The Essential Goldfish (Howell Book House's Essential)

Rating:
Summary: Informative but incomplete
Review: I found that the Essential Goldfish was decently-written and had a lot of pictures; however, the pictures were not very informative. Pictures should serve to augment the information in the text, and not as eye-candy. For example, in the chapter describing the different types of goldfish, pictures of each of the described goldfish and desirable traits would reinforce the given descriptions. Likewise, in the chapter on plants describes many plants that mix well with goldfish, but doesn't show pictures of each plant.
I found that there were some key bits of information missing. The author states that certain kinds of goldfish cannot be mixed together, and gives a few examples. A chart of compatible types would be helpful. Likewise, the chapter on breeding gives some good tips, but it doesn't actually explain how to differentiate between males and females!

Rating:
Summary: All you need in a goldfish book
Review: I recently entered the world of goldfish ownership. To prepare for the experience, I read many books on the topic (checking them out from the library), and looked at many more in the local bookstore. After reading some pretty scholarly tomes as well as some light, "So You Have a Goldfish" fare, I decided that this book, The Essential Goldfish, is everything a beginner like me needs.

The book starts by swiftly covering the basic varieties of goldfish, providing enough information so that you can tell the difference between the types and so that you can make an informed decision on what kind you want and which kinds to put together (and to avoid putting together). Along with that basic information, it gives guidelines for choosing your goldfish, and for creating a home for your goldfish.

Next, the book addresses aquarium maintenance, plants, feeding (with some surprising facts about what you can feed your goldfish), health, and even breeding, and concludes with a list of resources and an index.

As a professional indexer myself, I would say that the index is the weakest part of the book. There are terms that are indexed where the term is mentioned, but not defined or discussed in any way, and then other places where the term actually is defined, but is not in the index. In this case, the book is small enough and well organized enough that one can still find most of what one is looking for, but in the case of at least one term, one would have to read every page quite carefully to find the definition.

I should mention that this book is an abridged version of the older "The Goldfish: An Owner's Guide to a Happy, Healthy Pet (Owner's Guide to a Happy, Healthy Pet)," by Carlo De Vito and Gregory Skomal. Some of the sections in both books are nearly identical. However, the outdated information in the older edition was removed for this edition, and this edition is also more attractive and easier to hold and handle than the earlier edition.

In summary, setting aside the weakness of the index, and after having read several books on goldfish, I would heartily recommend this book for the beginner and intermediate goldfish owner. It is complete enough, small enough, and focused enough that you are more likely to read it from cover to cover, thereby giving your goldfish a better chance of being properly cared for.