Wild Mammals of North America

Abstract

G. A. Feldhamer, B. C. Thompson, J. A. Chapman (eds.). 2003. Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation, 2nd ed. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, xiii + 1216 pp. ISBN 0-8018-7416-5, price (hardbound), $165.00. The 2nd edition of Wild Mammals of North America (WM IT) is an ambitious volume. Weighing in at 2.67 kg (the 1st edition— WM I —was 1.99 kg), this book is a larger format than the 1st edition (22.4 x 28.2 cm compared with 18.9 x 26.3 cm) and is 69 pages longer; the price has more than tripled (but remains under $0.07/p.). Much has been learned in the intervening 22 years, however, so perhaps these quantitative differences are to be expected. What about the qualitative? The first edition of this book (Chapman and Feldhamer 1982) was met with positive reviews (e.g., Jones 1983; Koplin 1983; Seidensticker 1983) and has been a stalwart in many libraries for a number of years. I beheve the 2nd edition will carry on this tradition. Like its predecessor, this volume focuses on “pertinent life history and management information for mammalian species or species groups of management significance in North America” (p. ix). H^M/presented 57 chapters by 87 authors, whereas WM II presents 55 chapters by 100 authors; only 26 authors from WM I remain in WM II . Two chapters have been added (black-tailed prairie dogs, eastem woodrats), 1 deleted (Norway rat and allies), and 3 pairs of chapters have been combined (2 chapters on foxes, 2 on skunks, and separate chapters on fisher and marten; the latter 2 had identical author lines in WM I) . As with WM I , these chapters are followed by 2 appendices, a brief glossary, and an index. All chapters have been updated with recent literature, albeit to differing extents. Some chapters have similar author lines as in the 1982 edition, but are genuine updates on the earlier edition, with extensive updates and recent citations. Many other chapters have entirely new authors and generally represent …