https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2EULO2 ... hisHelpful
To channel my (not too serious) frustration, I will abuse this forum to write a fictional reply. Perhaps someone ends up here looking for an answer to the the Arnold vs. Speybroeck question too some day...
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Both books deal with (more or less) the same area and fauna, but they have different text, drawings, maps, ... The newer one is not just an edited version of the older one; they were developed 100% independently. About 35 species that were not (yet) considered by Arnold have been added. The new distribution maps fixed many of Arnold’s flaws. The taxonomy has had a serious facelift, as Arnold’s was already fairly conservative upon its release in 2002. The presentation of the species accounts is very different - text, drawings and maps are grouped into three units in the old book, whereas the new one groups all info into a single species account, plus has a lot of photographs. So, “broadly similar in content”? Not really.
Adding the Canaries and Madeira means adding ca. another 15 species with clear African biogeographical origin and restricted to places of limited attraction to people interested in herpetofauna (in contrast e.g. to the eastern Greek islands). Yes, all sorts of nature lovers visit these places and it is of course always nice to include more areas, species, ... but as hinted by the reviewer himself, it comes at the cost of ending up with a less practical product, and in the end, it is usually the publisher (and not the author) who draws that line... Cyprus is also ‘linked elsewhere’ in terms of biogeography and would add yet another 10 species (because it would be odd to include it while not adding the Canaries, right?). Turkey earns a book by itself.
Whether it is important to include the Canaries or not, is a subjective matter. I would rather have something that’s gorgeous and up-to-date, than something that includes just a few more lizards .
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If any of you feels the urge to write a more accurate review (if, of course, you agree with what I've written above), don't hesitate. But even that's "not done" .
BTW, besides Amazon the book is also in the top four bestselling books of the biggest natural history book store in UK - NHBS
At n° 2 now - amazing!