Marvels and Mysteries of our Animal World
A family guide to the fascinating creatures of earth, sea and sky

The dramatic life stories of animals from the butterfly to the whale are told in these 115 articles drawn from the pages of The Reader's Digest. In a special supplement another 200 creatures are described and illustrated, to complete the roster of the outstanding beasts of the animal kingdom, representing all the important orders. Among the noted writers contributing are Roy Chapman Andrews, William Beebe, Alan Devoe, Martin Johnson, Donald Culross Peattie and Ivan T Sanderson.
Magnificently Illustrated:
155 four-color photographs have been assembled by the editors from all over the world. Roger Tory Peterson, Eliot Porter and Ylla are just a few of the dozens of great nature photographers represented.
The Unusual and the Unknown:
Details about animal marvels, little-known facts and mysteries make this book the most unusual description of animal life that has been assembled in many years. You will discover such fascinating facts as these:
- If humans had vision comparable to that of hawks, we could read newspaper headlines a quarter of a mile away.
- The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived, exceeding even the giant dinosaurs in size.
- Bees have directional signals and salmon have an unknown guide mechanism.
- The firefly's incandescent light cannot be reproduced by man, and certain stars guide night-flying birds.
The Ways of Nature:
The most important aspects of natural history are covered for the home student: the tragedy of vanishing species, the wonder of living fossils, the miraculous tenacity of life in the arctic, desert and jungle, and the special abilities of unusual birds and beasts. The animal wonders that we have collected in our zoos as well as the commonplace miracles of our own backyards appear in these pages. Here, too, are the creatures that are friendly, the pests, the wicked and the clever -- all the colorful characters of the wild. The governing forces of nature (such as migration and hibernation), the social life of beasts (such as their powers of communication, their intelligence, their courtship customs) are described in the two final sections of the book.
Special Features:
- Chart of the animal kingdom showing all the major orders
- Index containing 750 animals