The Beachcomber's Guide to Seashore Life of California

This is a great field guide, and the field in question is California Coast tide pools. If you like to poke around in tide pools, and you like to know what you're seeing and read about new stuff to look for the next time you go, this is just about the best guide you could ask for. The book is positioned in that sweet spot between the laminated fold out brochures that cover the basics and the in depth textbooks sitting on the shelves at the Marine Bio Labs. Sure, there is a wealth of info, and especially photos, on the internet, but a single, handy guide that can travel with you and serve as a quick reference on site is an awfully useful accessory. This book fits the bill admirably. We start with a brief discussion of intertidal habitats. The chapters then break out by phylum - sponges, jellies, anemones, worms, molluscs, anthropods, stars, and tunicates. There's a bit about fishes, and a nice section on seaweeds, (which you'll see a lot of in the best pools), and flowering plants. If it's in a California tidal pool, it's in this book. As an example, the book focuses on five different sponges. For each you get - other names, description, size, habitat, range, notes, and a full color closeup photo. That's pretty much what you need to identify and distinguish the specimens you encounter. When you get to the spectacular queens of the pools, Nudibranchs, there are twenty-four common and uncommon examples. Everything you need to keep your eye keen for tidal pool treasures. Because this is a beachcomber's guide, and because it is aimed at the motivated and interested amateur, it wraps up with thirty pages of tips and recommended viewing sites, running from San Diego to Humboldt County in Northrn California. More than enough to get you daydreaming. So, if you want a knowledgeable companion and guide, this book handles that task with style and superior content. A very happy find.

I bought the National Autobahn Society Field Guide to Seashore Creatures and it is a good book that lacks specificity. The Beachcomber’s Guide is a WONDERFUL book for those who live on the West Coast. It has wonderful photos, plentiful information, and covers many species you will encounter. The Autobahn book covers species you won’t encounter and omits species you do find. That’s okay, it’s still a great book but if you are debating between the two like I was. My advice is thus, buy The Beachcomber’s Guide first. If it does not satisfy your lust for identification then purchase the Autobahn book. I did the reverse and can honestly say that the two in tandem are excellent, but I only open the Beachcomber’s Guide.

This is my favorite tidepool book for the pacific coast of the US, out of several that I have borrowed or owned. The book covers about 1700 different species of water-dwelling shore life (which is all you need unless you are getting an advance degree in marine biology); nevertheless, the book size is very convenient to carry or put in a backpack. Every item in the book has a photo. The photos are all in high-quality color. Besides giving identification details, the description includes the locations where you could expect to find it, how it feeds and moves, it's taxonomy and place in the environment.

I really like this field guide as it gives you the common names, the most updated scientific names, and also the older scientific and common names. It is quite complete, and a must for a serious tide pooler in Calif. In addition, it also has a good representative section on algae, which many book seem to lack. It is also small enough to carry in the tide pools. I am a retired Zoology Community College Instructor and also a docent for the state parks, and consider this book a must have.

I bought this as an aid for my strolls along the beach. It gives an excellent overview of what you might encounter washed up to the beach after a stormy night or discover in a quiet tide pool. It's written for laypersons but gives a lot of information that's also interesting for specialists. The images are excellent and very characteristic for every species. One of the best books in the market.

Read was okay. Had a hard time keeping my interest.

Beautiful book. An easy to read reference for anyone who lives the California beaches. The information is well organized with beautiful color photographs. This would be a great reference for both adults and children.

Great book. Lots of detail and pictures to identify sea critters. I just wish the pictures were larger as some are hard to identify from the plates but it is a paperback.