Gila Monster: Facts and Folklore of America's Aztec Lizard

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to the lizard
Review: Fascinating information regarding early envenomations in the American West, a good bibliography, and wonderful introduction to the subject suitable for any naturalist.

Rating:
Summary: Ignore the cover and read the book
Review: It is an unfortunate fact of publishing that the people who design book covers are not the same as those who write the books. In fact, authors frequently have little or no say over how their work is packaged. I suspect this is the case for Brown and Carmony's excellent work on Gila monsters.

It is true that Gila Monster, Facts and Folklore of America's Aztec Lizard carries errors on the back cover, but there are none in the text. Indeed, Brown and Carmony communicate their fascinating subject in a manner that is both readable and accurate. They present not only a complete picture of Gila Monster biology, but also a fascinating look the animals' cultural significance. I heartily urge this book for anyone who has an interest in the herpetology, natural history, or folklore of the American Southwest.

Rating:
Summary: Ignore the cover and read the book
Review: It is an unfortunate fact of publishing that the people who design book covers are not the same as those who write the books. In fact, authors frequently have little or no say over how their work is packaged. I suspect this is the case for Brown and Carmony's excellent work on Gila monsters.

It is true that Gila Monster, Facts and Folklore of America's Aztec Lizard carries errors on the back cover, but there are none in the text. Indeed, Brown and Carmony communicate their fascinating subject in a manner that is both readable and accurate. They present not only a complete picture of Gila Monster biology, but also a fascinating look the animals' cultural significance. I heartily urge this book for anyone who has an interest in the herpetology, natural history, or folklore of the American Southwest.

Rating:
Summary: promotes misconceptoins of the lizard
Review: The overall content of the book was good and easily readable, but especially on the cover the authors stated some out and out untruths about the Gila Monster. The Gila Monster is not the only lizard with a forked tongue or with an armored hide as the authors stated. The varanids and teiids also have forked tongue and at least some have armored hides. I tend to disagree with a few other comments made in the book, but at present these are just my opinions and need more research before I can justify an argument against them. The book was interesting, but have some suspicion when reading as to whether or not it is all correct.