What are they saying about kvg's new book?

Reviews for “Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats” by Dr. KV Gururaja. Dr. MB Krishna
Got a copy of Gururaja's new Pictorial Guide the Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats just this evening. One thing which strikes the viewer at the very outset is the large pictures (all photographs) of the frogs and toads. And on these pictures one can see yellow arrow marks (which are numbered) pointing to key characters and features on the picture. And these arrows are numbered, with corresponding notes on the facing page. This is very utilitarian. Hope our bird guides start this too. Dr Gururaja's new pictorial guide pushes the the american birdman Peterson's identification system of 1934 to new standards. Not only are there pointers to key characters visible (as in the Peterson's system) on the photographs, but the pointers are also numbered and notes added to these numbers on the facing page, which is new. Congrats Gururaja for not only getting the book out, but for an entirely new identification methodology too.
[Source: bngbirds - Birds and wildlife of Bangalore, India mailing list, Message no.: 22652, dated 13 June 2012; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bngbirds/message/22652 ] Bopanna Pattada
Thanks for the heads-up. I just received my copy and am very pleased to see such an excellent guide. I love the fact that a picture of the habitat is included with each species, very helpful.
[Source: bngbirds - Birds and wildlife of Bangalore, India mailing list, Message no.: 22701, dated 19 June 2012; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bngbirds/message/22701 ] Dr. S Subramanya
I agree with Krishna. It is a very well made delightful booklet that fits well into your palm and pocket. Can't wait to go out, put it to use more often and monsoon is such a good time to do so (hope there will be good rains). [...]
[Source: bngbirds - Birds and wildlife of Bangalore, India mailing list, Message no.: 22716, dated 20 June 2012; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bngbirds/message/22716 ] Dr. Fionna Prins
I just received my copy and it is perhaps the best guide book I have ever seen! Highly recommended!
[Source: India-nature-pixs · An India Nature Watch e-group, Message no.: 40757, dated 22 June 2012. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/India-nature-pixs/message/40757 ] Dr. Varad Giri
A much awaited book - Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats is published recently. This book is authored by one of the renowned amphibian expert Dr. K.V. Gururaja. It is really a good contribution as we do not have such fieldguides on Indian amphibians. I really appreciate the efforts of Dr. Gururaja.
[Source: Good book on Amphibians by Dr. Gururaja]. Harish Bhat, Bangalore
I had the privilege to possess a well documented and most need book: Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats, authored by Dr. K.V.Gururaja, published by Gubbi Labs. This is indeed a very useful guide for identifying frogs and toads of western ghats, covering 73 species of frogs and toads with their colour photographs, Scientific name, Common Name, general description, key features, status, habitat, distribution map, highlighting features for identification and also size compared on our palm. the size of the book is pocket sized and handy to carry to field. This is priced Rs. 300 but quite useful for all ecologist, naturalist and amphibian experts. I personally liked it very much and going through in detail.... :) Thought I will share with you all...
Dr. SD Biju, University of Delhi
A nice and useful hand-book of Amphibians of the Western Ghats- Pictorial Gide to frogs and toads of the Western Ghats. A good start and it is useful for field identification. All the best wishes to Dr Gururaja.
Dr. NA Madhyastha, Udupi
"Simplicity is the result of profound thought". Yes Dr. Gururaj, you made your book so simple and at the same time very useful informative. Such a book was badly needed for people like us. Meticulous and flawless book. I wish you that you would bring one more elaborate book on all the amphibians of WG.
Vishal Prasad, BRCF India
After Lost Amphibians of India Project, all were waiting for something like this! Pictorial Guide of Frogs and Toads of Western Ghats by Dr. KV Gururaja is a wonderful field guide with colourful photos for identification of frogs & toads. Especially, comparison of specimens in palm and photos of their natural habitat is useful in understanding the size and abode of these beautiful but most threatened taxa in a reasonable price. I think it’s pretty reasonable in Rs.300/- and many people can buy. My Frog lover students are very excited about this book and we all are geared up this monsoon to start using it on field (in Koyna and Kaas forest of North Western Ghats). I am sure to some extent; this book will bridge the gap and will be helpful in sensitising people on the importance of Amphibians for our environment and how important it is to protect them and their habitats. Wish you all all the best Dr. Gururaja!
Dr. AH Manjunatha Reddy
This is a wonderful book for amphibianists for field references; it is handy with convenient mode of presenting the species. I hope this is one of your dream come true, which is not just a book, but the struggling moments faced in the field have been solved. The coloration of each IUCN category, comparison of species with a palm and distinctive photographs has made the book fantabulous. This should be a mandatory guide to all amphibianists across India. This book has solved conventional methods and all the puzzle kind of identification of the species. Good luck, expecting many more like this and on related aspects.
[Source: On. Dr. KV Gururaja’s Facebook wall dated 29th June 2012.] Prof. Bruce Waldman
Dear Guru, what a beautifully presented, valuable book! Congratulations and thanks very much! Nothing really can be more important than making people aware of these frogs. Bruce.
Source: Private message to Dr. KV Gururaja dated 25 June 2012 | Posted with permission. Mariko Kageyama
Dear Dr. Gururaja, I received a copy of your new beautiful book Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats through Karthick Balsubramanian (I see his name appears in the Acknowledgements) several days ago. Thank you very much. I am a Collections Manager for Vertebrate Zoology here at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History in Boulder, Colorado, USA. I am now enjoying looking through the nice photographs and diversity of anurans known from western India. Congratulations on your new publication.
Source: Private message to Dr. KV Gururaja dated 11 July 2012 | Posted with permission. Dr. Krishna Mohan
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” – Charles Mingus once said. The book in my hand is doing just that. I am talking about recently released Pictorial Guide to Frogs and Toads of the Western Ghats by Dr. KV Gururaja. This book exemplifies presenting complicated scientific information in a very simple manner. This wonderful field guide with colorful photos for identification of frogs & toads has not only helped identify and learn about frogs and toads but has also instilled a deep curiosity to explore more. [snip] Read more ...
Source: Blog post of Dr. Krishna Mohan | Posted with permission.