| Marine Shells of Northeast Florida
by Dr. Harry G. Lee
2009, published by the Jacksonville Shell Club, FL, 204 pages bound in paper covers about 6¾ by 9 inches (17 by 23 cm), with 19 additional full page color plates
This book has been a very long time in the making and it is appropriate that it made its debut at the 50th Annual Shell Show sponsored by the Jacksonville Shell Club in 2009. Those of us who have the privilege of knowing the author, Harry Lee would expect that this book would be meticulously done, and needless to say we are not disappointed. The book gives us a detailed look at almost 800 species of shells of all classes found in the waters off Northeastern Florida. Almost every species is illustrated by a black and white photograph and a great number of them appear in color photos (often of the living animal) on the color plates. Many of the shells that are illustrated are of very small size and this book is perhaps the only book that is readily available that can help with the identification of these shells. You simply have to admire and respect the amount of research and scholarship that went into the creation of this book. Do not confuse this book to the many little field guide to Florida shells type of books found in souvenir shops. This is a book for all of us that are interested in the shells from this part of the world. I'll go out on a limb by saying that this is the best and the most important work done on the shells of this area since they were last covered by Abbott in his "American Seashells".
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