Nature is the greatest story-teller mankind has ever known... (from the dust jacket)

{HISTORY}

Originally published in 1940, American Wild Life is the combined effort of museum directors, animal science researchers, biologists, photographers and naturalists to put forth a comprehensive guide of five classifications of American wildlife - Mammals, Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Birds. 

Containing brief yet fascinating information on a variety of creatures within these five classifications, this book reads both like a trip to the field museum and an outdoor adventure into the wilds of the American landscape. The backyard naturalist will find a wealth of fun facts involving the common creatures of wood and parklands - songbirds, squirrels, chipmunks, owls, opossums, raccoons, etc. More exotic regional creatures like moose, bobcats, sea lions, armadillos, and barracuda offer interesting insight, history and evolution into the habits and characteristics of our country's most unique wildlife.

Laid out like little stories, this book is fun to read like a novel page by page, front to back, beginning to end, but also makes a fun coffee table book to be picked up and perused at random. Here readers will learn about the mild-mannered spotted owl, the odiferous garter snake, the toothy green moray eel, the parasitic weasel. There is the pika - a natural ventriloquist, the true story of Mexican bison in the 16th century, the preferred architecture plans of beaver, and the nautical nest-building skills of bowfin.

Fun for family book nights, the naturalist's library collection or a gift for the animal enthusiast in your life, this fully illustrated wildlife book will keep readers of all ages engaged from the very first creature (whales) to the very last (the pied-bill grebe). 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- 1972 edition

- 625 pages

- Contains original dust jacket

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition. Inside and out, this book is very clean and bright with no markings or notations. The dust jacket bears some light fading and scauff marks due to age. It has also been reinforced with acid-free paper to protect its original condition and protect the chippy areas seen along the top and bottom edge. 

{SIZE}

Measures 8.75" inches (length) x 5.75" inches (width) x 1.5" inches (thickness) and weighs 2lbs.