'Life' companion book is stunning

"LIFE: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour," by Martha Holmes, Michael Gunton, University of California Press, 312 pages, $39.95 (nf) www.amazon.com/Life-Extraordinary-Animals-Extreme-Behaviour/dp/0520265378/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268704056&sr=8-1

Survival. It's a primal instinct in all things living — be they human, animal or plant.

Defined as "the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal or difficult circumstances," survival means everything in the wild.

"Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour," the companion book to the new Discovery Channel/BBC series "Life" illustrates how plants and animals endeavor to overcome the universal challenges that come from predators, competitors and their environment.

The book is divided into chapters that correspond to the TV episodes featuring "sea creatures," "fabulous fish," "irrepressible plants," "insect ingenuity," "frogs, serpents and dragons," "brilliant birds," "winning mammals," "hot-blooded hunters" and "intellectual primates."

Though the live-action shots from the show are amazing, the more than 300 still-photographs included in the book are equally as stunning.

From a crested black macaque in Indonesia staring into the camera and a striped marlin feeding on sardines, to a macro of a fly struggling to escape a Venus flytrap and a basilisk lizard (aka Jesus Christ lizard) running on water, these high-definition images are well-worth purchase of this coffee-table book.

The images alone are spectacular, but add in up-to-date science with the text, and vignettes about "The world's biggest flutterby," "There still be dragons" and "Life in the fast Lane" take shape.

"Life" is the perfect tool for encouraging imaginations and learning about far-off places — and some not too far. Children and adults alike will be fascinated by this unforgettable compilation.

e-mail: jharrison@desnews.com