Official Review: All Fish Faces by Tam Warner Minton

[BookishCreature]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "All Fish Faces" by Tam Warner Minton.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Tam Warner Minton treats the reader to some unusual portraits in her coffee table book, All Fish Faces. True to its title, this short book is a collection of Minton’s fish photographs taken on dives all over the world. Flip through the pages and vicariously explore the waters of Cozumel, Ecuador, Raja Ampat, and more.

The book is divided into sections for different types of fish – groupers, clownfish, puffers, and many more. Interspersed through each section are a variety of fun facts and interesting information, which elevate All Fish Faces beyond a simple picture book. I learned a lot about reef fish from reading this book.

However, I did notice that at least one of those fun facts wasn’t quite correct. The author refers to the Japanese puffer fish delicacy as ‘fugo,’ when the name is actually ‘fugu.’ While an error like this is not the end of the world, it does call into question the author’s research. Whether or not this is a mark against the book really depends on the reader. If you’re interested in the book for the photography, any errors won’t make much of a difference. If you want to learn about reef fish, you might want to take the information with a grain of salt, just in case.

Either way, the main draw of the book is its visuals, which for the most part don’t disappoint. The vibrant photography offers a perspective on reef fish that most people will never be able to see in person. Minton’s portrait subjects have lots of personality thanks to the way she focused in on their faces. However, a handful of the photos were too blurry or out of focus for my taste. While it’s not an enormous disappointment, I think the author could have pared down the galleries to just the absolute best shots. This would have made the book a lot stronger in my opinion.

All Fish Faces is working towards a cause – ten percent of the author’s sales profits will be donated to the Marine Megafauna Foundation. I liked that the author was so willing to give back to protect the aquatic wildlife she loves to photograph. She also dedicates a few spreads in the book to teaching her readers several ways to help protect our oceans. I really appreciate her dedication to preserving the environment.

Overall, I give All Fish Faces a rating of 3 out of 4 stars, removing one star for the factual error and the occasional blurry photo. This is a great coffee table book for fish-lovers, and you can feel good about your purchase knowing some of the money is going to charity.

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All Fish Faces
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[stacie k]

It looks like a very attractive book! It’s a bonus to be able to learn some information and support a worthy cause. Thanks for another great review!

[KRYP73X]

At first, my main goal of click on and reading of your review was to get an understanding of how to structure and write a review. Though through the reading of your review, I felt like I should thank you for an excellent representation of how one is supposed to be presented. I do like the aquatic life and seeing as this book is to be a light read with mixed in information for the reader is a great way to present such a book. It's obvious that the author meant Fugu given the context but it honestly could have easily enough have been a translation error though it is good to catch it early so that they may be able to remedy it for future readers, as to not spread false facts.

[kandscreeley]

I do like that the author is donating some of her sales back! That's a great thing. It sounds like the pictures are absolutely brilliant, but I'm not really interested in a coffee table book at the moment. It's too bad about the errors as that's a pretty important mistake in the name of something! Thanks for the review.

[kfwilson6]

It sounds like this author did an excellent job of finding a fun, creative way to share information about fish so as not to bore the reader. I agree that if the pictures aren't of the best quality it would be better not to use them, maybe she could have used someone else's photos and just given proper credit if she really couldn't do without.

I bet Minton has had some wonderful adventures scuba diving. I did a couple of dives and it is amazing to be under the water like you are a part of the aquatic world. I'm so glad the author could learn so much and share that with her readers.

I wonder if fugo versus fugu was a research mistake or typing error. If it was a typing error, it was a very unfortunate one since it brought into question the validity of the rest of her statements.

Wonderful review as always. I enjoy reading your insights.

[revna01]

I never would have noticed the "fugo" inaccuracy but I'm certainly glad you did! I agree with you that those types of mistakes call into question the author's research. It's wonderful that the author uses this book to help the Marine Megafauna Foundation. Thanks for a great review.

[cpru68]

I could imagine young people enjoying this book as much as adults. It’s nice to be able to see the adventures of others and also learn about aquatic life. Do you think the fish name was a typo vs thinking that was the correct name? How nice to give a portion of the sales to charity. That sounds like a good hearted author. I enjoyed your review. This sounds like a great book.

[Jovan Ness]

I love the fact that they give you cool facts on reef fish. The photography is even more awesome . I love fishes !!

[qsusan]

This seems exclusively a book for fish and fishing aficionados though the photography seems like it will be both pleasing and illuminating to look at for everyone.

[Libs_Books]

If I knew someone who was really into fish, I might buy this as a present, but I agree that including pictures that are blurry, or otherwise out of focus, rather spoils things.

[Ginnamassa19]

This sounds like an adorable book--not too heavy for readers who simply want to enjoy some photos of amazing wildlife, and a quick and enjoyable read for readers who are interested in marine biology. (Although as an Animal Planet and Planet Earth lover, I really hope the pufferfish mistake was a typo and not an example of bad research!) Thank you for your review, I thought it was really helpful

[haleygerstenberg]

Oooh, I've been thinking about getting some nice coffee table books, with the caveat that I want my young daughter to be able to enjoy them as well as guests- this looks like it could be just the thing. The donation to charity is a nice added perk as well.