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Dr. Harold Cogger produced the finest and most comprehensive single field guide to a continental herpetofauna when he came out with his first edition of Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia back in 1975. 23 years and five editions later, the book remains the single most important identification manual to Australia's critters. If you haven't got a copy of an earlier edition, go ahead and get this one. Otherwise, there are few additions since the forth edition, meaning unless you are a herpetologist in need of minor modifications to the text, there isn't much reason to part with the high price of the new book. The biggest complaints are 1) current taxonomy is not employed throughout the text and 2) new species data are added as an appendix rather than integrated into the text. However, if you do not have a copy more recent than the 4th edition, you must get this new version. A 4 1/2 star book.