Library Journal

Allaby is the general editor of Oxford Dictionary of Natural History and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, as well as a leading expert in environmental science. His last two editions of the Dictionary of Zoology have become best sellers, primarily because they are more contemporary than other comprehensive dictionaries in the field, including Anthony Leftwich's Dictionary of Zoology(1973). Using simple, easy-to-understand language in all of the 5250 entries, Allaby expands this edition with the vocabulary of cytology, behavioral ecology, and conservation biology. He has also scrutinized and revised the entries from the previous editions that describe animal behavior, cell structure, ecology, evolutionary concepts, genetics, physiology, taxonomic principles, and zoogeography as well as added biographical notes on some key individuals in the field and included many illustrations, See also references, and detailed appendixes.
—Hazel Cameron