When I first purchased this book, it was more out of curiosity than need. I had minimal experience with Eocene deposits, but David Ward was an author, and he has an excellent reputation. I was impressed by the quality of Liz Kemp's illustrations, but pretty drawings don't equate into a useful reference -- it ended up on the shelf. Last summer, I had the opportunity to do some serious collecting in Eocene deposits, and later in the year, some trading for Eocene specimens from Egem, Belgium. It was during this period that I blew off some dust and sat down to use Kemp et al.

Once put to use, I was very impressed by the reliability of the illustrations and the multiple perspectives often presented. It proved useful for shark teeth, batoid material (a real plus) and other fish fossils. The stratigraphical information is brief and of a localized nature (Isle of Wight area). It does provide an excellent snapshot, which appears to mirror quite well, the Eocene material I've seen from Virginia.

I'm certainly pleased I elected to pickup a copy and stick it on my shelf - I know that I don't have ready access to any of the original publications on this fauna.

Last time I heard, the North Carolina Fossil Club had copies of this book available for sale. Try writing the North Carolina Fossil Club, PO Box 2777, Durham, NC 27715.