Francisco_Borrero
07-20-2003, 09:57 PM
Hi all:
I have been away for a while. I am now a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. I look forward to meet some of you at ACA in just a few short days.
I want to congratulate you and thank you for this new forum on the Amazon. Very cool. Great job you guys and gals.
On to the topic...
In my opinnion, this is indeed a very nice and potentially very useful reference source on the general and specific habitat of discus and other fish, and in general of the Amazon.
Brand new, released March 2003, it is as far as I know the first comprehensive work of this type, though there are good works for specific individual river basins elsewhere.
From the inside of the dust jacket :
"....provides the first comprehensive view of this massive river system, revealing the rainforest as never seen before with 150 color maps and almost 300 stunning photographs.....The detailed maps trace the water flow from the furthest headwater in the Ucayali Valley of Peru....to the mouth of the Amazon, over 64,000 km to the northeast.....Following an introduction to the Amazon River system and the lands that surround it, the Atlas provides a river-by-river tour of the tributaries. Each of these rivers has its own environmental setting, from the Jenipapo...to the magnificent waterfalls of the Xingu valley. These are the places of the Amazon, a land of wild rivers, forests, fauna, and people that remain unique".
Michael Goulding- Ecologist w/ the Amazon Conservation Association.
Ronaldo Barthem- Goeldi Museum in Belem, Brazil.
Efrem Ferreira- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil.
From the Contents: The major rivers covered in full detail (with many more in lesser depth):
- The Amazon, The Tocantins, The Tapajos, The Xingu, The Madeira, The Purus, The Jurua, The Ucayali and Maranhon, The Negro and Trombetas.
For each river: Extensive map of basin, land use maps, Conservation units map, Additional map resources, many pictures in high and low water, extensive text.
Even if the book is not about discus or even about fish, I believe it a very important source. Direct experience remains unchallenged as a resource...of course, but the book is very comprehensive and organized methodically. Direct experience rarely is. If nothing else, this is a very informative, entertaining, beautiful and inexpensive book. The geological and hydrological information is superb. 253 pages, excellent paper quality and binding.
The only discus book that I know of and that has some similarity to the usefulness of this book as descriptor of the habitat of discus, is Mayland's Adventures with discus (in my opinnion the best source for wild discus...that I know). The similarity lies in the river-by-river treatment. The difference is, Mayland's book is mainly about the fish, the Atlas is about the rivers, the information is tremendoustly more extensive, covers many more rivers, and is much more current. Also, Mayland's book is based on a few (albeit very well used) travel opportunities, whereas the Atlas is by people who are there full time.
Thought this would be of interest.
Cheers, Francisco.
p.s. The book is not without a few flaws: just by reading the notes under the many pictures, a few typos and other minor editorial boo-boos have appeared. There probably are more. I know of no book without flaws.
I have been away for a while. I am now a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. I look forward to meet some of you at ACA in just a few short days.
I want to congratulate you and thank you for this new forum on the Amazon. Very cool. Great job you guys and gals.
On to the topic...
In my opinnion, this is indeed a very nice and potentially very useful reference source on the general and specific habitat of discus and other fish, and in general of the Amazon.
Brand new, released March 2003, it is as far as I know the first comprehensive work of this type, though there are good works for specific individual river basins elsewhere.
From the inside of the dust jacket :
"....provides the first comprehensive view of this massive river system, revealing the rainforest as never seen before with 150 color maps and almost 300 stunning photographs.....The detailed maps trace the water flow from the furthest headwater in the Ucayali Valley of Peru....to the mouth of the Amazon, over 64,000 km to the northeast.....Following an introduction to the Amazon River system and the lands that surround it, the Atlas provides a river-by-river tour of the tributaries. Each of these rivers has its own environmental setting, from the Jenipapo...to the magnificent waterfalls of the Xingu valley. These are the places of the Amazon, a land of wild rivers, forests, fauna, and people that remain unique".
Michael Goulding- Ecologist w/ the Amazon Conservation Association.
Ronaldo Barthem- Goeldi Museum in Belem, Brazil.
Efrem Ferreira- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil.
From the Contents: The major rivers covered in full detail (with many more in lesser depth):
- The Amazon, The Tocantins, The Tapajos, The Xingu, The Madeira, The Purus, The Jurua, The Ucayali and Maranhon, The Negro and Trombetas.
For each river: Extensive map of basin, land use maps, Conservation units map, Additional map resources, many pictures in high and low water, extensive text.
Even if the book is not about discus or even about fish, I believe it a very important source. Direct experience remains unchallenged as a resource...of course, but the book is very comprehensive and organized methodically. Direct experience rarely is. If nothing else, this is a very informative, entertaining, beautiful and inexpensive book. The geological and hydrological information is superb. 253 pages, excellent paper quality and binding.
The only discus book that I know of and that has some similarity to the usefulness of this book as descriptor of the habitat of discus, is Mayland's Adventures with discus (in my opinnion the best source for wild discus...that I know). The similarity lies in the river-by-river treatment. The difference is, Mayland's book is mainly about the fish, the Atlas is about the rivers, the information is tremendoustly more extensive, covers many more rivers, and is much more current. Also, Mayland's book is based on a few (albeit very well used) travel opportunities, whereas the Atlas is by people who are there full time.
Thought this would be of interest.
Cheers, Francisco.
p.s. The book is not without a few flaws: just by reading the notes under the many pictures, a few typos and other minor editorial boo-boos have appeared. There probably are more. I know of no book without flaws.