Full Text Review(s)
"Complementing the broader but more simply written Wildlife and Plants of the World (Marshall Cavendish, 1998), this set offers researchers close looks at 84 types of living things, from viruses and giant centipedes to humans and gray whales. The emphasis is on physical structures and systems. Each entry opens with a discussion of its subject’s taxonomy and goes on to examine external anatomy and then, separately, each major internal system. In addition, 10 longer general articles on systems or cell biology are embedded in the alphabetically arranged contents. The final volume cumulates the individual volume indexes, adding six specialized indexes along with lists of further resources, plus short overview articles on the taxonomic groupings and the history of anatomical study. Along with frequent side boxes, including some dubbed "Connections" that have inter-volume cross-references, each entry is well-stocked with both sharply reproduced color photos and labeled, accurately detailed art. Though the coverage isn’t exactly evenhanded, with just 10 articles devoted to plants or fungi and 30 to mammals alone, this set makes a useful choice for collections supporting strong science curricula as a more focused alternative to the 24-volume International Wildlife Encyclopedia (Marshall Cavendish, 2002). –John Peters, New York Public Library"

"This 11-volume set will make an ideal supplementary addition to any school library or high school science classroom. Covering 80 specific organisms and an additional 10 entries on major organ systems and other broad topics, the work provides an in-depth look at the anatomy of animals and plants that will be of interest to students. With more than 1,800 anatomical drawings and 450 color photographs the book covers such topics as family tree; taxonomy; and skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, digestive, and reproductive systems. The text provides a detailed look into the interrelationship between organ systems, the variations between different organisms, and features special sections on how different organisms have adapted to changes in environment in order to survive and thrive. Supplementary materials include a comprehensive index; six subject indexes (behaviors, habitats, and ecology; biological classification; biological systems; geographical place-names; microbiology and genetics; and scientific names of plant and animal species); a comprehensive glossary; and resources for further study. This set will provide useful supplementary information for advanced middle school and high school science curriculum."