Skulls: An Exploration of Alan Dudley's Curious Collection

This is a beautiful book. If you think because the subject matter is skulls that this book will be creepy or macabre, you will be pleasantly proven wrong. In this book I was able to see the beautiful and rare in a format like I have never seen. Here you will see the skull of a dodo, walrus, wolffish, bandicoot, sea lion, two headed cow, capybara, chameleon, and vampire bat just to name a very few. All with scientific descriptions and classifications, and in some cases a few notes. The fish and reptile skulls are particularly fascinating to me. I have never seen anything like them, full of structures that have to be seen to be appreciated.I bought this book because I like to draw and paint animals and decided it is time to learn more about animal anatomy and the unseen structure of the skull as the foundation to build upon. This book will be a valuable resource to any artist looking to do the same. You will not be disappointed, the layout and detailed photography of this book are amazing.

My grand daughter is an artist who wants to draw and paint animals. She needed to understand the inner structure of their faces. The book is comprehensive, beautifully photographed. Some images need to be viewed on a page, not a screen. This us a good example

I ordered this book looking for a good reference book for animal skulls. I got so much more than I bargained for with this book. I love that not only are the photos gorgeous with multiple angles on multiple skulls, but the range and variety is fantastic. The sections on the science, iconography, and art of the skull are a bonus that makes this one of the few reference and research books that I will read cover to cover. It's simply beautiful.

Skulls by Simon Winchester is a gorgeous book. I love the informative sections on the culture and history of skulls, but I'm a bit disappointed with the photos of the collection. I'm not asking that they be life size, only that there be measurements so that we know what we are looking at. For example, the tiny skeleton of a sea horse fill an entire page of this coffee-table sized book, with no size reference whatsoever. On the other hand, for those of us interested in skulls, the book is fascinating. I was particularly interested in the bird skulls (again, no size reference) and how the beak or bill related to the rest of the skull. I found the fish skulls other-worldly and pretty creepy, and something you don't get to see very often. I don't think this book can be used as a reference for someone collecting skulls, but for someone just interested in looking at them, it's a treat.

Just received this yesterday. Ordered it sight unseen and hoped for the best. This book is gorgeous! The collection is amazing, and the photography is beautifully done and well lit. The skulls are on a black background, which seems to intensify the details. I was afraid there wouldn't be many photographs, but the book is jam packed with them. The collection is diverse and the skulls are in great condition. Two people who couldn't care less about skulls or bones were fascinated. I can't wait for the weekend to get here so I can sit down and spend some serious time with it. A very exciting find!

This book features excellent photos of a wide variety of animals' skulls (and a few whole skeletons). I like how looking at the back cover is like seeing the rear views of the sheep skull and the letters of the title. The only thing that could have made this book better is if there was more room on the pages for the author to put information. Then again, I could always just do more research if I want to learn more. For the most part, I'm very thankful for this book.

I did not see or read this book because it was sent directly to family inmate's facility. He said it is fascinating and in excellent condition. The book was shipped quickly. Since the facility opens and inspects all packages prior to giving (or denying) to our inmate, I can't say anything regarding condition of package, but it must have been perfect because our inmate said the book itself was in excellent condition. He did comment that this book is "Quite interesting and seeing the 'live photo' of each skull image makes it 'all come together visually'" He is now interested in studying forensic technology. Thank you so much for sending this book.

Really beatiful book!

Interesting book with excellent photographs, it covers many species including domestic animals and birds with informational paragraphs or sentences on many, if not all. The format of the book feels substantial, too.

Un bel volume bene rilegato. Carta non particolarmente pregiata, ma ottima copertina rigida, nitide e di bella fattura le foto interne. Moltissimi i crani presenti nel volume, indispensabile per gli amanti del genere, per artisti, ecc. Non può mancare nella vostra biblioteca casalinga. Un acquisto di cui non ci si può pentire.

Ich hab mir das Buch für Referenzen zum Zeichnen gekauft. Ich bin über die Vielzahl der Objekte darin beeindruckt. Besonders Vögel sind sehr viele darin enthalten und auch sind verschiedene Ansichten dargestellt.Seitenansicht, Vorderansicht. Interessant sind auch die Texte dazu, die zwischendrin gestreut sind, auch wenn ich sie bisher noch nicht gelesen habe.Ideal für Referenzen und für alle, die keine große Schädelsammlung daheim haben wollen.

様々な生物の頭蓋骨の写真集として、また図鑑として、素晴らしい一冊。読むのはもちろん部屋に飾ってインテリアとしても絵になります。写真集として購入しましたが、ページをめくっているうちに、慣れ親しんだ動物の頭蓋骨はこういう形をしているのかと楽しみながら熟読しました。

Wonderful book. High quality photos of each skull. Simon's collection is really quite amazing and the information about each skull is great. Bone collecting is my life and this is one of my favourite books about skulls.