Albatrosses are highly threatened and in the public eye; they are the ultimate seabirds, living almost their entire lives at sea. The RSPB currently has a big campaign to help save them. This book is both an authoritative book covering all the world's species and a beautiful work of art to admire. It is illustrated with 300 breathtaking colour photographs from an award-winning photographer. The text comprises a series of essays by leading experts in the field and a systematic section that gives identification, behavioral and distributional information for each of the world's 22 species.
Tui de Roy is a leading photographer with several books and awards to her creditMark Jones is a renowned albatross academicJulian Fitter is the author of Galapagos Wildlife who has studied the Galapagos Albatross and other species.
"Unfortunately, most birders will never become part of Murphy’s “higher cult of mortals”. And even those that have may find that their relatively short encounters with these amazing birds are not nearly enough. Thankfully, this book provides just about everything that you could want to become more familiar with them.
I would have to say that this is the best book of its type that I have seen. It favorably compares to the albatross account in the Handbook of the Birds of the World, and even surpasses it in some aspects (which is about the highest praise that I can give). It is a highly recommended addition to anyone’s birding library."
- Grant McCreary (06-02-2009), read the full review at The Birder's Library
"a significant and beautiful book about a charismatic family"
- BBC Wildlife (Summer 2008)
"The hundreds of photographs are luminous [...] the book is a lovely haunting way into the life of this most noble of bird families"
- The Times (July 17th 2008)
"A welcome addition to the library of any seabird enthusiast"
- Galapagos News, Autumn/Winter 2008
"A beautifully illustrated and sensitive portrayal of the plight of this magnificent seabird and icon of the ocean."
- WDCS
"This book is by far the most spectacular book on this amazing group of seabird yet published."
- Seabird (2009)