Shore Fishes of Hawai'i by Johne E. Randall serves as a valuable resource tool from snorkelers to ichthyological enthusiasts. The introduction gives a brief overview of the Hawaiian history of fishes, biogeographic theories of distribution as it pertains to Hawaiian fishes, and basic information on fish taxonomy. The balance of the book seperates in to sections on each family in a phylogenetic order. Each family section has a brief description of characters, life history, and observational notes. This is followed by a photograph of the species most likely to be seen by snorkelers, divers, and fishermen. Each photograph is captioned with information regarding characters to identify it, distribution and depth where it may be encountered, attainable size, diet, and other miscellaneous information. Each photo is labled with both common name and scientific binomial, as well as author and date of original (or valid) description of the species. Many of the species have photographs of multiple adult phases and juveniles. A glossary of terms follows the last family entry. An index by scientific name, family, common name, and Hawaiian name concludes the book. This book would complement the library of anyone comptemplating visiting Hawaii with an interest in the fishes, anyone with an interest in aquarium fishes, or to divers and ichthyologists seeking a good identification and reference guide.
