Veteran herpetologist and herpetoculturalist R. D. and biologist and historian Patricia continue their series of regional guides to reptiles and amphibians by looking east of the Mississippi and north of the Rio Grande for the lesser known member of the herpetology couple. There are about 130 species of frogs (anurans) and salamanders (caudatans) in the region, some widely distributed and others so narrow in their range that finding them could be difficult. For many species, little or very little, or sometimes even nothing, is known of the life history, and they hope that readers will get tired enough of reading so that they will conduct some serious research to amend it. Excellent color photographs and distribution maps accompany text on abundance and range, habitat, size, identifying features, voice, and how to distinguish from similar species. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)