Zoology: Inside the Secret World of Animals

by D.K. Publishing

From tiny insects to sleek great white sharks and majestic elephants, this book invites you to explore the animal kingdom up close--from head to toe.

Whether you're interested in specific animal groups such as mammals or birds or have a passion for wildlife photography, this beautiful book will delight, fascinate, and surprise.

DK's elegant new introduction to wild animals is packed with dramatic photography and crystal-clear illustrations that explain how animals work, both physically and socially, celebrates their beauty, and describes how they are adapted to do different things and survive in different environments. The unique head-to-toe approach, with chapters on different body parts, allows you to focus in on the beauty of the antenna of a moth, the flight feathers of a parrot, or the feeding tentacles of a coral. Zoology also explores how we have depicted animals in art throughout the ages, from zoological drawings that recorded new discoveries to great paintings and drawings inspired by a deep connection to the natural world. With fascinating stories, such as how animals communicate, defend their territories, and attract mates, Zoology offers an engaging introduction to the extraordinary diversity of the animal kingdom.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Reference, Biology, Coffee Table Books

416 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2019

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Andrew Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about what happens when you combine zoos and ologies. Can't wait to see what happens in the sequel.

[Aycan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Görsel bir şölendi, harika bir kitaptı. Hayvanlar aleminin planktonlardan başlayarak kuşlardan, kurbağalardan, okyanusun dibinde yaşayan ve daha önce belgesellerde bile görmediğim canlılardan bahsedilmişti. Bahsedilen canlıların antenlerinin, gözlerinin, ayaklarının ve diğer uzuvlarının ne işe yaradığına ayrıntılı bir şekilde yer verilmişti. Canlının fotoğrafı üzerinde oklarla göstererek bilgileri vermeleri akılda kalıcı hale gelmesini sağlamıştı. Hayranlıkla okudum. Hayran olmamak elde değil yaratılmış her canlı hayret verici, hayran edici...


Bu kitap sayesinde öğrendiğim bir kaç bilgi:
1. Kurbağaların üzerindeki parlak rengin avcılara cildin zehirli olduğu uyarısını verdiği.
2. American Cane Toad türü kurbağanın gözlerinin iki yanındaki torbacıkların zehirli sıvıyla dolu olması.
3. Anglerfish türünün erkeğinin dişisinden 10 kat daha küçük olması.
4. Atnalı yengecinin kuyruğunun ışığı hissedebilmesine yardımcı olduğu.

5. İlk defa bir su altı kurbağası gördüm. Buruşuk derili kurbağalar... Düşük sıcaklıktaki sularda daha fazla oksijen taşındığı için deri, ciğerlere yardımcı oluyormuş.

Aynı zamanda ilk defa şeffaf bir şekilde kurbağa iç organlarını görmüş oldum. Yumurtalarını nerede tuttuğunu öğrendim. Hep merak ettiğim şeylerden biri de kalbinin nerede olduğuydu. Noktacık kadardı.


6. Bukalemunların arka plan renginin yeşil olması rahatladıkları, kırmızı renkte olması heyecanlandıkları anlamına geliyormuş. Erkekler dişilerden daha renklilermiş.
7. Geyik böceklerini yakından görmüş oldum. Erkeklerinin sadece birbirleriyle kavga edebilmek için kullandıkları boynuzumsu ( :lfkg ) şeyler çok garipti.

8. Büyük Adaçayı tavukları... o kadar ilginçler ki... özellikle erkeklerini görünce ne dediğimi anlayacaksınız.
9. Dört kanatlı balık diye bir tür olduğunu bilmiyordum mesela aşırı güzeldi.


Daha yazılması gereken çok nokta var ama genel olarak kitabın içeriğini anlatabilmişimdir diye düşünüyorum. Ayrıca, bölüm bölüm, kanatlar, yumurtalar, yüzgeçler vb. diye ayrılması... gerçekten çok hoştu. Hayvanlar alemiyle ilgilenen biri için ideal. Ben merakla okudum ve beğendim.

[Ahmed Atif Abrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its ebook version helped me a lot to put Elizabeth Kolbert's Sixth Extinction into perspective. Though here are an expert glimpses into merely 'contemporary' animals and not any 'classical' or extinct ones, this book gives you more than an untidy search engine search and shares insights with you along with a passage of few felicitous lines that will not surface as you zoom through first few pages of the browser. I should buy the hardcopy. Hardcopies, especially in case of Dorling Kindersley works of reference, instil into me more insights or make the insights last longer.

[Paige Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took a few stars off for the organization and layout of the book. Images/taxidermy were done well but I was expecting more info on specific animals or classifications. Instead animals are grouped by traits and the traits are discussed (very) briefly and the images take precedence over any trivia/text.
I enjoyed the end classification section most. Def needed to use the glossary on the back but the writing/info was pretty accessible to beginners.
I suppose I should have known this but it’s more of a coffee table book than a useful information source.

[Diarmuid O'Sullivan]

Fascinating and Beautiful

Not great for kindle readers - I wish I had gotten a physical copy instead. That said, the images were beautiful and the information was fascinating, if a little basic. Perfect for a coffee table or waiting room. Delves into art history as well and chooses beautiful images there as well.

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Among DK's many books on animals, this is very detail-focused and specialized.
However, it is more like a work of art than A Visual Encyclopedia due to the extensive use of zoomed-in images and paintings.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book for people of all ages.

[Luke Gronemeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible explanations & pictures. Very dense info when read front to back. Would be an stellar reference for the curious.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. The pictures are stunning. Enjoyed the animal spotlight and art history.

[Florence Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - good info, but couldn't get through it.

[Tracie Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a hot minute to finish but there were so many pictures and information. I learned so much!

[Maryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

a broader version of an animal encyclopedia, goes into general groups of animals rather than each. Enjoyed the animals in art pages the most!

[Hazel Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good for animal lovers and budding zoologists

[Eduardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully crafted.

Sometimes a bit hard to navigate - but in fact this is one of the things I have come to like the most: picking up the book and learning about random animal species or families.

[Rissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally was gifted this book because I love animals. So, I absolutely loved this book even though it took me five months or over to finish it. I really loved:

1. The various approaches that the book takes to study different animals. It will focus on diet for a while and then switch to something else to keep things interesting.

2. The pictures and illustrations were a wonderful addition. I loved being able to see the animals and paintings depicting them.

3. It was a lot of information, but I enjoyed that. I liked how much I learned in this book. It made it worth the read.

The only downside I found was:

1. As the book is very long, it definitely takes a long time to finish. So, be prepared to have a long read with this book.

Overall, a great buy for those interested in animals and science.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shouldn’t rate this book because I’ve had it home from the library for two months (I’m always amazed and puzzled that no one requests a book like this and thereby ends my ability to renew my checkout period.) and tonight I finally just paged through it. But even that cursory overview made me want to own it so I could discipline myself to studying with focus a single page a day. (I would love to do that with a grandchild who could share the wonder with me of the staggering beauty, diversity, and complexity of animals.) The photography is stunning. The text provides details that can be overwhelming (hence my one-page-a-day idea). As per its title, this book takes a very scientific approach and deals with all animals by classifications and the specific attributes of species.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not one of my favorites. There was just too much information.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book - instead of sorting animals by species, the animals are sorted by ability or feature. Recommended.