Reef [With DVD]

The book I ordered was labeled as "quality: very good" but, unfortunately this was not the case. The cover was ripped on the corners making it impossible to use as a display book. Very disappointed.

I was a long time fan of DK series, but mostly for their educational values. As for photography, DK was always good, but did not seem spectacular until this one (and a few others recently - Rainforest, Ocean...)! The color splash with amazing details created such a sensation that learning becomes a multi-sensory experience. In a short period of time, I remembered a great deal of information about the undersea world and am able to recall them vividly in graphic details. This is also true for my 5-year old, by his own requests, read (absorbed) this book over three sittings, with our occasional assistance on the descriptions. You could literally take most of the pages of this book, frame them and put them on the wall for display. That's how good the photography is!

I bought this book for my own birthday, and had the pleasure of showing the pictures to my family who do not SCUBA dive like myself. I must say these photos are first rate, draw attention to the underwater world and make for a frequent return to the bookshelf. The freeby DVD is surprisely good, with music, pics, and video. The DVD alone would sell for $15 or $20 in some SCUBA resort areas. If you are looking for a good present for an underwater life admirer, buy it ASAP. Tell them some ardent and hard-core underwater naturalist recommended it!

I have been an avid diver and underwater photographer since the early 80's. And I must admit, this is one of the finest u/w photography books ever published. The layout is unique, well thought out and entertaining. The photographers do this for a living, along with being dedicated reef conservationists. In fact, some of the proceeds of this book go to a reef conservation and education organization. As I mentioned, the photography is superb. And as an added bonus, this book includes an incredible DVD full of beautiful video. I was so impressed with this book that I have purchased 27 more of them to give as gifts this Holiday season. A GREAT book, incredible pictures, and the price is unbelievable.

I recently received Reef. Before even spending 5 minutes with the book, all I could say was - WOW! The photography is nothing short of amazing. I cuold spend hours flipping through the pages of this book. It's almost painful because it's giving me the scuba diving "bug" and I don't have a trip planned in the near future. I'm so inspired by these photos and I'm also impressed by the identification, common and scientific names, of all of the creatures featured. The site where each photograph was taken is also listed, along with information on the behavior or other characteristics displayed in the photos. I would have loved to have this book available last year when diving in Indonesia. We had some ID books, but nothing compared to this. Unfortunately it would be a bit cumbersome to carry along on a dive trip as it's more suitable for a coffee table, but I look forward to using this resource for identifying marine life photographed upon my return from upcoming dive trips. The DVD that comes with it is also an excellent bonus!