. Also, Dixon's insightful comments under the species accounts (updated in the 2000 edition)would be even better if they were more extensive.

5 comments about Texas Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. I have been through several of these. I use them until they fall apart and then get another. I purchased another brand after my last one fell apart. Used it once and did'nt like it. This is the best Texas Atlas made. The blowups and details of the metro areas make it particularly valueable.



2. The atlas has good detail with mapping, however the quality of the material or workmanship is very bad. I modrately used the book two weeks and entire pages came out of the book. The paper is breaking at the binding on several pages. I DO NOT recommend this product



3. This book is extremely helpful if you are traveling in Texas. In particular, outdoor activities are much easier to prepare for using this book as an assistant. There are great maps, legends, and informational pieces that describe every square inch of Texas. Any person wishing to venture off road should have this in their vehicle or on their person.



4. I have this map as well as another large yellow one also sold on Amazon. Here is my opinion. If you are looking to stay on paved roads (although TxDot has put a monkey wrench in this before), if you want a quality map whose pages will match up square for square and page to page, if you want a map that is marked correctly and accurately details distance between cities, THIS IS YOUR MAP. As stated in other reviews, if you want every street in a small town, this is not your map. It is meant to get you from A to B using your choice of scenic FM roads or major highways and it does it very well. My husband and I have a motorcycle and we have found a much more beautiful way to get around thanks to this map. The other one got us lost and stuck on a white rock road that was supposed to be paved.



5. I've been disappointed with this map. I love the back roads, and find that half the roads I pass aren't even on this map. If they are on shown, oftentimes, they aren't labeled, making it even more difficult to navigate. I'm specifically purchasing the Roads of Texas, published by Texas A&M after viewing it from someone else. That atlas labels all the backroads and seems to have a better lay-out.
   
   Additionally, I've had the Delorme map for two years. The glue is terrible and pages are already falling out.

No comments about Rand McNally Easy to Read Texas State Map (Rand McNally).

2 comments about Backroads of Texas, 4th Edition: The sites, scenes, history, people, and places your map doesn't tell you about.

1. Bought this for information so we can do M/C traveling. Very informative and helpful.



2. A wate of money. This is list main highway routes. A lot less information than what one can find in a AAA Book. No restaurants and no places to stay even listed. Looks like the authoir never visited any of these places. He certainly brings nothning unique to this book.

1 comments about Streetwise Houston Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Houston, Texas - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro light rail lines & stations (Streetwise).

1. I really like these simple easy to use maps. They are well put together and highly functional. I am very familiar with Houston, but i still carry this map, because sometimes frankly you just what to be sure where something is located. The only draw back to these streetwise maps is that they only highly light the central city, which is fine if that's the only place you'll be driving, but if you need a map of the entire city then this may not be your best bet, but they are great for the most traveled areas of town. Overall, I am a huge fan of these maps.

4 comments about Streetwise Austin Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Austin, Texas - Folding pocket size travel map (Streetwise (Streetwise Maps)).

1. As title said, I prefer using the map I got from the hotel I stayed in than this map. Wish the Professor Pathfinder has published an Austin TX map..



2. I moved to the Austin area nearly three years ago and this is the map I came back to over and over again, and I bought a lot of them when we first moved here. It's not detailed enough to help you pinpoint a specific, minor street, but it's great in understanding the overall layout of Austin and the surrounding towns. It can get you downtown from anywhere, it can help you figure ou how to get out of downtown and how to figure out other options when there's a slow-down on the road you're on. I love that it's laminated -- it still looks new after nearly three years. My husband and I fight over which car it gets to live in. Now that we've lived here awhile, it doesn't get used quite as much, but it was INVALUABLE in helping me figure out Austin! I highly recommend it.



3. I've lived in Austin for 33 years, and I thought that a small, plastic map would be good if I heard an unfamiliar street name. My idea may be good, but this map is terrible. At best, it shows Central Austin, but calling it an Austin map is wrong. If you know anything about Austin, consider this: It shows nothing north of 45th street and Camp Mabry. On the east side it stops around Pleasant Valley and Berkman. Going south, it stops at Zilker Park. (Almost nothing south of the river is shown.) Going west, it does show Rollingwood and Westlake Hills. The downtown detail map on the back is o.k., but it's already out of date. The "Area Map" on the back only goes to Pflugerville (north), Decker Lake but not Manor (east), the airport (south), and Sunset Valley (west). Don't buy this map! It's worse than the freebies from the hotel or a car rental agency or inside the phone book.



4. This map is not for you if you want detailed street information about every nook and cranny of Austin proper. It is, however, a great "big picture" map that shows all the major roadways (and many, but not all, of the smaller streets). Due to its compact size, it obviously cannot include surrounding areas like Pflugerville, Round Rock, etc. This is a great tool for folks who aren't intimately familiar with the main city area and need to navigate to, say, the Capitol Building or UT. The lamination makes it nice and durable too. I can even use a wax pencil on it to mark places of interest, and then wipe off the marks afterward.

5 comments about Fearless Critic Austin Restaurant Guide.

1. this is a great book for all austinites - the reviews are really funny, and there are also a lot of really helpful lists of restaurants by cuisine and by neighborhood. they also have a really cool section where they pick the best of austin. i totally agree about trudy's having some of the best migas in the city!



2. Have lived in Austin almost 20 years - picked this book up to keep for out-of-town guests to use, ended up reading it like a novel and tabbing many, many pages of new places I want to eat. Better than a Zagat's-style guide, it's witty, intelligent, and dead-on accurate (so far). Have now given it as a gift to numerous people - here's a great gift idea: buy this book and insert a gift card to a highly-rated restaurant on the page where it's reviewed.



3. I find myself in Austin on business trips quite often and my experience would be quite different if I didn't have my Fearless Critic Guide with me. The reviews are not only accurate and thorough but they are really funny. The owners of some of the bad restaurants they pan must be very unhappy but I am extremely happy to be able to avoid those places. And who knows, maybe those owners will take the accurate and insightful opinions of these writers to heart and make some changes - in time for the next edition of this great book.



4. This is a great book with honest (not always nice) reviews of so many Austin restaurants.



5. What could be a great resource for local restaurants is not very helpful. My experiences differ greatly from most of their reviews. This is clearly subjective reporting hyping the restaurants of friends and knocking the restaurants that are only guilty of being popular eateries and therefore subject to the scorn of the authors to sell books. The literary equivalent of Jerry Springer; appealing the our lowest voyeuristic vices. Try Zagat for objectivity.

1 comments about Rand McNally 1st Edition Texas road atlas.

1. When traveling, a great book to have. Shows in detail the F.M. Roads in detail that folding maps do not.

1 comments about Streetwise San Antonio Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of San Antonio, Texas - Folding pocket size travel map (Streetwise (Streetwise Maps)).

1. Bottom line, this series of maps is the best way to see a city. Because they are coated in plastic and fold, they stand up well to being stuffed in a backpack or handbag, and they are clear and easy to use. I've used the San Francisco, Manhattan, London, and Florence maps, and they are really marvelous. And now I'm going to San Antonio!

   One of the things I like best about them is that they clearly highlight museums, parks, and other tourist spots so that they are easy to find. The only drawback is that some of the text is mighty small, which can be a problem in low light if your eyes are over 40 like mine are. They are smaller than big fold-out paper maps, which is an advantage if, for safety reasons, you don't want to make it obvious that you are studying a map, advertising that you are a visitor.

No comments about Roads of Texas - 5th Edition.