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Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America - A Photographic Guide
by Steve N.G. Howell
Princeton University Press
ISBN 978-0-691-14211-1
Published February 2012 - Hardcover - 520 pages - $45.00

This book is much more technical than I thought, which is great for whom it is intended, i.e. students.  However, as a birdlover and photographer, I was expecting it to be a pictorial book of these birds.  And there are photos, many beautiful ones, over 900 of them, but they're more illustrative than "entertaining".  This book offers information like wingspan, weight, habitats, field identification, maps, etc.  You'll learn things like primary feathers, plumage, bill structure, taxonomy, and more.  I loved the photos in which you can see beautiful patterns, wingspan, beaks, faces, feathers—all things I love about photographing birds.  Some of the types of birds I learned about include Sooty Shearwaters and Kermadec Petrels, where they live, their noises, and their diets.  I won't for a minute pretend I knew what was going on in this book or that I understood much of it, but, I did find many interesting things about many sea birds which will help me when I next visit the coast.  I apologize that I mistakenly thought this book was something else and that I couldn't review it accordingly.
Conclusion - Extremely informative and comprehensive.