Borneo Books Online Shop » natural history publications

Birds of Borneo; The (4th edition)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Smythies’ Birds of Borneo 4th edition revised by Geoffrey Davison. 1999. The bird book to end all bird books! Opulent and utterly comprehensive, this 4th edition re-instates the fascinating introductory chapters, omitted for reasons of economy from the 3rd edition, and brings them up to date. The book is an object to treasure for those who love books, let alone birds. The Birds of Borneo by the late Bertram Smythies, fully revised 4th edition by Geoffrey Davison. Natural History Publications (Borneo) & Sabah Society, 1999. Ppvii + 853, 190 x 255mm (7.5 x 10.5″ – and 2.5″ thick!). Index to Topics & Index to names (25pp). Eight introductory chapters, Systematic List, Distribution Table, History of Bornean Ornithology, Bibliography (33pp), profile of B E Smythies, Colour Plates, 57 in number. Borneo is the third biggest island in the world, the only island shared by three countries, and the biggest land mass in the Malay Archipelago It has a rich avifauna, 70% of the recorded bird species being resident, and most of these are species dependent on the South-East Asian lowland tropical rain forest for their survival. They are therefore vulnerable to recent rapid land use change, and many are becoming threatened. This book was first produced in 1960. It carries newly written chapters on the Borneo environment for birds, migration, conservation, and cave swiftlets, and reintroduces from the first edition those classic chapters on birds and man, bird augury and the Than hornbill ritual. Since the first edition the total number of birds recorded from Borneo has risen from 554 to 622. The additions include ten species newly recognised as endemic to Borneo, through the redefinition of species limits; eight newly resident either by introduction or colonisation; and an additional 50 rnigrants and vagrants. This swift and continuing growth of information is due to many factors: a change in methods of study, the rise of local scientific institutions and the protection of a network of managed areas where birds and their habitats are conserved. Severe new challenges have arisen, such as fire, drought and forest loss, and this new edition sets the avian scene for the massive changes likely to occur in Borneo over the next few decades.

Brunei Forests: Plant Life of Brunei Darussalam

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

This book explores the wealth, diversity and uniqueness of Brunei’s forests, and also provides valuable insights into the plant life of Borneo. Brunei’s rich and varied flora make up forests that have been little disturbed and are truly a paradise of plants.The text is accessible to the interested amateur and will also delight and inform professional botanists and foresters. The delicate watercolour illustrations capture the pristine beauty of Brunei’s flora and each is accompanied by a short account highlighting interesting aspects of the plants. The book is not only a special volume on the plant life of Brunei, but also serves as a general reference on various aspects of the botany of Borneo. [BBooks comments: this book is worth it for the plates alone, which are by Datuk C L Chan, Publisher and Managing Director of Natural History Publications, Borneo. They are on the way to becoming collector's pieces]

Discovering Sabah

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Sabah offers an astonishing diversity of landscapes and people, as well as richly varied plant and animal life, yet surprisingly little is known about the treasures of this Malaysian Borneo state. Its landscapes range from long white sandy beaches to magnificent rain forests and Malaysia’s largest freshwater floodplain, home to Borneo’s unique proboscis monkey and the orang-utan. In Sabah’s limestone caves, precious edible birds’ nests are gathered, while nesting sea turtles come ashore on many of its islands. Towering over all is Mount Kinabalu, at 4,095 metres the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea, and focal point of Kinabalu Park, Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site. Sabah is the perfect place for the adventurous, offering world-class scuba diving sites, including Pulau Sipadan and Layang Layang. There is also the chance for hiking, white-water rafting, a range of sea sports, horse-riding and golfing. Luxurious resorts offer everything the less energetic holidaymaker might wish for, while jungle lodges and diving resorts make getting closer to nature remarkably easy. This book is designed as an introduction to Sabah, where people still retain the best of their cultural traditions as they welcome visitors with genuine warmth and friendliness.[BBooks says: 'Discovering Sabah' comes in English, Chinese and Japanese editions. The perfect book to buy as a pictorial introduction to the diversity of places, people and wildlife in Sabah. 170 pages. Pictures excellent, from all the best photographers. Good supporting text. Buy it before you visit, leave it with your friends so they can envy you rotten while you are away, and keep it as a permanent record after you return. Discovering Sabah Largish size, hardback high quality publication by Natural History Publications (Borneo), 2001. 177pp, mainly pictorial. Actual size 8.5 x 9.5" (215 x 240mm). Index. Amaze your Japanese friends by giving them this as a present in their own language!]

Discovering Sabah (Chinese version)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Discovering Sabah’ English, Chinese and Japanese editions. The perfect book to buy as a pictorial introduction to the diversity of places, people and wildlife in Sabah. 170 pages. Pictures excellent, from all the best photographers. Good supporting text. Buy it before you visit, leave it with your friends so they can envy you rotten while you are away, and keep it as a permanent record after you return. Largish size, hardback, high quality publication by Natural History Publications (Borneo), 2001. 177pp, mainly pictorial. Actual size 8.5 x 9.5″ (215 x 240mm). Index. [BBooks comment]

Discovering Sabah (Japanese Version)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Discovering Sabah Interactive Multimedia CD

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

[BBooks comment]: ‘Discovering Sabah’ – English, Chinese and Japanese editions. The perfect book to buy as a pictorial introduction to the diversity of places, people and wildlife in Sabah. 170 pages. Pictures excellent, from all the best photographers. Good supporting text. Buy it before you visit, leave it with your friends so they can envy you rotten while you are away, and keep it as a permanent record after you return. Largish size, hardback, high quality publication by Natural History Publications (Borneo), 2001. 177pp, mainly pictorial. Actual size 8.5 x 9.5″ (215 x 240mm). Index.

Frogs of Borneo; A Field Guide to

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

[BBooks comment] A comprehensive guide to the frogs and toads of Borneo, including the rare species. The authors are the acknowledged authorities on Bornean amphibians. This is the second edition (the 1st was in 1997). there are colour photos of most of the species, published to the usual high standard of Natural History Publications (Borneo)]

Three Came Home (reprint: 1st publ 1946)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Agnes Keith Trilogy: Land Below the Wind; Three Came Home & White Man Returns.Three books written by an American journalist married to an English government officer in British North Borneo. The first book is an idyll covering the late 1930′s. The second covers internment and brutality by the Japanese during the Second World War. The third covers the return to a war-devastated colony. Three totally different situations, all illuminated by Agnes K’s engaging, perceptive, objective style of highly detailed observation of the people around her. The Agnes Keith Trilogy: -Land Below the Wind; Three Came Home & White Man Returns. All reprinted by Natural History Publications (Borneo) between 1998 & 2001. All 150 x 200mm (6 x 8″), softcover. White Man Returns has a valuable six page introduction and perspective to all three volumes by Patricia Regis (formerly Director of the Sabah State Museum). LBTW, pp371, first published November 1939, Borneo Books book #320; TCH, pp260, first published 1946, book #691; White Man Returns, pp310, first published 1951. [see BBooks review]

Water Land Cities, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Water, Land, Cities, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo’, contains full size photos and snapshots, with short written introductions, of particular Sabah environments, and the extent to which they are undergoing change as the State develops and the need for the resources of land and sea increases. In the process, the books displays the remarkable patterns, striking mosaics, shapes and colours of people, life and places characteristic of the modern Sabah scene, making this an honest portrayal of the State, warts and all. This colour-filled book includes more than 400 striking photographs presented through twelve short stories. Water, Land, Cities, Sabah covers all aspects of life in Sabah. $41.50 0 FALSE bk1555.jpg 10/21/2003 1 5 1400 bk1555t.jpg Carsten H. Laugesen, Eric Juin, Tony Greer, Bablu Virinder Singh & Osman Ajamain 2003 361 pp Natural History Publications (Borneo) & Environment Protection Department FALSE 1 FALSE HB 1835 1555 Water Land Cities, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo Water, Land, Cities, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo’, contains full size photos and snapshots, with short written introductions, of particular Sabah environments, and the extent to which they are undergoing change as the State develops and the need for the resources of land and sea increases. In the process, the books displays the remarkable patterns, striking mosaics, shapes and colours of people, life and places characteristic of the modern Sabah scene, making this an honest portrayal of the State, warts and all. This colour-filled book includes more than 400 striking photographs presented through twelve short stories. Water, Land, Cities, Sabah covers all aspects of life in Sabah.

White Man Returns

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Agnes Keith Trilogy: Land Below the Wind; Three Came Home & White Man Returns.Three books written by an American journalist married to an English government officer in British North Borneo. The first book is an idyll covering the late 1930′s. The second covers internment and brutality by the Japanese during the Second World War. The third covers the return to a war-devastated colony. Three totally different situations, all illuminated by Agnes K’s engaging, perceptive, objective style of highly detailed observation of the people around her. The Agnes Keith Trilogy: -Land Below the Wind; Three Came Home & White Man Returns. All reprinted by Natural History Publications (Borneo) between 1998 & 2001. All 150 x 200mm (6 x 8″), softcover. White Man Returns has a valuable six page introduction and perspective to all three volumes by Patricia Regis (formerly Director of the Sabah State Museum). LBTW, pp371, first published November 1939, Borneo Books book #320; TCH, pp260, first published 1946, Borneo Books #691; White Man Returns, pp310, Borneo Books #1350, first published 1951. [see BBooks review]