Rating: 
Summary: excellent, beautiful plates, total bargain
Review: ellenberger, dittrich, baum, with additional plates by cuvier, straus-durckheim and stubbs. The plates are extrodinarily detailed with from many angles. primary sections on horse, dog, lion, cow and bull, stag, roe, and goat.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Limited.
Review: I thought that for the most part this book was very disappointing. It contains a limited number of animals, about 14, most of which I could just walk outside and see live any day I wanted. The book contains tons of detail for a few of the common animals and for lions, but the other half of the animals in this slim book are limited to one or two small half page pictures that aren't even all that helpful. Save your money and find something better.
Rating: 
Summary: O.K. I guess
Review: I wanted a book that specifically focused on horses. Anyone
whose drawn horses, even for years, knows that getting this
animal down pat is no easy feat. Studying anatomy is a must.
This is THE book.I have so much respect for the person who drew these plates.
It's astounding work. The anatomy is shown from every angle;
starting with skeletal plates, adding muscles and so forth,
these plates "build" the horse from the inside out. After
studying the legs I cut myself some slack! This is a very
beautiful, complex animal. No wonder this is such a challenging
subject! There are smaller additional sections on a few animals as a
bonus. I found the cat skull study to be immensely helpful. I don't recommend this book for anyone who wants a how-to
on every animal in the world, this isn't for you. Nor is it for
beginning artists. It is for serious artists who want to do
in depth study of horses because we can't all just walk outside
and see horses everywhere. There's nothing like the real thing,
but this is a good second choice when the real thing isn't
available for study. This is one of those books that I actually revere and am very
proud to have in my reference library. A serious resource for
serious art study.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible, invaluable!
Review: I wanted a book that specifically focused on horses. Anyone
whose drawn horses, even for years, knows that getting this
animal down pat is no easy feat. Studying anatomy is a must.
This is THE book. I have so much respect for the person who drew these plates.
It's astounding work. The anatomy is shown from every angle;
starting with skeletal plates, adding muscles and so forth,
these plates "build" the horse from the inside out. After
studying the legs I cut myself some slack! This is a very
beautiful, complex animal. No wonder this is such a challenging
subject! There are smaller additional sections on a few animals as a
bonus. I found the cat skull study to be immensely helpful. I don't recommend this book for anyone who wants a how-to
on every animal in the world, this isn't for you. Nor is it for
beginning artists. It is for serious artists who want to do
in depth study of horses because we can't all just walk outside
and see horses everywhere. There's nothing like the real thing,
but this is a good second choice when the real thing isn't
available for study. This is one of those books that I actually revere and am very
proud to have in my reference library. A serious resource for
serious art study.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent tool.
Review: I've had the fortune of seeing this book, and I can say that is worth every penny. True, it's limited to a certain few animals, but there's only so many pages and only so much interest in certain animals. The section on horses is invaluable. Any animal artist knows that horses are one of the most difficult species to work with. The detail is impeccable, and the they illustrate nearly every part of the body from every angle you could possibly view it from. It's perfection. The section on the dog employs what I think is a great dane, or some other large dog. This is quite useful, as you can adapt the anatomical information to drawing other canids such as wolves if you're familiar with the differences between the two. The same thing goes for the section on the lion. A previous reviewer lamented that there was no section on the tiger, but this is really only half-true: the lion and the tiger are actually nearly identical anatomically. Take the anatomical pictures provided and dress it up in a different skin; you have a tiger. All cats have roughly similar bodily structure, so this is useful anyhow. This is especially true of the detailed images of their paws, which are quite interesting and complex. I won't go into any depth about the rest of the sections, but even for the information in the first three this book is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent tool.
Review: I've had the fortune of seeing this book, and I can say that is worth every penny. True, it's limited to a certain few animals, but there's only so many pages and only so much interest in certain animals. The section on horses is invaluable. Any animal artist knows that horses are one of the most difficult species to work with. The detail is impeccable, and the they illustrate nearly every part of the body from every angle you could possibly view it from. It's perfection. The section on the dog employs what I think is a great dane, or some other large dog. This is quite useful, as you can adapt the anatomical information to drawing other canids such as wolves if you're familiar with the differences between the two. The same thing goes for the section on the lion. A previous reviewer lamented that there was no section on the tiger, but this is really only half-true: the lion and the tiger are actually nearly identical anatomically. Take the anatomical pictures provided and dress it up in a different skin; you have a tiger. All cats have roughly similar bodily structure, so this is useful anyhow. This is especially true of the detailed images of their paws, which are quite interesting and complex. I won't go into any depth about the rest of the sections, but even for the information in the first three this book is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Best Reference for Horses
Review: Includes some of the most pertinent of the beautiful Ellenberger illustrations from "The Anatomy of Domestic Animals," plus additional plates of lion, bat, and dog anatomy, as well as the original George Stubbs anatomy drawings of horses that he did under absolutely miserable conditions in a slaughterhouse (these are more for historical interest than accuracy -- the Ellenberger plates are far superior). I have relied on this book for years (as well as the aforementioned 1,200-page volume) and consider it absolutely essential for anybody learning to draw horses. Just copying these wonderful pictures will cause improvement. I have worked around and drawn horses for over 20 years, but until these pictures, I really didn't fully understand what anatomy created the surface details I was looking at. If anything, the pictures are too perfect. You'll probably never see many of the details that are clearly illustrated here on a real horse, but knowing they are there will make you a better artist. Plus, it's hard to beat Dover's price. The original volume these plates were printed in is a veterinary reference that is very hard to find ... . This collection is a great way to getthem cheaply.
Rating:
Summary: Best Reference for Horses
Review: Includes some of the most pertinent of the beautiful Ellenberger illustrations from "The Anatomy of Domestic Animals," plus additional plates of lion, bat, and dog anatomy, as well as the original George Stubbs anatomy drawings of horses that he did under absolutely miserable conditions in a slaughterhouse (these are more for historical interest than accuracy -- the Ellenberger plates are far superior). I have relied on this book for years (as well as the aforementioned 1,200-page volume) and consider it absolutely essential for anybody learning to draw horses. Just copying these wonderful pictures will cause improvement. I have worked around and drawn horses for over 20 years, but until these pictures, I really didn't fully understand what anatomy created the surface details I was looking at. If anything, the pictures are too perfect. You'll probably never see many of the details that are clearly illustrated here on a real horse, but knowing they are there will make you a better artist. Plus, it's hard to beat Dover's price. The original volume these plates were printed in is a veterinary reference that is very hard to find ... . This collection is a great way to getthem cheaply.
Rating:
Summary: Another Essential--Once You're Serious
Review: Now that Elliot Goldfinger has released his "Animal Anatomy: The Elements of Form" I can't say this is the first book to buy once you get serious, esp. since Goldinger incorporated (with all due credit) so much of Ellenberger's work. Goldfinger's book is also much broader in scope.
Nonetheless, "Atlas of Anatomy for Artists" should be on your bookshelf once you are committed, if for no other reason than the magnificence of Ellenberger's illustrations. If nothing else they provide a standard of excellence in beauty and precision that few of us will ever match, even with a lifetime of dedication.
One problem with this book is that the anatomical terminology is somewhat antiquated. This is a genuine problem. Please don't kid yourself that you don't need to have a decent command of terminology. You do, once you are no longer a beginner. Goldfinger's book covers that very well.
Both this book and Goldfinger's will probably be very intimidating to those new to art who just want to get started drawing animals. If you are new to this field, you are much better off starting with Jack Hamm's "How to Draw Animals." Keep in mind that animals are not the easiest thing to start drawing--they move around and have distinct personalities that are very hard to render. Nonetheless, if you stick with it you will find animal illustration deeply satisfying, and a path to understanding animals much more deeply than you otherwise would have.
There's a reason we were painting them on cave walls and etching them on desert cliffs all those years ago.
Rating:
Summary: thumbs down
Review: Only five animals spotlighted. No explanation of orientation i.e. dorsal. No explanation of what is depicted, especially maddening with certain cross sections. The art is uniform, clean, and attractive. The attention to each animal is not identical, i.e. ones mouth is highlighted in depth while others are not.
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