The final volumes of the massive revised Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia have finally rolled off the press. We reviewed volumes 8 to 11 (Birds) in the January 1 & 15, 2003, issue, and volumes 4 and 5 (Fishes), volume 6 (Amphibians), and volume 7 (Reptiles) in the December 1, 2003, issue. Volume 17 is a comprehensive index.
Volumes 12-16, Mammals, are a rich source of information on this popular group, from platypuses to moles to bats to wildebeests to whales to humans. The illustrations are of mixed appeal; some look like strained imitations of reality, while others seem as if the animals could walk off the page. A less current revision is McGraw-Hill's 1990 Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals, distinguished by exceptional large-format action photographs.