Giraffe Reflections

by Dale Peterson, Karl Ammann (Photographer)

The most comprehensive book on giraffes to appear in the last fifty years, this volume presents a magnificent portrait of a group of animals who, in spite of their legendary elegance and astonishing gentleness, may not entirely survive this century.Dale Peterson’s text provides a natural and cultural history of the world’s tallest and second-biggest land animals, describing in detail their biology and behavior. He offers a new perspective on the giraffes’ place in our world, and argues for the stronger protection of these imposing yet endangered creatures and their elusive forest relatives, the okapis.Some 120 stunning photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Karl Ammann capture the grace and elegance of Giraffa camelopardalis. Both beautiful and informative, the images document giraffes’ complex interactions with each other and their environment.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Africa

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goods,but can get boring.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! I learned a lot about giraffes, turned out I knew nothing about them before I read this book. So beautiful. There are only about 75,000 left of about six kinds of giraffe.

[Jennye Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took this along as an e-book as I travelled through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe on a camping safari this June. I was really impressed by the quality of the photos ( they still looked beautiful even on the screen of my ancient KOBO). As well as a lot of very interesting history and rumination directly about giraffes, this book had a lot of other history in it, period. Everything from the use of war elephants to assassination attempts on the Medicis. Yes, it all tied in with giraffes. Great book!

[Jim Stiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giraffes are my favorite animal in the world. The pictures here are beautiful and informative. The text is mixed - although the part on motherhood was outstanding. And Anne Innis Dagg’s work on giraffes is rightly highlighted.

I wish that they Had integrated the text and photos more but it is a university press with a limited budget

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title should have been Random Thoughts on Giraffes.
Terrible writing. The photos are the saving grace. But even they aren't placed to match the text so following the "story" is almost impossible -- because there isn't one -- it isn't a story. Too poetic without facts at the beginning. Then minutiae crammed into tiny text for the rest of the book. Chapter organization is bizarre & unhelpful. What a waste of an opportunity. Giraffes are endangered and this book does not help the cause in any way. Must have been an ego project for Peterson.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest. I didn't really read the text. I was kind of surprised at how much text there was. A few pictures were really amazing, but the rest were just really good.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the pictures - the stories were interesting

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the photography. Well written, and explained the photo layout as well.