Familiar Animals of America

From the dust jacket:

This is a book for every homeowner or parent who has ever wanted to know, and have his children know, about the wild animals they are likely to see in a city park, a suburban yard, in neighboring woods and fields, or in the wilder areas of mountain and prairie.

Will Barker combines scientific accuracy with an easy, non-technical style that makes it a delight to read about the common wildlife around us. He tells how each of these familiar animals lives, what it eats, what kind of home it occupies. He describes in detail the range, the mating habits of the animal, and the way it rears its young. There are pointers on identifying particular tracks and burrows. In addition, the author explains the function of the animal in the economy of nature, pointing out its beneficial and harmful effects in relation to other wildlife and the interests of man. The book covers some sixty of the most common species and subspecies of animals–rodents, native cats, bears, hoofed mammals, reptiles, frogs and toads, and others–commonly found in North America.

As Alastair MacBain observes in the Foreword, the book marks "the path from which–many a naturalist will testify–there is no escape once you begin to explore the endless entrancing vistas of nature."

The superb illustrations, done expressly for this book by Carl Burger, capture the particular character of the subjects with sensitivity as well as accuracy. There is a major drawing of each animal in a natural setting, along with many supporting illustrations of tracks, dens, or other important features of the individual subject's activity.

Among books in the nature field this one fills a unique place. It provides far more complete knowledge than the standard field guide, yet it covers all the common land-dwelling animals that the general reader can usually expect to see around his home or on his travels. The book brings together so much information on the subject which is nowhere else available in a single source that it will also be a valuable reference source for professional naturalists and sportsmen.