Lovely big photos, good information for identifying different species and plenty of facts about fish. A very useful book to have around as a beginner snorkeler in Hawaii
This is a very extensive classification of the types of sea creatures in Hawaii. What I really enjoy is that this book covers the fundamentals of what a fish is, how the hierarchy of evolutionary related groups (classes, orders, families etc) was formed etc. What this book also does very well is that it has pictures and detailed descriptions of the development of the species from juvenile, adolescent and adult phases (this is very interesting in the Wrasses chapter, as the fish looks very different in its juvenile to adult phases!). A thoroughly enjoyable read, and the author clearly put a lot of time, conscientious care and effort in writing this!
This is one of the best guides, with pictures, to use for identifying the fishes of Hawaii. I have been using it since I first began identifying fish in 1997. John has updated it at least once, and has a new version coming out this August of 2008. I had the pleasure of meeting John last year, when he visited us in Hawaii to view and take pictures of fish we discovered in Kona, that has not been seen there before. Anyone going to Hawaii who wants to know what they are looking at, should definately get their own copy of this book.