Product Description

Coral reefs are often called "the rainforests of the sea" because of the quantity and diversity of life they support, and because they are highly sensitive and threatened ecosystems. Building on the success of DK's Rainforest, this unique pictorial celebration of the worlds reefs progresses through an ecological chain that goes from algae, sponges, and mollusks to the thousands of fishes that make their homes there. This vivid collection of photographs, from underwater photography collective Scubazoo, reveals reefs as they've never been seen before.

• Features reefs worldwide, from Southeast Asia to the Red Sea and Hawaii
• Captions identify plant and animal life and quotes give additional background information
• Photographic narratives demonstrate how reefs live/die, and how creatures depend on them
• Published in cooperation with the American Museum of Natural History

Sales of this book support the Coral Reef Alliance.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134164 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 360 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This brilliant photographic compilation by small Malaysian-based diving collective ScubaZoo introduces the ecology of oceanic reefs, both temperate and tropical. Though technological advances and the devastation of global reefs have spurred many experienced diver-photographers to publish photo collections, the dazzling photography in this one stands out dramatically, as does its inclusion of images made simultaneously by still and video photographers (the book includes a DVD.) The photographs allow close study of coral, fish, crustaceans and many other enchanting creatures, while the video shows the vivid activity of the reef habitat. The helpful text provides a solid introduction to reef ecology, divided into reef landscapes, their inhabitants' survival behaviors, conservation issues and a broader look at reefs worldwide. The sole problem with the book is the lack of scale indications: it's hard to tell if a given animal is minute or enormous. But this is a small quibble: the book provides an excellent introduction to fragile reef ecosystems. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Color bursts forth like confetti from each page of this stunning visual adventure...highly recommended." -- The Alternative Consumer

"This beautiful book is filed with gorgeous photographs...Scubazoo...has done a magnificent job of portraying the reef community." -- Library Journal

"[A] brilliant photographic compilation...dazzling." -- Publishers Weekly (STARRED review)

"[A] unique pictorial celebration." -- Advanced Diver magazine

About the Author
Scubazoo is a dedicated team of divers, photographers, marine biologists, and conservationists, who have devoted their lives to the filming and preservation of reefs worldwide. Their work includes filming for productions broadcast on National Geographic, Discovery, Animal Planet, BBC, and NBC News. The group is based in Sabah, on the island of Borneo. Scubazoo works with the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace International, the Reef Environmental Education Fund, and the Shark Trust.

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Customer Reviews

Wow! Beautiful, bonus DVD is also worthwhile
I bought this book for my own birthday, and had the pleasure of showing the pictures to my family who do not SCUBA dive like myself. I must say these photos are first rate, draw attention to the underwater world and make for a frequent return to the bookshelf. The freeby DVD is surprisely good, with music, pics, and video. The DVD alone would sell for $15 or $20 in some SCUBA resort areas. If you are looking for a good present for an underwater life admirer, buy it ASAP. Tell them some ardent and hard-core underwater naturalist recommended it!

DK's photo quality is in a league of its own...
Take DK's legendary photo quality. Add a great topic: life in the shallow oceans. Finally, mix these with a few gung ho underwater photographers with superb equipment, and you have 360 pages of a visual fiesta: Reef.

This oversized book is a photography frenzy: crystal sharp focus, vibrant colors, and close-ups that surpass the ability of the human eye to see this level of detail unaided.

It's like the ocean is an alien world. Do you think those sea creatures have the same feeling about us?

Highlights: close-up of a tiger shark's face. All those pigmy seahorses. The little things made big. THE COLORS!

The book comes with an additional disk of photographs. Even the book jacket is beautiful (it has a three dimensional look and feel).

Enjoy, and protect the ocean.

The next best thing to being there!
I recently received Reef. Before even spending 5 minutes with the book, all I could say was - WOW! The photography is nothing short of amazing. I cuold spend hours flipping through the pages of this book. It's almost painful because it's giving me the scuba diving "bug" and I don't have a trip planned in the near future.

I'm so inspired by these photos and I'm also impressed by the identification, common and scientific names, of all of the creatures featured. The site where each photograph was taken is also listed, along with information on the behavior or other characteristics displayed in the photos. I would have loved to have this book available last year when diving in Indonesia. We had some ID books, but nothing compared to this. Unfortunately it would be a bit cumbersome to carry along on a dive trip as it's more suitable for a coffee table, but I look forward to using this resource for identifying marine life photographed upon my return from upcoming dive trips. The DVD that comes with it is also an excellent bonus!