Cat Breeds of the World

This book has good background information on the history of several breeds of cats. It also has an informative section on coat colors and patterns and types of cats and why they are classafied as they are in the cat show world. The breed photographs are also stunning, as a whole. That said, there are four reasons that I did not give this book 5 stars. 1. The breed information, other than history, reads pretty much like a written standard or description. There was not much information at all on individual breed personalities, etc. 2. There were not that many photos of each breed 1-2 on average. 3. There were no photographs to illustrate the different coat colors and patterns (in the back of the book). 4. Some of the breed photographs and a good bit of the classification information pertained primarilly to british-style cats. i.e. the "asian" grouping and the phtographs of the havanah brown and russian blue were definately British. I do not have a problem with that alone, but I think that it would have been quite informative to have photographs of British and American style cats from the same breeds. Some things this book did have that I was surprised to find: 1. Information on grouping of cats in cat shows. 2. Listing of clubs that recognize each breed and color variations each club recognizes. 3. Information on breed-specific cat clubs. 4. Alternate breed history myths/stories. All in all, a good reference book that could do double duty as a coffee-table book. However, I would not reccommend it as a resource when picking a breed of cat due to the lack of temperment information and number of breed photos, etc. It would, however, make an excellent addition to your collection if you want to learn more about the history of your particular breed.

I have almost all books by Desmond Morris in regard to cats and dogs in my library and would not part with any of them. This one is no exception and makes a great coffee table book. The information found here is just as implied - info on a vast variety of cats from around the world. There are many other similar books available but few as complete. For those contemplating the purchase of a cat and not sure what type is right for you, this book is a terrific place to start. The book provides a history of various breeds of cats and the characteristics of each individual breed. Any lover of the feline world will not want to miss this beautiful, informative book.

A wonderful and resourseful book with absolutely glorious pictures. Desmond Morris has given the most detailed history of our rare breed, the Turkish Van cat, that I have found anywhere. A joy to curl up with.