Compendium of Bivalves
by Markus Huber
2010, ConchBooks, Germany, laminated boards, sewn binding, A4 size about 20.5 by 30 cm (8 by 11¾ inches) 901 pages plus a CD ROM, about 443 page sized color plates each with about 12 photos, covering 3300 marine Bivalved Molluscs.
Before my write-up here is a quote from Fabio Moretzsohn, co-autohor of "The Book of Shells" & "Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells". He says it a lot better than I can.
"The Compendium of Bivalves was a welcome surprise to the field. While there are many great books on gastropods, bivalves have always been a bit neglected, with a few notable exceptions such as Mikkelsen & Bieler's Seashells of Southern Florida (bivalves; looking forward to the gastropod volume), Coan et al.'s Bivalve Seashells of Western North America, and Oliver's Bivalved Seashells of the Red Sea. And being in a "Compendium" format, it has a wide appeal for collectors, while the copious notes make it a valuable research resource."
When this title was announced I was a bit dubious about how well an expensive book like this on the Bivalves would be received. But in the first few weeks that we've had this title in stock it has been sell beyond my wildest expectations. In short, it is a magnificent book that thoroughly covers this class of shells and illustrates them with clear photographs. Unlike many of the other books coming out today this book is not shy in text. Following the plates the author gives detailed information about the shells at both the super-specific and specific levels. In addition to the more 3300 shells figured in the text the book comes with a CD with citations and listings for 6250 species cited in the book including remarks and a synonymy. This is a truly remarkable work and will be "the" reference book for the bivalves for many years to come.
