This book is an excellent START to researching axolotls, however I would NEVER recommend it as a sole source of information. I own it (was a gift from someone who knows nothing about axolotls) and use is as a source of ideas rather than a reference book. Also, for those of you just looking at the cover and nothing more, please note (as a previous reviewer said) that axolotls CANNOT (should not) live on gravel; anything bigger than sand and that can fit in their mouths is a possible impaction hazard (gets lodged somewhere along the digestive tract and is - as far as I'm aware - the number 1 killer of pet axolotls). If you are just starting out I would much rather direct you to the axolotl.org site and its sister caudata.org forum; these two sites (if you sift through the forums in good detail) will give you pretty well everything you need to know about axolotls, they're customized (the forum - you can often get a response on there within 24hrs), and they're free ;). So, good book for absolute beginners, preferably ones who don't own an axie yet, but won't get you very far. It's no longer useful to me and is sitting pretty next to my tank :).