The Drunken Duchess of Vassar

By MILTON B. TRAUTMAN

Book Overview

"In 1957, Milton B. Trautman . . . authored one of the finest regional fish books. His first edition of The Fishes of Ohio was unique in its approach by documenting historical changes in fish distribution in the face of man's encroachment and alteration of aquatic ecosystems. . . . Now, 24 years later, a revised edition of this classic work has been made available.

"The objectives of this] edition are to demonstrate and explain distributional changes from 1750 to 1980, and to provide keys to the 166 species of Ohio fishes. These aims are admirably achieved. The natural factors influencing distribution of fishes are discussed in Part I, which relates the geology, physiography, topography, hydrology, and climatic history of the regions. . . . Part II reviews changes that have occurred from 1750 until 1980, and is an excellent chronicle of modern man's alternation and manipulation of essentially every aquatic ecosystem in Ohio. . . . Part III is a listing of species, synonomy and nomenclatorial history of Ohio's fishes. . . . Part IV is an informative section of the systematics and nomenclature of fishes that is very useful to beginning students of ichthylogy. The glossary and family and species keys contained in Part V are excellent. Part VI contains the major content of the book, the 166 species accounts. . . .

"The updated range maps, a central focus of Trautman's approach, are excellent and obviously the result of endless efforts. Ohio is one of the most thoroughly surveyed of all states and to translate these data to visual understanding is an unenviable task for which the reader should be deeply appreciative. . . . Also of exceptional quality are the species illustrations originally rendered by Mrs. E. R. Weeks and Trautman himself for the 1957 edition. They are among the best of their kind in a fish reference work, and serve well to facilitate identification of specimens in hand. . . .

"Anyone concerned with or otherwise interested in the fishes, aquatic environments, or general natural history of Ohio or eastern North America should consider this book a valued addition to their library."
--Ohio Journal of Science

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814202136
• ISBN13: 9780814202135
• Release Date: March 1986
• Publisher: Ohio State University Press
• Length: 816 Pages
• Weight: 5.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 8.1" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

The authoritative guide

The late Milton Trautman was a professor at the Ohio State University and the recognized authority on freshwater fish of the region. Of course, this work holds good beyond Ohio's borders and will help you to identify fish species all over the midwest and throughout the eastern interior United States. This is what I would call a "life work," nicely illustrated with drawings. The book is bulging with technical information and is the last word on fish identification. As a former Ohio conservation officer and adjunct College instructor, I cannot say enough good about this fine volume. A must for eastern naturalists.