Full Text Review(s)
"The term biome brings to mind a picture of a food web, including all the animals and plants in a particular habitat. Tom Warhol goes beyond this basic description to include not only insects, but also the impact of a particular biome. For example, Water covers how water shapes the world, the water cycle, and ocean’s impact on climate control, along with diverse habitats such as coral reefs, mangrove forests, sea grass beds, seaweed forests, seabeds, thermal vents, springs and riffles in streams, and the phases of pond and lake life. Water concludes with a short discussion of the impact of humans, although other volumes in the series interweave human impact and results more tightly. Whether the habitat is young in geological time, as with tundra, or established and impacted by humans for eons, as with chaparral and scrub, each volume in the series will appeal to students. Color photographs, including some of the author’s own, maps, satellite photographs, chapter headings, and subheads are attractive. Large fonts and colorful sidebars add to the visual appeal. This series will appeal to young researchers. Bibliography. Glossary. Web sites. Index. Recommended. Lori Robinson, Librarian, Smyrna (Delaware) High School"

"Warhol methodically tackles each biome to include examples from around the world. He identifies essential characteristics of the chaparral and scrub, desert, and tundra, including various subcategories, such as hot, temperate, and coast deserts. Adaptations by plants and animals are discussed and several pages are devoted to specific places where the biome occurs. In Tundra , the author includes not only arctic and alpine regions but also Antarctica, often excluded from such discussions. The page layout has a traditional textbook look, with good-quality photos and an occasional map for visual variety. Devoted ecologists might read an entire volume, but the books probably will serve mainly as report resources. Warhol also provides a lengthy bibliography of print and electronic resources that he used. He includes Web sites produced by groups ranging from a sixth-grade class to science museums. Consider purchasing where demand exists for report materials at a more advanced and detailed level than the "Biomes and Habitats" series (Watts).- Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato"