Reader Reviews from Amazon.com:
Don't buy this book! See below for explanation 
Ok, first off, the book is a-ight. It's not bad, and it explains things fairly well, although I think the author doesn't understand the difference between fuzzy and fussy??? The reason I am instructing you NOT to buy it, is that you can get the EXACT SAME CONTENT in another book for less. I bought this book online, and then while waiting for it to arrive went to Barnes and Noble to browse around and see what was there. They had another book by a different name, which I apologetically do not recall. It had the SAME EVERYTHING which I came to realize only after my book arrived in the mail! I think this Koi Jewels of the Orient went out of print, and the price shot up. If you look on the inside cover of the book, the sale price is $29.95, but here it is going for $150 new and I bought it used on Amazon for $43 plus shipping, which ended up being ~$50. The clone book, and I am talking EXACT CLONE, same photos, same text, same figures, same content, same chapters, different name and cover at Barnes and Noble brand new was like 25-30. Go get it there. It is probably revised,and I'm sure has the same authors (Steve Hickling,Mick Martin,Bernice Brewster,Nick Fletcher) although I seem to remember they still used fussy in place of fuzzy. Also, do not buy the smaller "Koi Health" book ~$20 by the same people as it is very nearly if not completely contained in near exact replica (same figures, same pics, same text) inside this book and the other just like it that I found at Barnes and Noble. Save yourself some money and buy the ~200pg book in the store by the same authors if you look at it and decide it is comprehensive enough. I'm kind of wishing I would have gotten the Koi Kichi book as this one is kind of lacking in encyclopedic type content. It's more of an introductory bunch of information with a pic or two of several different kinds of koi. There is not a ton of content that helps you understand very well what makes the difference between excellent koi and so-so koi. You will be able to tell the difference between the scaly and non-scaly, the splotchy red white and black and the stripey koi, but you aren't going to be a koi show judge after reading the book. There are so many different varieties, you would really need 500-1000pgs to do that I guess... Just don't expect a lot. If you're an engineer or other highly technical type just bite the bullet and get a more comprehensive book. If you want something to sit on your coffee table this or equivalent clone book will do. Happy Ponding.
a complete koi book 
a good koi book with good info on koi keeping and good additional for your collections
Good reference 
This is a good reference book for people new to the hobby. I especially like the section on the different varieties of koi.
Koi: the Living Jewels of the Orient
Very informative. The best Koi book we have yet to buy.
beautiful, not the last word 
This book has received such glowing reviews I felt the need to add a sour note. It is full of beautiful pictures and has lots of useful information, but it is not as exhaustive a reference as it would seem from its size. The chapters are divided between four authors, with uneven results. The water quality chapter wastes entire pages on step-by-step instructions on how to use a particular brand of water test (they come with instructions,we don't need this in a book). The filtration chapter is devoted almost exclusively to a particular filtration system that chapter's author designs and sells. On the other hand, most of the other chapters are at least adequate, and the koi varieties section is outstanding, with the clearest delineation of the many koi types I have ever read--anyone can tell a showa from a sanke after looking at the side-by-side comparison. This section alone makes the book worth buying.
|
