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Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
Authoritative text, detailed illustrations, and a systematic approach make DK's Smithsonian Handbook of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises the most comprehensive and concise pocket guide to cetaceans. With more than 900 illustrations, this visual recognition guide is designed to make identification as simple and accurate as possible. This book is one of a series covering plants, animals, and other natural phenomena from around the world and is published in association with the Smithsonian Institution.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 1992
13 people are currently reading
363 people want to read
About the author
Mark Carwardine
91 books37 followersMark Carwardine is a zoologist who achieved widespread recognition for his Last Chance to See conservation expeditions with Douglas Adams, first aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. Since then he has become a leading and outspoken conservationist, and a prolific broadcaster, columnist and photographer.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 19, 2020
May 15, 2pm ~~ Review asap.
May 16, 245pm ~~ I ordered this book after I finished re-reading Moby Dick late last year. I was intrigued by the general whale information Melville gives in that book, and I wanted to learn more. It was fun to dip into as I sailed along with Captain Joshua Slocum in his book Sailing Alone Around the World.
This is a very easy to understand book, and with tons of fascinating details. I never realized the huge variety of cetaceans in the world. Made me sad to think how stupid Man has been towards these amazing creatures.
There was one entry titled Unidentified Beaked Whale. The entry says that this whale is only known from some sightings at sea, that unlike other types of beaked whale, the UBW has never been so polite as to strand itself on a beach somewhere to let Man have a good look at its dead body. So the whole description of the UBW is very 'tentative' according to the book.
I think that is marvelous. Nature deserves to keep some mystery. Man doesn't have to know every little detail and turn every creature into a study for science. Yes, it is important to know and understand other creatures, but it seems to me that all Man thinks of is exploiting them for whatever he can get, ultimately destroying everything in the long run.
I hope the Unidentified Beaked Whale stays unidentified forever!
May 16, 245pm ~~ I ordered this book after I finished re-reading Moby Dick late last year. I was intrigued by the general whale information Melville gives in that book, and I wanted to learn more. It was fun to dip into as I sailed along with Captain Joshua Slocum in his book Sailing Alone Around the World.
This is a very easy to understand book, and with tons of fascinating details. I never realized the huge variety of cetaceans in the world. Made me sad to think how stupid Man has been towards these amazing creatures.
There was one entry titled Unidentified Beaked Whale. The entry says that this whale is only known from some sightings at sea, that unlike other types of beaked whale, the UBW has never been so polite as to strand itself on a beach somewhere to let Man have a good look at its dead body. So the whole description of the UBW is very 'tentative' according to the book.
I think that is marvelous. Nature deserves to keep some mystery. Man doesn't have to know every little detail and turn every creature into a study for science. Yes, it is important to know and understand other creatures, but it seems to me that all Man thinks of is exploiting them for whatever he can get, ultimately destroying everything in the long run.
I hope the Unidentified Beaked Whale stays unidentified forever!
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November 14, 2024 To quote a true poet, the blue CGI creature from Sesame Street,
“Animal books, animal books; I love to look in my animal books”.
Animal books geared towards younger readers from the 90s-early 2000s are very special to me, since that's what I grew up on. Reading through this copy from the library, I felt very nostalgic upon seeing that a previous reader had just circled random pictures in it, just like I used to in my favorite Sea Creatures book.
On the other hand it can also be sad to read older animal books when you read about situations like the baiji or vaquita which have just gotten worse since this book came out. I guess that also goes the other way though when you read about species that have been recovering. That’s kind of conservation bio in a nutshell I guess!
This was such a fun little book though, I need to learn more about beaked whales now, they seem kind of crazy.
“Animal books, animal books; I love to look in my animal books”.
Animal books geared towards younger readers from the 90s-early 2000s are very special to me, since that's what I grew up on. Reading through this copy from the library, I felt very nostalgic upon seeing that a previous reader had just circled random pictures in it, just like I used to in my favorite Sea Creatures book.
On the other hand it can also be sad to read older animal books when you read about situations like the baiji or vaquita which have just gotten worse since this book came out. I guess that also goes the other way though when you read about species that have been recovering. That’s kind of conservation bio in a nutshell I guess!
This was such a fun little book though, I need to learn more about beaked whales now, they seem kind of crazy.
March 17, 2022
Great reference book…read in preparation for up coming trip Tadoussac, Quebec, Canada
January 17, 2016
DK Handbook: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: The Visual Guide to All the World's Cetaceans (Eyewitness Handbooks) by Mark Carwardine (Dorling Kindersley 1995)(599.5) is a wonderful reference book for all the cetaceans in both saltwater and freshwater environments. I really like the DK Handbooks! My rating: 7.5/10, finished 6/2/14.
January 13, 2026
This is a recognition guide for these animals, done by DK in association with the Smithsonian Institution. There are 900+ detailed illustrations, including varieties, different ages, and male/female differences. The author is a zoologist, photographer, and author of other books (too).
General introduction talks fe. about behavior, studying, conservation needs, watching and identifying. Animals are grouped by families (with their own introductions), then each animal in the family gets 2 or 4 pages, including current status - but at least Baiji is now believed to be extinct - population, threats, body details, behavior, where can be found (or roughly so; not all animals have certainties of where they are, nor are all areas known since many live outside usual human reach), size, diet.
At the end is a glossary of words used, further reading (small), and addresses (US only).
The information comes from the author's own knowledge and what could be gathered from elsewhere. Of course, some of these animals have been more studied and found than others, but there's still enough information for all.
The focus is for the book to be useful as a field guide. The book has been updated, but of course information may have still changed a little (and they seem to have missed that using 'former Soviet Union' is no longer relevant - the change has been on long enough!).
To me, this is a fun, quick-ish read, and even though I have no particular desire to go watching any, it's still a good read, and the drawings are beautiful. My favorite is the sperm whale, and there were some animals that are really really beautiful to see (and easy to do this way). So even if going to watch any these is not on one's bucket list, it's still a nice reading experience.
General introduction talks fe. about behavior, studying, conservation needs, watching and identifying. Animals are grouped by families (with their own introductions), then each animal in the family gets 2 or 4 pages, including current status - but at least Baiji is now believed to be extinct - population, threats, body details, behavior, where can be found (or roughly so; not all animals have certainties of where they are, nor are all areas known since many live outside usual human reach), size, diet.
At the end is a glossary of words used, further reading (small), and addresses (US only).
The information comes from the author's own knowledge and what could be gathered from elsewhere. Of course, some of these animals have been more studied and found than others, but there's still enough information for all.
The focus is for the book to be useful as a field guide. The book has been updated, but of course information may have still changed a little (and they seem to have missed that using 'former Soviet Union' is no longer relevant - the change has been on long enough!).
To me, this is a fun, quick-ish read, and even though I have no particular desire to go watching any, it's still a good read, and the drawings are beautiful. My favorite is the sperm whale, and there were some animals that are really really beautiful to see (and easy to do this way). So even if going to watch any these is not on one's bucket list, it's still a nice reading experience.
May 31, 2022
You’re out walking and spot a cardboard box someone house-moving has left outside their front gate: “Free books. Please help yourself.” That’s how I got this one.
Quite a book to get for free too; as you’d expect from this publisher, Dorling Kindersley, the production is immaculate—illustrations, layout and all-round design wonderful. It’s actually a field-guide for identification, but simply reading my way through it I’ve learned much about all the various groups of cetaceans, which are these: right whales, rorqual whales, sperm whales, beaked whales, blackfish, dolphins (including river dolphins) and porpoises—seventy-nine species in total. Lovely book.
Quite a book to get for free too; as you’d expect from this publisher, Dorling Kindersley, the production is immaculate—illustrations, layout and all-round design wonderful. It’s actually a field-guide for identification, but simply reading my way through it I’ve learned much about all the various groups of cetaceans, which are these: right whales, rorqual whales, sperm whales, beaked whales, blackfish, dolphins (including river dolphins) and porpoises—seventy-nine species in total. Lovely book.
June 18, 2022
My rating is more like 4.5/5 stars. I really enjoy reading this book. I have the older edition of this book so it has less pages than the one listed. The reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is more geared towards the accuracy of some things. There are scientific data stated however there is no corresponding citation for it. I also believe that over the years, many of the things stated in this book have changed over the years. Overall, I believe this is an excellent book to start reading about the different types of cetaceans.
February 24, 2024
(Killer whale ecologist here) This is a great guide book of all of the known cetacean species at the time it was published. This a great reference book for identifying and learning more about each species. Every species and group of cetacean is thoroughly explained. Although it is a little dated now, it works just fine for any commonly encountered species.
January 24, 2020
I like this book because it shows you species of whale dolphins and porpoise and you see their size compared to humans and gives you facts about each one. and it shows you what the animal looks like. A fact I found out about is narwhals horn is actually a tooth.
June 19, 2025
Čítali sme si túto knihu po večeroch so synom (5y) a dozvedeli sme sa veľa nového a zaujímavého. Neurobilo to z nás úplných expertov, ale na začiatok to určite stačí. Téma je spracovaná dobre a z rôznych pohľadov. Vizuálne tiež nemám čo by som vytkol.
slovenská verzia - 56strán
slovenská verzia - 56strán
Want to read
July 23, 2020I want to read this
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2024
Checked this book out every time I went to the library as a kid. Very informative and fun to read.
December 22, 2020
Great, straightforward, comprehensive field guide with beautiful illustrations.
November 16, 2014
My Review
Now as you can tell I love whales, that's why I read this book. Whales are the largest animals on earth some can weigh up to 200 tons! Its like mother nature said one day " hey lets make the most amazing but animal I can think of" and puff, there was a whale. But enough about how much I love whales lets get to the facts. Whales are the largest mammals on earth by far, elephant can kiss there butts goodnight because there is a real giant tonight. Although many people would think the Blue Whale to be my favorite, well its not its not even my second its my third. My favorite whale is the amazing Sperm Whale its huge, unique, has sharp teeth ( which is odd for a whale ), and it hunts only the best giant squid. Which explains all the circle shaped scars on its body. It dives 3,280 feet that would crush most animals. Which makes the whales just that more unique. Now the Sperm whale is also weird because of its blow hole. It seems to be on the right side of its face not the middle unlike most whales where the blow hole is in the middle of the head which gives the Sperm Whale another unique quality also the unusually ruff skin which is for going face to face with the most powerful squad in the world and handling the razor sharp teeth on the tentacles. I also seem to love the unique colors of the Fin Whale it is also the smallest Whale in the ocean but it is very beautiful and there is a lot of them because of there small size not very many whale hunters wasted there time with them so the thrived. unlike the other whales that most face extinction. which is a really depressing such beautiful creatures have to surfer for there blubber. But thankfully the Japenese have stopped hunting these harmless, beautiful creatures.
Now as you can tell I love whales, that's why I read this book. Whales are the largest animals on earth some can weigh up to 200 tons! Its like mother nature said one day " hey lets make the most amazing but animal I can think of" and puff, there was a whale. But enough about how much I love whales lets get to the facts. Whales are the largest mammals on earth by far, elephant can kiss there butts goodnight because there is a real giant tonight. Although many people would think the Blue Whale to be my favorite, well its not its not even my second its my third. My favorite whale is the amazing Sperm Whale its huge, unique, has sharp teeth ( which is odd for a whale ), and it hunts only the best giant squid. Which explains all the circle shaped scars on its body. It dives 3,280 feet that would crush most animals. Which makes the whales just that more unique. Now the Sperm whale is also weird because of its blow hole. It seems to be on the right side of its face not the middle unlike most whales where the blow hole is in the middle of the head which gives the Sperm Whale another unique quality also the unusually ruff skin which is for going face to face with the most powerful squad in the world and handling the razor sharp teeth on the tentacles. I also seem to love the unique colors of the Fin Whale it is also the smallest Whale in the ocean but it is very beautiful and there is a lot of them because of there small size not very many whale hunters wasted there time with them so the thrived. unlike the other whales that most face extinction. which is a really depressing such beautiful creatures have to surfer for there blubber. But thankfully the Japenese have stopped hunting these harmless, beautiful creatures.
November 28, 2011
The information in this book was extremely descriptive and helpful. I liked this informational book because it will help me some day become a marine mammalogist. Becoming a marine mammalogist means that right now I need to study on whales and other marine animals, and this book and all of its information has helped me learn more about whales and other animals than I ever imagined.
July 30, 2007
Great guidebook for anyone into marine mammals.
February 6, 2017
Good reference book, lots of interesting facts, not for academic referencing but good inforamtion all the same.
August 2, 2011
Easy to read and understand. Basic info like population, threats adn feeding etc. Set apart and easy to see for quick reference.
March 10, 2013
One of the best and detailed book about all the cetaceans I have ever had in my hands.
Read
February 16, 2014ok...
June 10, 2014
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12722212
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12722212
February 26, 2015
El libro más claro sobre cetáceos que he leído, desde fisionomía básica hasta identificar soplidos. Un must para uno que no es experto.
July 1, 2015
Amazing guide! Has a very informative text and easily recognizable illustrations.
May 22, 2017
it wasn't bad, but i wouldn't read it again. it gave me the information, but it was a little difficult to read because i had to jump around a lot. i do recommend this book to someone who really likes marine animals.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews