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How many different kinds of seashells are there? No one can say for sure. Tens of thousands of mollusks are known to science and there are certainly far, far more out there waiting to be discovered. So a book that describes 600 species is only scratching the surface. But what a surface! . . . Dr. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Moretzsohn, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute in Texas, offer detailed images, crisp descriptions and helpful information about things like mollusk family trees, guides to shells by geographical region and useful Web sites. --Cornelia Dean New York Times Violet Moon, True Tulip, and Peruvian Hat are a few of my favorite names from a gorgeous new guide to identifying shells--600 shells, to be exact, a number that constitutes less than 1 percent of the known species of seashells. (Some scientists estimate that more than 1,000,000 shells have yet to be discovered.) The Book of Shells by M.G. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution, and researcher Fabio Moretzsohn is a beautifully designed reference work with exquisite photographs of shells that range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball. --Boston Globe How many different kinds of seashells are there? No one can say for sure. Tens of thousands of mollusks are known to science and there are certainly far, far more out there waiting to be discovered. So a book that describes 600 species is only scratching the surface. But what a surface! . . . Dr. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Moretzsohn, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute in Texas, offer detailed images, crisp descriptions and helpful information about things like mollusk family trees, guides to shells by geographical region and useful Web sites. --Cornelia Dean New York Times Violet Moon, True Tulip, and Peruvian Hat are a few of my favorite names from a gorgeous new guide to identifying shells 600 shells, to be exact, a number that constitutes less than 1 percent of the known species of seashells. (Some scientists estimate that more than 1,000,000 shells have yet to be discovered.) The Book of Shells by M.G. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution, and researcher Fabio Moretzsohn is a beautifully designed reference work with exquisite photographs of shells that range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball. --Boston Globe

This time of year, the beach beckons. Instead of just lying around in a stupefied, sun-drenched drowse, however, why not turn those vacation hours at the seaside into a learning experience? The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells is a fascinating guide to the external skeletons of mollusks--also known as seashells--that routinely turn the ocean's fringe into a scattering of treasures. With this book in tow, you can, after an afternoon of shell-collecting, sit down and classify your finds. The Book of Shells includes full-color photos of hundreds of shells and a guide to each mollusk's stomping grounds. M.G. Harasewych and Fabio Moretzsohn, the zoologists who put together this jumbo joy--at 665 pages and a hard cover, you'll need two hands to lift it--have done a splendid job. The book is filled with scientific data but it will intrigue -- not intimidate -- those of us who are nonscientists. And these gorgeous shells with poetic names like Snowflake Marginella, Imperial Harp, Lettered Olive, Gaping Ancilla, Du Petit's Spindle, Rough-Ribbed Nerite and Reddish Callista have a delicate, almost unearthly beauty. --Chicago Tribune --Boston Globe Chicago Tribune How many different kinds of seashells are there? No one can say for sure. Tens of thousands of mollusks are known to science and there are certainly far, far more out there waiting to be discovered. So a book that describes 600 species is only scratching the surface. But what a surface! . . . Dr. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Moretzsohn, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute in Texas, offer detailed images, crisp descriptions and helpful information about things like mollusk family trees, guides to shells by geographical region and useful Web sites. --Cornelia Dean New York Times This encyclopedia of 600 seashells . . . is enough to inspire even the laziest beachcomber to rush out at low tide to find something beautiful. --Boston Globe Washington Post Violet Moon, True Tulip, and Peruvian Hat are a few of my favorite names from a gorgeous new guide to identifying shells--600 shells, to be exact, a number that constitutes less than 1 percent of the known species of seashells. (Some scientists estimate that more than 1,000,000 shells have yet to be discovered.) The Book of Shells by M.G. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution, and researcher Fabio Moretzsohn is a beautifully designed reference work with exquisite photographs of shells that range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball. --Boston Globe

This encyclopedia of 600 seashells . . . is enough to inspire even the laziest beachcomber to rush out at low tide to find something beautiful. --Washington Post This time of year, the beach beckons. Instead of just lying around in a stupefied, sun-drenched drowse, however, why not turn those vacation hours at the seaside into a learning experience? The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells is a fascinating guide to the external skeletons of mollusks--also known as seashells--that routinely turn the ocean's fringe into a scattering of treasures. With this book in tow, you can, after an afternoon of shell-collecting, sit down and classify your finds. The Book of Shells includes full-color photos of hundreds of shells and a guide to each mollusk's stomping grounds. M.G. Harasewych and Fabio Moretzsohn, the zoologists who put together this jumbo joy--at 665 pages and a hard cover, you'll need two hands to lift it--have done a splendid job. The book is filled with scientific data but it will intrigue -- not intimidate -- those of us who are nonscientists. And these gorgeous shells with poetic names like Snowflake Marginella, Imperial Harp, Lettered Olive, Gaping Ancilla, Du Petit's Spindle, Rough-Ribbed Nerite and Reddish Callista have a delicate, almost unearthly beauty. --Chicago Tribune --Chicago Tribune How many different kinds of seashells are there? No one can say for sure. Tens of thousands of mollusks are known to science and there are certainly far, far more out there waiting to be discovered. So a book that describes 600 species is only scratching the surface. But what a surface! . . . Dr. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Moretzsohn, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute in Texas, offer detailed images, crisp descriptions and helpful information about things like mollusk family trees, guides to shells by geographical region and useful Web sites. --Cornelia Dean New York Times Violet Moon, True Tulip, and Peruvian Hat are a few of my favorite names from a gorgeous new guide to identifying shells--600 shells, to be exact, a number that constitutes less than 1 percent of the known species of seashells. (Some scientists estimate that more than 1,000,000 shells have yet to be discovered.) The Book of Shells by M.G. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution, and researcher Fabio Moretzsohn is a beautifully designed reference work with exquisite photographs of shells that range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball. --Boston Globe

How many different kinds of seashells are there? No one can say for sure. Tens of thousands of mollusks are known to science and there are certainly far, far more out there waiting to be discovered. So a book that describes 600 species is only scratching the surface. But what a surface! . . . Dr. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Moretzsohn, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute in Texas, offer detailed images, crisp descriptions and helpful information about things like mollusk family trees, guides to shells by geographical region and useful Web sites. <br><br>--Cornelia Dean New York Times

This time of year, the beach beckons. Instead of just lying around in a stupefied, sun-drenched drowse, however, why not turn those vacation hours at the seaside into a learning experience? The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells is a fascinating guide to the external skeletons of mollusks--also known as seashells--that routinely turn the ocean's fringe into a scattering of treasures. With this book in tow, you can, after an afternoon of shell-collecting, sit down and classify your finds. The Book of Shells includes full-color photos of hundreds of shells and a guide to each mollusk's stomping grounds. M.G. Harasewych and Fabio Moretzsohn, the zoologists who put together this jumbo joy--at 665 pages and a hard cover, you'll need two hands to lift it--have done a splendid job. The book is filled with scientific data but it will intrigue -- not intimidate -- those of us who are nonscientists. And these gorgeous shells with poetic names like Snowflake Marginella, Imperial Harp, Lettered Olive, Gaping Ancilla, Du Petit's Spindle, Rough-Ribbed Nerite and Reddish Callista have a delicate, almost unearthly beauty. --Chicago Tribune --Chicago Tribune This encyclopedia of 600 seashells . . . is enough to inspire even the laziest beachcomber to rush out at low tide to find something beautiful. --Washington Post How many different kinds of seashells are there? No one can say for sure. Tens of thousands of mollusks are known to science and there are certainly far, far more out there waiting to be discovered. So a book that describes 600 species is only scratching the surface. But what a surface! . . . Dr. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Moretzsohn, a researcher at the Harte Research Institute in Texas, offer detailed images, crisp descriptions and helpful information about things like mollusk family trees, guides to shells by geographical region and useful Web sites. --Cornelia Dean New York Times Violet Moon, True Tulip, and Peruvian Hat are a few of my favorite names from a gorgeous new guide to identifying shells--600 shells, to be exact, a number that constitutes less than 1 percent of the known species of seashells. (Some scientists estimate that more than 1,000,000 shells have yet to be discovered.) The Book of Shells by M.G. Harasewych, curator of marine mollusks at the Smithsonian Institution, and researcher Fabio Moretzsohn is a beautifully designed reference work with exquisite photographs of shells that range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball. --Boston Globe

Author Information

M. G. Harasewych is research zoologist and curator of marine mollusks at the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., which houses one of the world's largest mollusk collections. He has discovered and described dozens of new genera and species, written widely for scientific journals and periodicals, and is the author of Shells: Jewels from theSea. Fabio Moretzsohn has a doctorate in zoology and is a researcher for the Harte Research Institute in Texas. He has discovered a few new species of mollusks and is a coauthor of the Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells.

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